Summary

  • Click the 'Watch live' icon & 'Watch & listen' tab for BBC coverage & your choice of table from the Crucible

  • First Round - best of 19 frames

  • Evening session from 19:00 BST:

  • World champion Zhao Xintong beats Liam Highfield 10-7

  • Barry Hawkins 7-2 Matthew Stevens

  • Earlier session scores: Mark Allen 3-5 Zhang Anda, Xiao Guodong 5-3 Zhou Yuelong, Mark Williams 6-3 Antoni Kowalski

  • Schedule & BBC coverage

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  1. Zhao takes frame twopublished at 10:56 BST 18 April

    Zhao 2-0 Highfield

    This is already beginning to look like a tall order for Liam Highfield.

    Zhao Xintong is nowhere near top speed yet, but the Englishman can't lay a finger on him.

    The defending champions produces a break of 65 to take the frame 98-25.

  2. Allen looks to rediscover formpublished at 10:44 BST 18 April

    Allen 0-0 Zhang

    AllenImage source, Getty Images

    Northern Ireland's Mark Allen begins his bid for a first world title against Zhang Anda.

    The 14th seed is a two-time semi-finalist, but has suffered round-two losses in both of the past two years.

    He did make a 147 break at the Crucible last year, becoming only the 11th player to do so at the famous venue.

    Despite winning the English Open, Allen described this season as "probably my worst season performance wise for a long time."

  3. Postpublished at 10:40 BST 18 April

    Zhao 1-0 Highfield

    Stephen Hendry
    Seven-time world champion on BBC Two

    That should have been a fairly easy clearance for Liam to win the frame, but he didn't do it.

    That puts him under some pressure now.

  4. Zhao takes opening framepublished at 10:37 BST 18 April

    Zhao 1-0 Highfield

    Zhao Xintong makes a nervous start to his title defence, but gets the job done.

    An early miss from Liam Highfield allows Zhao Xintong to put together a break of 47, but the defending champion misses a simple red to allow the Englishman back on the baize.

    Highfield can't take advantage though and Zhao take the frame 79-53.

  5. Away we gopublished at 10:34 BST 18 April

    Michael Emons
    BBC Sport at the Crucible

    TrophyImage source, Michael Emons

    Hello and welcome to the Crucible for the start of 17 days of top quality snooker action at the World Championship.

    After four qualifying rounds, 16 men battled through to join the top 16 with 32 players dreaming of lifting the famous trophy on Monday, 4 May.

    We have legends of the game, young talented newcomers, there will be tears, there will be cheers, there will be drama.

    Let's go.

  6. Zhao begins title defence against Highfieldpublished at 10:24 BST 18 April

    Zhao 0-0 Highfield

    Zhao XintongImage source, Getty Images

    As is tradition, the defending champion and top seed kicks off the action.

    This year that is Zhao Xintong, who came from nowhere to defeat Mark Williams 18-12 in the 2025 final.

    After starting the season slowly, he has won four event this season and is widely considered the favourite.

    The Chinese player begins his title defence against English qualifier Liam Highfield, who made light work of his four qualifying matches to return to the Crucible after a four-year absence.

  7. Postpublished at 10:19 BST 18 April

    Zhao 0-0 Highfield

    We're underway as defending champion Zhao Xintong breaks.

  8. Order of play - Saturday, 18 Aprilpublished at 10:17 BST 18 April

    We've got three sessions today involving five matches:

    10:00

    Zhao Xintong (1) v Liam Highfield

    Mark Allen (14) v Zhang Anda

    14:30

    Xiao Guodong (9) v Zhou Yuelong

    Mark Williams (6) v Antoni Kowalski

    19:00

    Zhao Xintong (1) v Liam Highfield*

    Barry Hawkins (11) v Matthew Stevens

  9. In memory of John Virgopublished at 10:13 BST 18 April

    virgoImage source, Getty Images

    The Crucible holds a minute's applause in tribute to former player and commentator John Virgo, who died in February aged 79.

    John reached the World Snooker Championship semi-finals in Sheffield in 1979 and was a professional for 18 years.

    He first picked up the microphone for the BBC in 1994 and remained a key part of our snooker coverage for over 30 years.

    Legends of the game past and present attended a memorial service at Sheffield Cathedral on Thursday.

  10. Good morningpublished at 10:02 BST 18 April

    CrucibleImage source, Getty Images

    The day is finally upon us - welcome to the 2026 World Snooker Championship.

    The 16 best players in the world and 16 qualifiers will go head-to-head over the next 17 days at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre.

    There are so many story lines and narratives to follow, it's hard to keep up - unless of course you follow our comprehensive coverage on TV, online and radio.

    This is going to be good.