World Snooker Championship 2016: Schedule, Draw, Live Stream, TV Info, Preview
The highlight of the year for the snooker world has arrived with the 2016 World Championship set to get under way at Sheffield's famed Crucible Theatre on Saturday.
Involving 17 days of top-quality action as the world's best players do battle, the World Championship is the most prestigious event in the sport.
Stuart Bingham returns as defending champion and top seed after his surprise triumph last year, and he faces the toughest of fields including world No. 1 Mark Selby and five-time winner Ronnie O'Sullivan.
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Read on for a full preview ahead of the action, as well as scheduling, draw, television and live streaming information.
| Round | Dates |
| Round 1 (Best of 19 frames) | April 16-21 |
| Round 2 (Best of 25 frames) | April 21-25 |
| Quarter-finals (Best of 25 frames) | April 26-27 |
| Semi-finals (Best of 33 frames) | April 28-30 |
| Final (Best of 35 frames) | May 1-2 |
TV Info: BBC (UK)
Live Stream: BBC iPlayer (UK)
For full tournament schedule and draw, check out the World Snooker website.
Preview
Bingham went in to last year's competition as a 50-1 outsider, but he beat Graeme Dott, O'Sullivan, Judd Trump and Shaun Murphy to claim the trophy, per BBC Sport's Shamoon Hafez.
If the Essex player's triumph proves anything it's that contenders can come from anywhere at the World Championship, but there are also no easy opponents en route to glory.
The Crucible tournament is snooker's biggest test, and only players with great skill and mental fortitude can hope to prevail.
Many will be backing O'Sullivan to claim a sixth title this year after his triumphs already in 2016 at the Masters and the Welsh Open.
Certainly snooker journalist David Hendon has tipped the Rocket as the man to beat:
But there are numerous other legitimate contenders besides O'Sullivan and Bingham.
Trump, beaten finalist in Sheffield in 2011, goes into the World Championship in fine form having won the China Open earlier this month, beating Ricky Walden 10-4 in the final.
Australia's Neil Robertson is a perennial contender—he won it in 2010—and claimed glory at the UK Championship earlier this season.
Selby triumphed at the Crucible in 2014, and he will be desperate to go deep again this year after struggling through the first round last year before being ousted in the second.
His vanquisher on that occasion was Scotland's Anthony McGill, who emerged from relative obscurity at last year's championships to light up the tournament before being edged out by Murphy in the last eight.
It is often a feature of the World Championship that a youngster breaks into the big time—Trump did it in 2011—and the more experienced players must always be wary of those with nothing to lose.
China's former world No. 1 Ding Junhui could also be a contender after making it to the quarter-finals last year.
Ding had to go through three rounds of qualifying this year to reach the Crucible, but he advanced with consummate ease and showed decent form ahead of the tournament, per Pro Snooker Blog:
There are contenders everywhere, with Mark Allen, John Higgins and Barry Hawkins all also likely to go deep—the latter has reached two semis and a final in the last three years.
With 32 of the world's best on show from the off, there are no gimmes at the World Championship and no way to fluke a victory.
O'Sullivan may be the favourite, but the Crucible is known for throwing up surprises as even the most experienced can buckle under the pressure.
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