For all the talk of the Crucible Curse – world No.1 Kyren Wilson’s exit means that, since the tournament moved to the iconic Sheffield theatre in 1977, all 20 first-time Snooker World Championship winners have lost the title, eight of those in the first round – let’s give No.39-ranked debutant Lei Peifan his dues.
The 21-year-old Scottish Open winner has fired the starting pistol on the 2025 event, and fans can only hope that it’s a sign of things to come. No.9 seed Neil Robertson is also on the verge, trailing Chris Wakelin by 2-7.
Wilson’s exit renders Judd Trump the de facto favorite, with the No.2 seed drawn against Zhou Yuelong. Despite missing 13 tournaments this season on health grounds, seven-time champion Ronnie O’Sullivan has been seeded No.5, and says he does intend to play arch-nemesis Ali Carter in their scheduled opener.
Read on for everything you need to know to watch a 2025 Snooker World Championship live stream from anywhere. We’ve also listed the Snooker World Championship schedule.
Snooker World Championship schedule – Sunday, April 20
First round (best of 19 frames)
10am – Jak Jones (16) vs Zhao Xintong
10am – Xiao Guodong (14) 7-2 Matthew Selt
2.30pm – Mark Allen (8) vs Fan Zhengyi
2.30pm – Mark Williams (6) 5-4 Wu Yize
7pm – Neil Robertson (9) 2-7 Chris Wakelin
7pm – Barry Hawkins (11) 5-4 Hossein Vafaei
(All times BST)
Can I watch Snooker World Championship 2025 for free?
Yes. The BBC is hosting comprehensive live coverage of the 2025 Snooker World Championship in the UK, with live action shared between the BBC One, Two and Four channels.
That means you’ll be able to watch the snooker online live and on catch up on the BBC iPlayer streaming service – completely free to watch on laptops, mobile and TV streaming devices for anybody with a valid TV licence.
If you’re traveling away from home, you can use a VPN to watch Snooker World Championship free from abroad on your usual streaming service. More details below…
Watch Snooker World Championship live streams from abroad
Snooker World Championship is streaming on lots of platforms around the world, but what if you’re overseas and don’t want to fork out for a new subscription, or you want your favorite commentary team?
This is where a VPN can help. It’s a handy piece of software that can make your device appear to be back home, so you can unlock your usual service or subscription from anywhere. The best VPN right now? We recommend NordVPN – it does everything you want it to do at great speeds and an even better price.
How to watch Snooker World Championship live streams in the US
Snooker fans in the US will need a subscription to WST Play in order to watch Snooker World Championship 2025.
It costs £7 per month or £70 per year, which is roughly US$8.50 and US$85.
If you’re traveling in the States but wanting to watch your home Snooker World Championship coverage, you’ll need to download a VPN.
How to watch Snooker World Championship live streams in the UK
As mentioned above, UK snooker fans can watch the 2025 Snooker World Championship for FREE, across BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Four and BBC iPlayer.
BBC iPlayer is free to use (with a valid TV licence) and works across a wide range of devices including smart TVs, laptops, games consoles, mobile phones, tablets and streaming sticks.
Away from the UK right now? Use NordVPN to watch BBC iPlayer from abroad
The 2025 Snooker World Championship will also be shown on TNT Sports, which can be live streamed via Discovery+.
How to watch Snooker World Championship live streams in Rest of World
Max and Eurosport share the rights to Snooker World Championship 2025 in most countries across the continent. For example, live action will be shown on Eurosport in Germany, Italy and Austria, and on Max everywhere else.
- Australia & New Zealand
With no domestic broadcaster showing the 2025 Snooker World Championship, you’ll need a WST Play subscription to watch.
The 2025 Snooker World Championship will be shown in China on CCTV5, Huya and Migu.
- Rest of World
If there is no domestic broadcaster or streaming service showing this year’s tournament where you live, then you can watch the 2025 Snooker World Championship action on the specialist WST Play platform.
Note that WST Play does not show live snooker coverage in the UK, Ireland, Europe, Morocco, Israel, China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Taiwan, Malaysia, Philippines or Brunei.
When is the 2025 Snooker World Championship?
The 2025 Snooker World Championship runs from Saturday, April 19 to Monday, May 5.
What is the 2025 Snooker World Championship schedule?
Sat, Apr 19 – Thu, Apr 24: First round
Fri, Apr 25 – Mon, Apr 28: Second round
Tue, Apr 29 – Wed, Apr 30: Quarter-finals
Thu, May 1 – Sat, May 3: Semi-finals
Sun, May 4 – Monday, May 5: Final
Who are the 2025 Snooker World Championship players and seeds?
1) Kyren Wilson
2) Judd Trump
3) John Higgins
4) Mark Selby
5) Ronnie O’Sullivan
6) Mark Williams
7) Luca Brecel
8) Mark Allen
9) Neil Robertson
10) Ding Junhui
11) Barry Hawkins
12) Zhang Anda
13) Si Jiahui
14) Xiao Guodong
15) Shaun Murphy
16) Jak Jones
Can I watch Snooker World Championship 2025 on my mobile?
Of course, most broadcasters have streaming services that you can access through mobile apps or via your phone’s browser.
You can also stay up-to-date with all things Snooker World Championship on the official World Snooker Tour social media channels on YouTube (@WorldSnookerTour) and Instagram (@WorldSnookerTour).
Disclaimer
We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.