2027 World Snooker Championship: Dates, Format, History, Prize Money & more

The 2027 World Snooker Championship will take place across April and May and Wu Yize will be out to defend his honour after becoming the 30th player to reign supreme on snooker's grandest stage in 2026.

Dates

When does the World Snooker Championship start?

The 2027 World Snooker Championship gets underway on 17th April, and runs through until Monday 3rd May.

Format

• Final - Best-of-35 frames
• Semi-Finals - Best-of- 33 frames
• Quarter-Finals - Best-of-25 frames
• Last 16 - Best-of-25 frames
• Last 32 - Best-of-19 frames

The first round of the World Snooker Championship is played over a best-of-19 frame format, essentially meaning the first player to ten frames is the winner.

At the World Snooker Championship, the number of frames played increases as the tournament goes on, with the second round and quarter-final matches being contested over a best-of-25 frame format, the semi-finals a best-of-33 and the final the best of 35, meaning the winner of the tournament will have to win a minimum of 71 frames before they can lift the trophy.

First-round matches are the best-of-19 frames contests, second-round and quarter-finals contests are the best-of-25, semi-finals move up to best-of-33, and the final, played over two days, is a best-of-35 marathon.

Draw

When does the World Snooker Championship draw take place?

The top 16 players on the WST Order of Merit, as they stand after the 2027 Tour Championship, will guarantee their spot at the Crucible for next year's event, with the other 16 players being made up of qualifiers.

The qualifiers take place from 5th to 14th April at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield, featuring 128 professional and invited amateur competitors.

Once the 32 players are confirmed, the 2027 World Snooker Championship draw will commence. An exact date is yet to be confirmed, but we can expect it to take place the day after qualifying reaches its conclusion on 15th April.

Venue

The World Snooker Championship is held at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, with the fabled venue now synonymous with the WST's showpiece event.

Qualifying matches will take place at the English Institute of Sport, a few miles away from the Crucible in Sheffield.

The World Snooker Championship moved to the Steel City venue in 1977, having been previously staged at various venues around the United Kingdom, and has been played at the Crucible ever since.

The Ladies World Snooker Championship was held at the Crucible between 1998 and 2003 but was eventually withdrawn due to financial difficulties.

Crucible Venue Guide: Capacity, Location, tickets & more

Prize Money

How much money does the winner of the World Snooker Championship get?

The winner's prize money for the 2027 World Snooker Championship is set to change for the first time since 2019. The winner will receive a bumper £625,000, while the total prize fund is set to increase from £2,395,000 to £3,000,000

History

The World Snooker Championship was first played in 1927, albeit under the guise of the 'Professional Championship of Snooker', and was won by Joe Davis.

Over its first few decades, the World Championship alternated between a small knockout tournament featuring 10 players, and a 'challenge format', whereby defending champion Davis would advance to the final with six players competing for the opportunity to take on the champion.

The competition reverted to a straight knockout in 1969, in what is now recognised as the modern era.

The World Snooker Championship reverted to a straight knockout in 1969, in what is now recognised as the modern era, and a total of 30 players have been crowned world champion.

Ronnie O'Sullivan and Stephen Hendry lead the way with seven titles apiece, whilst 2026 champion Wu Yize is the latest addition to the prestigious list.

Previous Winners

• 2026 - Wu Yize
• 2025 - Zhao Xintong
• 2024 - Kyren Wilson
• 2023 - Luca Brecel
• 2022 - Ronnie O'Sullivan
• 2021 - Mark Selby

Wu Yize captured the coveted World Snooker Championship title in 2026, joining an illustrious list of players to have reigned supreme on snooker's grandest stage.

His feat also ensured he became the four successive first time winner of the competition, on the back of Zhao Xintong's success in 2025, Kyren Wilson's in 2024 and Luca Brecel's in 2023.