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The pinnacle of the calendar, the 2023 World Snooker Championship arrives on the scene for two weeks of top-class action.
All eyes are on the upcoming competition, and this preview of the 2023 Championship provides all the information you need to know about the event.
2023 World Snooker Championship
Contents
At its familiar home of the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, the 2023 World Snooker Championship enters its 47th edition. The timing of the tournament also signals the end of the current 2022/23 snooker season.
For some players, places were confirmed in the draw well ahead of time. The top sixteen players on the Snooker World Rankings took a berth in the First Round draw. For others, there has been a long journey to get to the main draw.
Qualifying rounds for the 2023 World Snooker Championship were held from April 3rd to 12th with 128 players taking part. Five female players entered the qualifiers, the highest number in three decades.
That huge number of players was whittled down to just sixteen players who made it through to the main draw of the famous tournament. As always, the World Snooker Championship promises some thrilling action.
Who will emerge victorious? Will Ronnie O’Sullivan pull out a title defence, or will a newcomer get their hands on the trophy?
Important Dates
It’s important to mark the key dates in your diary, so you can follow the latest snooker predictions for upcoming matches. The tournament will be held from April 18th to May 1st, providing fans with two weeks of thrilling action.
This year’s edition starts on April 15th with the Final slotted for 1st May 2023.
- First Round – April 15 – 19
- Second Round – April 21 -24
- Quarter-finals – April 25 – 26
- Semi-finals – April 27 -29
- Final – April 30 – May 1st
Snooker World Championship History
The first edition of the Snooker World Championships was held in 1927, an event which was won by Joe Davis, one of the greats of the game. Davis was unbeatable at the tournament, winning the first 15 editions of the event before hanging up his cue.
Fred Davis took up the mantle soon after, winning it eight times. The original trophy is still in use today and it wasn’t really until 1969, the year that the modern age of snooker was ushered in, that the tournament as it is known and loved to this day, took shape.
The Snooker World Champion went back to being a knockout tournament that year, and that’s the way that it has stayed. In 1977 the World Snooker Championship moved to the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, and the format hasn’t gone through any significant change since the early 1980s – the top 16 in the world automatically qualify with sixteen qualifiers joining them.
Previous Winners
Some famous names of the sport have had their names etched into the history books. The aforementioned Joe Davis was one of them, followed by periods of dominance by Fred Davis in the 1950s and John Pulman in the 1960s.
There have been some big eras played out in the history of the World Snooker Championship. Steve Davis was largely untouchable in the 1980s before Stephen Hendry took up the reins in the 1990s.
The first title for Ronnie O’Sullivan happened in 2004 when he defeated Graeme Dott, and he equalled Stephen Hendry’s record of seven wins with the 2022 World Snooker Championship title.
Other famous names to have been crowned World Champion include Alex Higgins, John Parrot, Ray Reardon, John Higgins, Mark Selby and Judd Trump.
Prize Money
As the countdown to the 2023 World Snooker Championship continues, let’s take a look at the prize money and venue for the prestigious event. The winner will take home a prize of £500,000 from a tournament prize pot that is in excess of £2m.
The runner-up walks away with the consolation prize of £200,000 while the losing semi-finalists each get £100k and losing quarter-finalists get £50k. There is a bonus prize of £15,000 for the highest break at the tournament (including qualifying)
- Winner: £500,000
- Runner-up: £200,000
- Semi-finalists: £100,000
- Quarter-finalists: £50,000
- Last 16: £30,000
- Last 32: £20,000
- Last 48: £15,000
- Last 80: £10,000
- Last 112: £5,000
Should a player land a maximum break of 147 during the televised rounds, then there is a bonus of £40k to be collected.
Players & The Draw
From experienced veterans to up-and-coming stars, this tournament provides the biggest platform in the world on which to shine. 32 players start the main draw and at the top of the draw and the seeding, is reigning champion Ronnie O’Sullivan.
O’Sullivan opens against qualifier Pang Jun Xu, one of five World Snooker Championship debutants this year. The highest seed that O’Sullivan could meet on the way to the final is 4th seed, Shaun Murphy. Each of the top sixteen seeds faces a qualifier in the first round of action.
1) Ronnie O’Sullivan
2) Mark Selby
3) Mark Allen
4) Shaun Murphy
5) Judd Trump
6) Neil Robertson
7) Kyren Wilson
8) Mark Williams
9) Luca Brecel
10) John Higgins
11) Ali Carter
12) Jack Lisowski
13) Robert Milkins
14) Stuart Bingham
15) Gary Wilson
16) Ding Junhui
All the heavy hitters are in there, with Ronnie O’Sullivan leading the way as the favourite in the 2023 World Snooker Championship odds. Former champions Mark Selby, Judd Trump and Neil Robertson will be among the principal challengers leading the charge for glory.
Where To Watch the 2023 World Snooker Championship
Where can you watch the 2023 World Snooker Championship? The action from the tournament is being shown on the BBC as well as Eurosport and Discovery+. It’s the biggest snooker tournament in the world and it is broadcast around the globe, by the likes of DAZN in the US and Canada to Matchroom Live for viewers in Australia. Check your favourite betting site for any live streams from The Crucible too.
2023 World Snooker Championship Summary
2023 promises to be another thrilling year for the World Snooker Championship, with one of the main stories being O’Sullivan’s attempt to move ahead of Stephen Hendry’s title haul. With a line-up of the most talented players from around the world, it’s a competitive field.
Fans will be eagerly watching every stroke of the cue and every point tallied on the scoreboard while cheering on their favourites as well as the underdogs. Who will prevail and make history at the 2023 World Snooker Championship?
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