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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
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.
Allen 0-0 Zhang
Image source, Getty ImagesNorthern 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."
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.
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.
Michael Emons
BBC Sport at the Crucible
Image source, Michael EmonsHello 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.
Zhao 0-0 Highfield
Image source, Getty ImagesAs 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.
Zhao 0-0 Highfield
We're underway as defending champion Zhao Xintong breaks.
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
Image source, Getty ImagesThe 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.
Image source, Getty ImagesThe 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.