Crucible seeding positions confirmed as Ronnie O'Sullivan faces tough World Snooker Championship section

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.

What does the World Snooker Championship currently look like for the seeds?

Of course, the make-up of this draw can dramatically change when the qualifiers are known and who they will face, but the seed players now have an idea of what their path to World Championship glory may look like.

Chinese superstar Zhao will be aiming to break the Crucible Curse; as per tradition, he'll play and complete his first round match on the opening day at the Crucible.

Zhao could meet Ding Junhui in the last 16, in what would be a blockbuster tie bringing together China's two most influencial snooker players of all-time.

Another Chinese star, Xiao Guodong, is also in the first quarter, and Shaun Murphy - who lifted the iconic trophy 21 years ago as a qualifier - is also in the section.

The second quarter of the draw appears particularly fiendish with three former world champions, and a last 16 clash between John Higgins and Ronnie O'Sullivan should both 'Class of 92' members navigate their opening assignments.

If progress goes by the seedings, 2010 champion Neil Robertson would meet Chris Wakelin in round two - the person who eliminated him in round one in 2025.

The victor here seven years ago, Trump will begin his latest quest to become a multi-time world champion on table two.

Elsewhere in Trump's quarter are two exciting young Chinese talents in Si Jiahui and Wu Yize - Wu will be making his debut as a Crucible seed after a breakthrough season that witnessed him claim his maiden ranking event title at the International Championship.

Also in this mini section is four-time world champion Mark Selby, who already has three titles to his name this term, including the UK Championship.

Possibly the most tricky quarter to call - before the qualifiers are known, at least - is the third quarter, with not much to split seeds Kyren Wilson, Mark Allen, Barry Hawkins and Mark Williams. All four cueists have won titles this season on the World Snooker Tour.