World Snooker Championship prize money set for incredible rise to new heights The World Snooker Tour have confirmed that the prize pot will increase Comments Sport Abbie Meehan Senior Sports Writer 14:10, 21 Apr 2026 View 2 Images The World Snooker Championship prize money will increase from next year (Image: Sam Bloxham/Getty Images) World Snooker Tour have announced that the prize fund for next year's World Championship will rise to £3million. The UK Championship will also receive a boost, climbing to £1.5m. The first round of the World Snooker Championship is underway at the Crucible. Defending champion Zhao Xintong edged past a challenging first session against Liam Highfield to progress, with Mark Allen and John Higgins also advancing. Kyren Wilson produced a remarkable turnaround from 7-3 down to deny Stan Moody a stunning upset on his debut. The 2024 champion secured a 10-7 victory against the teenage sensation but drew criticism for his overly exuberant celebrations. From next year, players will be vying for a heftier prize fund in Sheffield following the approval of a 25 per cent boost. The total pool has been increased to £3m, up from £2.4m. The winner will pocket £625,000, rising from £500k. View 2 Images The 2026 edition of the tournament is currently underway (Image: Sam Bloxham/Getty Images) The UK Championship will also receive a significant financial uplift when it heads to York later in November. Players will battle for their share of £1.5m, up from £1.2m. The champion will walk away with £312,500, an improvement on last year's figure of £250k that Mark Selby collected. The WST confirmed that comparable financial increases will be introduced for each round of both tournaments. Full details of the prize money breakdown will be revealed in due course. In this morning's World Championship action, Judd Trump went up against Gary Wilson and he leads 5-4 at the interval. while Chris Wakelin is 5-4 ahead of Liam Pullen. Ronnie O'Sullivan makes his eagerly anticipated return to the Crucible in the 2.30pm session, facing He Guoqiang as he pursues an eighth World Championship title. Article continues below Shaun Murphy also steps up to the table today to wrap up his final session against Fan Zhengyi, with the Englishman holding a 5-4 advantage ahead of their 7pm encounter. Wednesday's schedule sees Wakelin and Pullen conclude their match, with Mark Selby then squaring up against Jak Jones. Si Jiahui meets Hossein Vafaei in the afternoon, while Neil Robertson takes on Pang Junxu in the evening session.
Curated by Taleb Kabbara · Source: www.walesonline.co.uk