The 2025 Halo World Snooker Championship - the 49th consecutive year the event has been held at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre - is now down to the last four players standing. First held in 1927, it is the longest-running and most prestigious tournament in professional snooker, with a prize fund of £2,395,000, of which the winner will receive £500,000. Last year saw Kyren Wilson defeat Jak Jones 18‍–‍14 in the final. Wilson returned to defend his title but fell at the first hurdle, being knocked out in the first round by Lei Peifan. The first Monday saw Scotland’s John Higgins get off to a winning start, grinding out a 10-7 first round win over Joe O’Connor. Then Wednesday saw Ronnie O’Sullivan blow Ali Carter off the table, winning four frames without reply in their afternoon session to triumph 10-4. On Thursday Mark Selby became the latest seed to fall, following a nail-biting 10-8 marathon against Ben Woollaston that finished after midnight and completed the first round in suitable style. Friday saw Mark Allen make a memorable 147 - despite losing to Chris Wakelin. Saturday saw John Higgins dramatically win again against Xiao Guodong in a nail-biting final frame decider to progress to the last eight. He’ll play old rival Mark Williams in the next round. Sunday saw Ronnie O'Sullivan and 2023 champion Luca Brecel deliver one of the shortest evening sessions in Crucible history - by taking just one frame each to dispatch Chinese players Pang Junxu and Ding Junhui 13-4. The quarter finals saw O’Sullivan, Xintong and Trump win comfortably, while Higgins went out after missing a heartbreaking blue in the deciding frame against Williams. And yesterday O’Sullivan and Xintong shared the spoils in the first session of their semi final, with Trump taking a narrow lead over Williams. Here’s everything you need to know about today’s play. Here’s what action is taking place today, in the first day of the semi finals on Friday, May 2. 10am Ronnie O'Sullivan (5) 4-4 Zhao Xintong 2.30pm Judd Trump (2) 5-3 Mark Williams (6) 7pm Ronnie O'Sullivan (5) v Zhao Xintong If the bookies have it right, then it will be a Judd Trump v Ronnie O’Sullivan final - but there’s a lot of snooker to play. Ronnie O'Sullivan’s will resume his semi-final against Zhao Xintong at 10am today. Here are the results in full: First Round Kyren Wilson (1) 9-10 Lei Peifan Xiao Guodong (14) 10-4 Matthew Selt Mark Williams (6) 10-8 Wu Yize Barry Hawkins (11) 9-10 Hossein Vafaei Neil Robertson (9) 8-10 Chris Wakelin Jak Jones (16) 4-10 Zhao Xintong Mark Allen (8) 10-6 Fan Zhengyi John Higgins (3) 10-7 Joe O'Connor Ding Junhui (10) 10-7 Zak Surety Si Jiahui (13) 10-6 David Gilbert Shaun Murphy (15) 10-4 Daniel Well Zhang Anda 7-10 Pang Junxu Ronnie O'Sullivan (5) 10-4 Ali Carter Judd Trump (2) 10-4 Zhou Yuelong Luca Brecel (7) 10-7 Ryan Day Mark Selby (4) 8-10 Ben Woollaston Second round Mark Allen (8) 6-13 Chris Wakelin Mark Williams (6) 13-10 Hossein Vafaei John Higgins (3) 13-12 Xiao Guodong Lei Peifan (39) 10-13 Zhao Xintong Shaun Murphy (15) 10-13 Judd Trump (2) Si Jiahui (13) 13-10 Ben Woollaston Ronnie O'Sullivan (5) 13-4 Pang Junxu Luca Brecel (7) 13-4 Ding Junhui (10) Quarter finals John Higgins (3) 12-13 Mark Williams (6) Chris Wakelin (20) 5-13 Zhao Xintong Luca Brecel (7) 8-13 Judd Trump (2) Ronnie O'Sullivan (5) 13-9 Si Jiahui (13) The BBC will once again be broadcasting live coverage across BBC1, BBC2, the Red Button and the iPlayer. There will also be highlights programmes every evening to catch up on the day’s action. All first-round matches are the best of 19 frames (first to 10 frames) played over two session. Second-round matches and the quarter-finals are the best of 25 frames (first to 13 frames), played over three sessions. The semi-finals are the best of 33 frames (first to 17 frames) played over four sessions. The final is the best of 35 frames (first to 18 frames) played over four sessions. Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O’Sullivan jointly hold the record for the most world titles in the modern era, having won the tournament seven times each. Hendry is also the youngest ever winner, having been only 21 when he claimed his first title in 1990. Ray Reardon and Steve Davis have each won six titles, while John Higgins and Mark Selby have won four, with John Spencer and Mark Williams having claimed three. So, if Ronnie O’Sullivan wins another tournament he’ll pull ahead of Stephen Hendry for the record of most titles. Prior to this year there had only ever been 15 maximum breaks in the history of the competition, with Ronnie O'Sullivan and Stephen Hendry recording three each. The other players to have achieved the ultimate snooker feat are John Higgins, Ali Carter, Mark Williams, Jimmy White, Cliff Thorburn and Neil Robertson, Kyren Wilson and Mark Selby. Mark Allen then joined that select group this year. A total of £2.395 million in money is up for grabs at the World Snooker Championship, with the winner handed a cheque for a hefty £500,000. The runner-up gets a consolation cheque for £200,000, the semi-finalists £100,000, quarter-finalists £30,000, second round players £30,000, and even those who fail to win a match are handed £20,000. In addition, there’s a bonus £40,000 up for grabs for a maximum 147 break, and a further £15,000 for the highest break in the tournament. The iconic World Championship trophy dates back to 1926 when it was bought by pioneering player Joe David for just £19. It’s made of silver, weighs 46.5 troy ounces, and is topped by the figure of a Greek shepherdess - not a snooker player, as some people presume. Judd Trump is now favourite to take the title at 4/6, followed by Ronnie O’Sullivan (3/1), Zhao Xintong (5/1), and Mark Williams (14/1). Only time will tell who is our 2025 champion.