The 2026 World Snooker Championship is shaping up as one of the most open in years, with defending champion Zhao Xintong battling the Crucible curse, Ronnie O'Sullivan chasing a record-breaking eighth title, and Mark Selby emerging as the pundits' pick from a brutal bottom half of the draw.
Zhao arrived at the Crucible as the clear form horse. Over a single season he has collected the Tour Championship, the World Grand Prix and the Players Championship, a haul no other player on tour can match. The 29-year-old is the first Asian world champion and, briefly, seemed destined to carry snooker into a new era of Chinese dominance.
Then history reared up. No first-time world champion has ever defended the title at the Crucible — a quirk that has tripped Terry Griffiths, Shaun Murphy and, most recently, Luca Brecel. Zhao's shaky 10-7 first-round win over Liam Highfield did little to quiet the doubts, with commentator Alan McManus openly questioning on air whether the champion's "work ethic is right" during the scratchier moments.
O'Sullivan, at 50, remains the headline act. The Rocket shares snooker's all-time record of seven world titles with Stephen Hendry, and another trophy in Sheffield would push him clear on a pedestal unlikely ever to be challenged. A first-round date with He Guoqiang — who upset O'Sullivan at the 2024 English Open — is a compelling subplot before he even reaches the televised table in earnest.
Still, pundits are wary of predicting another Rocket coronation. O'Sullivan's season has run hot and cold, his preparation has been based in Dublin rather than traditional practice bases in England, and his recent public comments have sounded more like a player weighing the end than one hungry for a breakthrough record.
"I think if I was going to pick someone, it would be from the bottom half of the draw," McManus said. "If you are to ask the question, pick one player that you can hang your hat on and who will get to the semi-finals at least, for me it would be Selby."
Mark Selby is an uncomfortable pick for neutrals. The four-time world champion has the sport's most relentless safety game and a history of grinding tournaments into submission. But he has also won his first ranking event in five years this season and spoken openly about his recovery from mental health struggles. At 42, his stamina for Sheffield's gruelling 17-day format remains a weapon others cannot match.
Behind the headliners sit the genuine outsiders. Kyren Wilson enters on the back of Masters and Shanghai Masters wins this season, his best run yet. Neil Robertson, ranked third in the world but with just a single world title to his name since 2010, has long been overdue a deep Crucible run. Judd Trump, the 2019 champion, lurks in the bottom half and remains capable of playing snooker of a higher octane than any rival when the mood strikes.
Seventeen days. Seventeen frames in the final. The Crucible curse has broken lesser champions — and history suggests that, for Zhao Xintong, the real test is only beginning.