World Snooker Championship 2021: Draw, Schedule, Results and order of play at the Crucible
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ByEurosport
Updated 27/04/2021 at 21:41 GMT
Ronnie O'Sullivan is set to defend his title at the World Snooker Championship, which is due to kick off on April 17 at the iconic Crucible Theatre in Sheffield. Judd Trump, Mark Selby and Neil Robertson will be the other men gunning for glory for the most prestigious trophy in snooker. You can watch every match of the World Championship live and ad-free on the Eurosport App and eurosport.co.uk.
Anthony McGill and Ronnie O'Sullivan
Image credit: Getty Images
Ronnie O'Sullivan lost to Anthony McGill at the wide open World Snooker Championship, which is being played at the iconic Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.
McGill withstood a barrage from O’Sullivan to knock the defending champion out of the tournament in a final-frame decider. The six-time winner had his back against the wall after losing the second session 6-2 to trail 10-4.
He produced sublime snooker to edge his way into a lead at 11-10 and 12-11, but McGill has a track-record of digging himself out of holes at the Crucible and he forced a decider before producing a nerveless break of 85 to reach the quarter finals.
The return to the Crucible will be hugely welcome after months of almost uninterrupted play in Milton Keynes, and a limited number spectators have been allowed in. The Crucible will initially operate at 50% capacity with the number gradually ramping up as the tournament progresses.
The hope is that the final will be able to be at full capacity. Spectators will need to return a negative Covid test in the 24 hours before they attend.
“We’ve earned this,” Barry Hearn said before the tournament. “We’ve done more events in the last 12 months than we had in the year pre-Covid. It’s impossible to believe. But Public Health England have consistently told us our protocols are exemplary, and we’ve earned the right to be a key step on the road to normality.
“We’ve sold about 60% of tickets so far, so there’s still time to get booked and get down here and be part of something special. Snooker fans are incredibly loyal, and they’re going to get a reward for that. We could have closed the doors for a year, but we needed to give people entertainment in these difficult times. It’s very uplifting.”
What is the format?
There were 128 players vying to qualify at the nearby English Institute of Sport in Sheffield. That group was whittled down to just 16 across a week, where they joined the 16 top players in the snooker rankings in the draw for the first round. As defending champion, O'Sullivan was the only man with his spot guaranteed before a ball was hit in the 2020-21 season.
The first round is best of 19 frames, the second and quarter-final rounds best of 25. The semi-finals are best of 33 and the final best of 35.
What is the draw for the World Championship first round?
- Shaun Murphy v Mark Davis
- Mark Allen v Lyu Haotian
- Judd Trump v Liam Highfield
- Ding Junhui v Stuart Bingham
- Anthony McGill v Ricky Walden
- Mark Williams v Sam Craigie
- Stephen Maguire v Jamie Jones
- Mark Selby v Kurt Maflin
- Kyren Wilson v Gary Wilson
- John Higgins v Tian Pengfei
- David Gilbert v Chris Wakelin
- Jack Lisowski v Ali Carter
- Ronnie O'Sullivan v Mark Joyce
- Barry Hawkins v Matthew Selt
- Neil Robertson v Liang Wenbo
- Yan Bingtao v Martin Gould
Head here for all the scores from qualifying.
How to watch the event
You can watch every match of the World Championship live and ad-free on the Eurosport App and eurosport.co.uk. Download the Eurosport app now for iOS and Android.
Schedule and dates
First round (best of 19 frames)
Saturday, 17 April
19:00
- Ronnie O'Sullivan 10-4 Mark Joyce
- David Gilbert 7-2 Chris Wakelin
Sunday, 18 April
10:00
- Anthony McGill 5-4 Ricky Walden
- Yan Bingtao 10-6 Martin Gould
14:30
- John Higgins 4-3 Tian Pengfei
- David Gilbert 10-4 Chris Wakelin
19:00
- Stephen Maguire 4-10 Jamie Jones
- Neil Robertson 10-3 Liang Wenbo
Monday, 19 April
10:00
- Ding Junhui 5-4 Stuart Bingham
- Kyren Wilson 4-5 Gary Wilson
14:30
- John Higgins 10-7 Tian Pengfei
- Jack Lisowski 5-4 Ali Carter
19:00
- Anthony McGill 10-5 Ricky Walden
- Kyren Wilson 10-8 Gary Wilson
Tuesday, 20 April
10:00
- Mark Allen 7-2 Lyu Haotian
- Jack Lisowski 10-9 Ali Carter
14:30
- Ding Junhui 9-10 Stuart Bingham
- Judd Trump 7-2 Liam Highfield
19:00
- Mark Allen 10-2 Lyu Haotian
- Barry Hawkins 6-3 Matthew Selt
Wednesday, 21 April
10:00
- Mark Williams 5-4 Sam Craigie
- Shaun Murphy 4-5 Mark Davis
14:30
- Mark Selby 8-1 Kurt Maflin
- Judd Trump 10-4 Liam Highfield
19:00
- Mark Williams 10-4 Sam Craigie
- Barry Hawkins 10-3 Matthew Selt
Thursday, 22 April
13:00
- Shaun Murphy 10-7 Mark Davis
19:00
- Mark Selby 10-1 Kurt Maflin
Second round (best of 25 frames)
Thursday, 22 April
13:00
- Ronnie O'Sullivan 4-4 Anthony McGill
19:00
- Neil Robertson 5-3 Jack Lisowski
Friday, 23 April
10:00
- Ronnie O'Sullivan 6-10 Anthony McGill
- Barry Hawkins 4-4 Kyren Wilson
14:30
- John Higgins 3-5 Mark Williams
- Neil Robertson 9-7 Jack Lisowski
19:00
- Ronnie O'Sullivan 12-13 Anthony McGill
- Barry Hawkins 7-9 Kyren Wilson
Saturday, 24 April
10:00
- John Higgins 6-10 Mark Williams
- Neil Robertson 13-9 Jack Lisowski
14:30
- Mark Allen 2-6 Mark Selby
- Barry Hawkins 10-13 Kyren Wilson
19:00
- John Higgins 7-13 Mark Williams
- Shaun Murphy 6-2 Yan Bingtao
Sunday, 25 April
10:00
- Stuart Bingham 4-4 Jamie Jones
- David Gilbert 3-5 Judd Trump
14:30
- Mark Allen 6-9 Mark Selby
- Shaun Murphy 10-6 Yan Bingtao
19:00
- Stuart Bingham 10-6 Jamie Jones
- David Gilbert 5-11 Judd Trump
Monday, 26 April
13:00
- Stuart Bingham 13-6 Jamie Jones
- David Gilbert 8-13 Judd Trump
19:00
- Mark Allen 7-13 Mark Selby
- Shaun Murphy 13-7 Yan Bingtao
Quarter-finals (best of 25 frames)
Tuesday, 27 April
10:00
- Anthony McGill 4-4 Stuart Bingham
- Neil Robertson 5-3 Kyren Wilson
14:30
- Mark Williams 2-6 Mark Selby
- Shaun Murphy 4-4 Judd Trump
19:00
- Anthony McGill 9-7 Stuart Bingham
- Neil Robertson 8-8 Kyren Wilson
Wednesday, 28 April
10:00
- Mark Williams 2-6 Mark Selby
- Neil Robertson 8-8 Kyren Wilson
14:30
- Anthony McGill 9-7 Stuart Bingham
- Shaun Murphy 4-4 Judd Trump
19:00
- Mark Williams v Mark Selby
- Shaun Murphy v Judd Trump
Semi-finals (best of 33 frames)
Matches to played 29 April - 1 May
Final (best of 35 frames)
Match to be played across four sessions 2-3 May
Prize Money
TBC.
Previous Winners
The World Championship has been running since 1927 and, prior to its move to the Crucible in 1977, it was dominated by Joe Davis, Walter Donaldson, Fred Davis, John Pulman, John Spencer and Ray Reardon, with Alex Higgins and Horace Lundrum winning it once apiece. Since the move to Sheffield, the winners are:
- 1977: John Spencer
- 1978: Ray Reardon
- 1979: Terry Griffiths
- 1980: Cliff Thorburn
- 1981: Steve Davis
- 1982: Alex Higgins
- 1983: Steve Davis
- 1984: Steve Davis
- 1985: Dennis Taylor
- 1986: Joe Johnson
- 1987: Steve Davis
- 1988: Steve Davis
- 1989: Steve Davis
- 1990: Stephen Hendry
- 1991: John Parrott
- 1992: Stephen Hendry
- 1993: Stephen Hendry
- 1994: Stephen Hendry
- 1995: Stephen Hendry
- 1996: Stephen Hendry
- 1997: Ken Doherty
- 1998: John Higgins
- 1999: Stephen Hendry
- 2000: Mark Williams
- 2001: Ronnie O'Sullivan
- 2002: Peter Ebdon
- 2003: Mark Williams
- 2004: Ronnie O'Sullivan
- 2005: Shaun Murphy
- 2006: Graeme Dott
- 2007: John Higgins
- 2008: Ronnie O'Sullivan
- 2009: John Higgins
- 2010: Neil Robertson
- 2011: John Higgins
- 2012: Ronnie O'Sullivan
- 2013: Ronnie O'Sullivan
- 2014: Mark Selby
- 2015: Stuart Bingham
- 2016: Mark Selby
- 2017: Mark Selby
- 2018: Mark Williams
- 2019: Judd Trump
- 2020: Ronnie O'Sullivan
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