 | |
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 15 April – 1 May 2023 |
| Venue | Crucible Theatre |
| City | Sheffield |
| Country | England |
| Organisation | World Snooker Tour |
| Format | Ranking event |
| Total prize fund | £2,395,000 |
| Winner's share | £500,000 |
| Highest break |
|
| Final | |
| Champion |  Luca Brecel (BEL) |
| Runner-up |  Mark Selby (ENG) |
| Score | 18–15 |
← 2022 2024 → | |
The 2023 World Snooker Championship (officially the 2023 Cazoo World Snooker Championship) was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 15 April to 1 May 2023 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England, the 47th consecutive year that the World Snooker Championship was staged at the venue. The qualifying rounds took place from 3 to 12 April 2023 at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield. The 15th and final ranking tournament of the 2022–23 snooker season, it was organised by the World Snooker Tour and sponsored for the first time by car retailer Cazoo. It was broadcast in the United Kingdom by the BBC, in Europe by Eurosport, and elsewhere in the world by Matchroom Sport and other broadcasters. The total prize fund was £2,395,000, of which the winner received £500,000.
Ronnie O'Sullivan was the defending champion, having defeated Judd Trump 18–13 in the 2022 final. He made a record 31st Crucible appearance, surpassing the 30 appearances by Steve Davis, and reached a record-extending 21st quarter-final—also becoming the first player to compete in 100 matches at the Crucible—but lost 10–13 to Belgian player Luca Brecel. Crucible debutants at the event were Fan Zhengyi, Jak Jones, Pang Junxu, Si Jiahui, and Wu Yize. Si, aged 20, became the first debutant to reach the semi-finals since Andy Hicks at the 1995 event and the youngest player to do so since O'Sullivan at the 1996 event. Brecel came from 5–14 behind in the semi-finals to defeat Si 17–15, the first time a player had won a match at the Crucible after trailing by nine frames. Brecel went on to defeat Mark Selby 18–15 in the final, winning his first world title, first Triple Crown title, and fourth ranking title. He became the sport's first world champion from mainland Europe.
The event's main stage produced 90 century breaks. For the second time, after the 2008 event, two maximum breaks occurred at the main stage of the tournament: Kyren Wilson made a maximum in his first-round match against Ryan Day, and Selby became the first player to make a maximum in a World Championship final. O'Sullivan made both his 1,200th century in professional competition and his 200th Crucible century at the event. The qualifying rounds produced another 135 centuries, including a 115 break by Ng On-yee, the highest by a woman in the tournament's history.