Who are the Crucible top 16 seeds at the 2026 World Snooker Championship? Part one, numbers 16 to 9

The televised stages for the 2026 World Snooker Championship take place at the Crucible between Saturday 18th April to Monday 4th May.

A total of 32 players make up the main draw - the world’s top 16 ranked players who are seeds, and the 16 players who emerge from the qualifying rounds held at the English Institute of Sport elsewhere in Sheffield only a few days before. These two pools of players are then randomly drawn against each other for round one.

Seed 16: Ding Junhui

China’s original snooker trailblazer is arguably the greatest player of all-time not to have won the world title.

A three-time UK, and one-time Masters champion, Ding has reached a Crucible final before, making the title match in 2016 as a qualifier when he was denied the sport’s ultimate prize by Mark Selby.

Ding made his Crucible debut in 2007 and has returned every year since - this will be his 20th outing.

It has been a disappointing season for the 39-year-old having not been past the quarter-finals of any event, and he hasn’t played a competitive match since the first half of February.

Seed 15: Si Jiahui

Si burst onto the limelight here three years ago, when as a qualifier on debut, he went all the way to the one-table set-up.

But he was memorably defeated by eventual champion Luca Brecel in the semi-finals, who recovered from 14-5 down for a 17-15 win - statistically the largest-ever Crucible comeback.

‘The Pearl’ has made it back each year since, and has always at least navigated the opening round.

A two-time ranking event finalist who is seeking his maiden professional trophy, Si has had a consistent, but uneventful season.

Seed 14: Mark Allen

Less than two years Allen was the world number one, but he has slipped down the rankings a little bit since.

However, he steadied the ship earlier this season with a title triumph at the English Open - the 12th ranking crown of his career.

Similar to Ding, he made his Crucible debut in 2007 and has been a permanent fixture since, although he struggles to find his consistent best here with two semi-final (2009, 2023) finishes being his best returns.

Needing the world title to complete a Career Triple Crown - again, like Ding - the former Masters and UK champion joined an exclusive Crucible club last year when he compiled a magical maximum 147 break. In fact, he’s the only player who has made a 147 in all three of snooker’s biggest events.

Seed 13: Chris Wakelin

Wakelin is one of two players who will be Crucible seeds for the first time this year; a reward and recognition for his results on the top tier over the past couple of seasons.

A winner of the Snooker Shoot Out in the past, the 34-year-old claimed the biggest title of his career, to date, earlier this season at the Scottish Open.

This is set to be his fifth time in the world championship main draw; he made his debut in 2018. Last year, he won his first matches at the Crucible, defeating Neil Robertson and Allen en route to the quarter-finals.

Seed 12: Ronnie O’Sullivan

Widely acknowledged as snooker’s greatest player of all-time, this will be O’Sullivan’s record-extending 34th Crucible campaign. All those appearances have come consecutively, too, with his debut coming in 1993 during his rookie season as a professional.

‘The Rocket’, who is now 50-years-old, is aiming for an eighth world title, which would be a new modern-day record. The latest of his seven Crucible crowns came in 2022.

It has been a frustrating few years on the top flight for the record 23-time major event winner as he hasn’t lifted a trophy since March 2024, but there are reasons to be hopeful for his fans following a recent run to the final of the World Open.

The Englishman continues to conjure up his signature moments; earlier this season he made two 147s within the same session at the Saudi Arabia Masters, and fashioned a world record break of 153 in Yushan.

Seed 11: Barry Hawkins

‘The Hawk’ travels to Sheffield this year in fine form having won the recent Welsh Open, the fifth ranking title of his career.

A Crucible debutant in 2006, he nearly has a perfect attendance record on the hallowed stage since, with the only time he didn’t make the draw coming in 2023.

Hawkins has a chequered history in snooker’s blue riband event. He never got past the last 16 until 2013 when he went all the way to the final. He then reached the semi-finals in four of the next five years, but from 2019 he hasn’t made a quarter-final.

Seed 10: Wu Yize

The other person in this year’s main draw who will be making his bow as a seed, Wu is also the youngest player within the world’s top 16, and one of the sport’s hottest properties.

The 22-year-old made his big career breakthrough a few months ago when he defeated John Higgins in the final to win the International Championship. On his Masters debut in January, he was within a few pots of making the final, too.

The Chinese ace has only played at the Crucible twice before and is seeking his first match victory here. However, players in the past have come here with no winning experience on the grand stage yet went on to lift the trophy.

Seed 9: Xiao Guodong

One of five Chinese top 16 players at present, Xiao has taken his career to new levels within the past couple of seasons.

Having first turned pro in 2007, he claimed his maiden ranking title at the 2024 Wuhan Open. This season, he joined an elite band of players who successfully defended their first ranking crown by going back-to-back in Wuhan.

He has maintained consistency pretty much throughout this new phase of his career, also reaching the Champion of Champions final, and several other event semi-finals.

This is due to be his fifth Crucible appearance. He made his debut in 2014; last year was his first time at the venue since 2018.

Part two featuring seeds 8 to 1 will be online shortly