World Snooker Championship 2023: when is the draw, schedule explained, how to watch in UK - are there tickets?

The final qualifying rounds have been completed with the remaining 16 players confirmed for the upcoming World Snooker Championships.

Ronnie O’Sullivan enters this tournament as the defending champion and current world number one. However, the Snooker legend has recently admitted he has struggling with an old elbow injury and has been forced to pull out of the WST Classic in Leicester.

Speaking ahead of this weekend’s tournament, O’Sullivan said: “It was a lot worse last weekend. I didn’t think I was going to be able to play at Sheffield as it swelled up. I had an injection and I literally had tears in my eyes. That’s how much pain I was in.

“The next day, I couldn’t move my arm, I literally had to pick this hand up to put it on the table. It started swelling up. I had a bad reaction. So I went back to the hospital, they gave me some antibiotics, in case there was an infection. I’ve iced it. It has calmed down. It still feels a bit sore but it’s playable. It’s quite funny because up until last world championship, it was fine, but it was a bit sore. I could play a shot and I wouldn’t wince. It’s been about a year now where I’ve had a really bad problem with it.”

As we await to find out how the reigning champion will fare, here is all you need to know ahead of the World Snooker Championship...

What are the dates for World Snooker Championship?

The tournament begins on Saturday 15 April 2023 and ends with the final on Monday 1 May 2023. Here is the full schedule:

• Round 1: April 15-19
• Round 1+2: April 20
• Round 2: April 21-24
• Quarter-finals: April 25-26
• Semi-finals: April 27-29
• Final: April 30-May 1

How to watch World Snooker Championship

The Crucible Theatre in Sheffield will once again host the competition and all of the action will be available to watch on Eurosport and Discovery+. The latest news, action and highlights will also be available on the Eurosport website and Eurosport app.

Entertainment and Sport plans with Discovery+ start from £6.99/month or can be purchased for £59.99/year.

Are there tickets available?

Tickets can still be purchased for each day of the first and second rounds of the tournament. While quarter-final tickets and certain semi-final tickets are sold out, there is still availability for three semi-final sessions and the final on Sunday 30 April. Go to the Crucible Snooker website to find out more.

Who is playing?

The final draw has now taken place following the qualifying tournament earlier this week. Here is the full draw:

• Ronnie O’Sullivan (1) vs Pang Junxu
• Stuart Bingham (14) vs David Gilbert
• Luca Brecel (9) vs Ricky Walden
• Neil Robertson (6) vs Wu Yize
• Ali Carter (11) vs Jak Jones
• Ding Junhui (16) vs Hossein Vafaei
• Mark Williams (8) vs Jimmy Robertson
• Mark Allen (3) vs Fan Zhengyi
• John Higgins (10) vs David Grace
• Robert Milkins (13) vs Joe Perry
• Jack Lisowski (12) vs Noppon Saengkham
• Gary Wilson (15) vs Elliot Slessor
• Judd Trump (5) vs Anthony McGill
• Kyren Wilson (7) vs Ryan Day
• Mark Selby (2) vs Matthew Selt
• Shaun Murphy (4) vs Si Jiahui