World Snooker Championship 2026 | Day Five Preview and Order of Play

Ronnie O’Sullivan needs three more frames on Wednesday to book his place in the second round of the 2026 World Snooker Championship.

The Rocket headlines a mouth-watering fifth day of action at the Crucible, where fellow former champions Mark Selby and Neil Robertson get their campaigns under way.

O’Sullivan, making his 34th successive appearance in Sheffield, is in a strong position to reach the last 16 for a 30th time.

The seven-time champion is 7-2 to the good against debutant He Guoqiang, after a purposeful start on Tuesday saw him hit breaks of 72, 97, 113 and 86 along the way.

Chris Wakelin also holds an overnight lead, the first-time seed is 5-4 to the good against practice partner Liam Pullen.

The latter, who came through four qualifying rounds to secure his Crucible bow, trailed 3-1 in the opening session, but battled back to keep his chances of claiming a scalp very much alive.

Elsewhere, four-time World champion Mark Selby faces a tricky opening match against 2024 finalist Jak Jones.

The Jester has won the UK Championship, Champion of Champions and Championship League invitational event this season, but arrives off the back of successive first-round exits at the Welsh Open and Tour Championship.

Selby is also looking to avoid falling at the opening hurdle in Sheffield for a third year running, having suffered opening-round defeats at the hands of Joe O’Connor and Ben Woollaston in 2024 and 2025 respectively.

It will not be easy, though, against a player who has already defeated three former World champions in his three previous Crucible appearances.

Indeed, Jones has claimed the scalps of Neil Robertson, Judd Trump and Stuart Bingham, while he also beat 2023 Crucible king Luca Brecel to qualify for this year’s main draw.

Robertson, World champion in 2010, will be hoping this is the year he reaches the one-table setup for only the third time in 21 appearances in Sheffield.

The Thunder tops the one-year list following a season in which he won the lucrative Saudi Arabia Masters, while also beating first-round opponent Pang Junxu on three separate occasions.

Pang, who beat Mark Williams on his way to reaching the UK Championship quarter-finals, defeated Jackson Page to qualify for a fourth straight year, and now looks to claim only his second win at the Crucible.

Hossein Vafaei, meanwhile, has come through qualifying for a fifth year in succession, with his reward being a first-round showdown with 2023 semi-finalist Si Jiahui.

The Chinese, who enjoyed that memorable run on debut three years ago, has never fallen at the opening hurdle in Sheffield, but does arrive off the back of first-round defeats at the Welsh Open and World Open.

Play breaks off at 10am BST on Wednesday with all first-round matches contested over the best of 19 frames at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.

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World Snooker Championship 2026 Day Five Schedule

*Indicates final session

Round One

10am
Chris Wakelin (5-4) Liam Pullen*
Mark Selby v Jak Jones

2.30pm
Ronnie O’Sullivan (7-2) He Guoqiang*
Si Jiahui v Hossein Vafaei

7pm
Neil Robertson v Pang Junxu
Mark Selby v Jak Jones*