Better from Higgins, but still enough poor shots to give Selby, who hasn't played well, plenty of hope at 3-5. Given that he isn't winning anything, getting over the line could still be an issue for Higgins. Selby 8/15-11/8.
Better from Higgins, but still enough poor shots to give Selby, who hasn't played well, plenty of hope at 3-5. Given that he isn't winning anything, getting over the line could still be an issue for Higgins. Selby 8/15-11/8.
Higgins looked down and out, but in the end he proved stronger than Selby. That said very frustrating to watch though with all the faffing around, getting down and then up off virtually every shot. The complete opposite of fluent. You would think it will be a completely different kettle of fish against Xintong who doesn't appear to feel the pressure that seemingly affects everyone else. Much prefer these longer format games.
Higgins looked down and out, but in the end he proved stronger than Selby. That said very frustrating to watch though with all the faffing around, getting down and then up off virtually every shot. The complete opposite of fluent. You would think it
The seeding positions for the 2026 World Snooker Championship are now fully confirmed. Snooker's blue riband event at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield takes place between April 18 to May 4, with the winner set to pocket the top prize of £500,000.
A total of 32 players will line up in front of the television cameras for the main draw at the Crucible, with first round matches seeing the top 16 seeds facing the 16 successful players who emerge from the qualifying rounds at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield held between April 6-15.
The seed players for the World Snooker Championship are determined by the sport's world rankings, with the top 16 from those global standings after the penultimate event of the season - the 2026 Tour Championship - getting a pass straight through to the Crucible.
Going into the Tour Championship in Manchester, 15 of the 16 seeds were already known, and following Thepchaiya Un-Nooh's first round exit, 16th-placed Ding Junhui held on to his place in the elite bracket and his seed placement became guaranteed.
Whilst all 16 Crucible seeds were known, the order they would be in wasn't, although that was all resolved by the semi-finals stage at the Manchester Central.
The bracket for the World Snooker Championship main draw is fixed, with reigning champion Zhao Xintong the number one seed at the top of the draw, and world number one Judd Trump being the number two seed at the bottom.
Should all the seeds win their opening matches at the Crucible, the second round would see seeds 1 v 16, 2 v 15, 3 v 14 etc.
However, the 16 qualifiers from the EIOS will be randomly drawn against the seeds, with that live draw expected to take place on the morning of Thursday 16th April.
The seeding positions for the 2026 World Snooker Championship are now fully confirmed.Snooker's blue riband event at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield takes place between April 18 to May 4, with the winner set to pocket the top prize of £500,000.A t
2026 World Snooker Championship draw bracket (before the qualifiers are known): TOP HALF
Zhao Xintong (1) v Qualifier
Ding Junhui (16) v Qualifier
Xiao Guodong (9) v Qualifier
Shaun Murphy (8) v Qualifier
John Higgins (5) v Qualifier
Ronnie O'Sullivan (12) v Qualifier
Chris Wakelin (13) v Qualifier
Neil Robertson (4) v Qualifier
BOTTOM HALF
Kyren Wilson (3) v Qualifier
Mark Allen (14) v Qualifier
Barry Hawkins (11) v Qualifier
Mark Williams (6) v Qualifier
Mark Selby (7) v Qualifier
Wu Yize (10) v Qualifier
Si Jiahui (15) v Qualifier
Judd Trump (2) v Qualifier
2026 World Snooker Championship draw bracket (before the qualifiers are known):TOP HALFZhao Xintong (1) v QualifierDing Junhui (16) v QualifierXiao Guodong (9) v QualifierShaun Murphy (8) v QualifierJohn Higgins (5) v QualifierRonnie O'Sullivan (12)
so my quarter final predictioon is xintong v murphy higgins v robbo wilson v hawkins trump v selby,,, but dark horses from qualifiers to fear bingham, jack,,,, chang , brecel, cant wait
so my quarter final predictioon is xintong v murphy higgins v robbo wilson v hawkins trump v selby,,, but dark horses from qualifiers to fear bingham, jack,,,, chang , brecel, cant wait
just said xintong in prime position after making a positional error ffs left him snookered on the blue he played for, forced him to play for pink & that led to him breaking down
bit of advice for you just think before you open your trap
just said xintong in prime position after making a positional error ffsleft him snookered on the blue he played for, forced him to play for pink & that led to him breaking downbit of advice for you just think before you open your trap
You would imagine Trump will be looking at a quick start, get in the lead, and stay there. I doubt you would want to be chasing someone like Xintong. Might get something from being the underdog, but as I said, pressure so far hasn't phased Xintong.
You would imagine Trump will be looking at a quick start, get in the lead, and stay there. I doubt you would want to be chasing someone like Xintong. Might get something from being the underdog, but as I said, pressure so far hasn't phased Xintong.