The 2024 World Snooker Championship takes place across April and May next year, so check out our all you need to know guide as Luca Brecel bids to defend his crown at the iconic Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.
Where can you watch the 2024 World Snooker Championship?
All matches from the 2024 World Snooker Championship will be streamed live at bet365, whilst the BBC and Eurosport will also be providing live coverage of every game throughout the competition.
When does the 2024 World Snooker Championship start and finish?
The Sheffield showpiece gets underway on Saturday 20th April, with defending champion Luca Brecel opening the action at 10am and he will play to a finish on the same evening.
The tournament runs until Monday 6th May in what is a thrilling two weeks of battles on the baize.
What is the format of the 2024 World Snooker Championship?
Snooker fans aren’t given much of a taste of long-format matches these days, with the majority of the tour played over the first-to-seven or first-to-nine distance, and this tournament does pose different challenges.
No player can be sure to play well in every session of the event and it's often about minimising the damage when things aren't going quite as planned.
The event is made up of a 32-player main draw, preceded by a 128-player qualifying tournament. The top-16 cuemen in the world rankings are seeded into the tournament and they will be joined by 16 qualifiers.
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.
Who is the defending World Snooker Championship champion?
Brecel won his maiden world title in 2023 after a thrilling 18-15 triumph over four-time winner Marl Selby.
The Belgian Bullet saw off Ricky Walden, Mark Williams, Ronnie O'Sullivan and Si Jiahui en-route to the final, before holding his nerve to see of the spirited Jester from Leicester, who had pegged Brecel back to 16-15 having previously trailed 16-10.
The Belgian is 12/1 to go the distance in 2024, but there is no shortage of former winners in the field - all of whom will be hoping to etch their names further into the history books come the end of the tournament.
Where is the 2024 World Snooker Championship held?
The World Snooker Championship is held at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, with the fabled venue now synonymous with the WST's showpiece event.
How long has the World Snooker Championship been held at The Crucible?
The event 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.
What is the prize money for the 2024 World Snooker Championship?
The prize money for the 2024 World Snooker Championship has not yet been confirmed but last year the winner received £500,000 with the runner-up being handed £200,000.
The beaten semi-finalists in Sheffield each received £100,000 and the losers in the quarter-finals £50,000.
The players who were beaten in the last 16 picked up £30,000 each and the first-round losers £20,000.
Who has won the most World Snooker Championships?
Joe Davis won 15 World Championship titles between 1927 and 1946 while Fred Davis (1948-56) and John Pulman (1957-68) both won eight world titles.
The 'modern' era of snooker is considered to have started in 1969 though and Hendry (1990-99) and O’Sullivan (2001-22) have both been world champions on seven occasions.
Steve Davis (1981-89) and Ray Reardon (1970-78) won the tournament on six occasions while John Higgins (1998-2011) and Selby (2014-21) have secured the trophy four times.
Williams (2000-18) and John Spencer (1969-77) have three world titles to their name while the only other players to have won the tournament more than once are Walter Donaldson, in 1947 and 1950, and Alex Higgins (1972 and 1982).
View the latest odds for the 2023 World Snooker Championship
