THE snooker calendar rolls on again this weekend as the world’s top players return to China.
The International Championship starts on November 3 and is the eighth ranking snooker event of the season, with huge prize money up for grabs in Nanjing.
3
Fresh off his dominant win at the Northern Ireland Open, reigning world champion Kyren Wilson is in action on the first day as he has to play a held over qualifier.
World No 1 Judd Trump, who lost that final in Belfast, also returns to face Sanderson Lam in the first round, while defending champion Zhang Anda – who scored a 147 in last year’s final – still needs to qualify.
Inevitably, all eyes will be on whether Ronnie O’Sullivan decides to play – he is scheduled to play what would be a historic match against women’s star Mink Nutcharut.
But the Rocket has not been seen at the tables since the English Open in mid-September, where he suffered a shock defeat to He Guoqiang in Brentwood, citing medical reasons behind recent withdrawals.
When is the International Championship snooker 2024?
- The International Championship 2024 will take place in Nanjing, China and starts on Sunday, November 3.
- The final takes place on Sunday, November 10.
- The entire event takes place at the South New City National Fitness Centre.
- Session times in the early rounds are at 1.30am, 6.30am and 11.30am (all GMT).
What TV channel is the International Championship snooker 2024 on and can it be live streamed?
- The entire tournament will be shown on Eurosport in the UK.
- It is also possible to live stream the action via the Discovery+ website/app.
- Alternatively, SunSport will provide daily LIVE coverage of the tournament.
International Championship snooker 2024 format
- All matches will be best of 11 frames (first to six) until the quarter-finals.
- The semi finals will be best of 17 (first to nine) and played over two sessions
- The final is also played over two sessions and is best of 19 (first to 10).
International Championship snooker 2024 schedule / results
Sunday, November 3 (last 64 unless stated)
- Zhang Anda vs Ishpreet Chadha (qualifier)
- David Grave vs Wildcard (qualifier)
- Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Mink Nutcharut (qualifier)
- Ali Carter vs Wildcard (qualifier)
- Si Jiahui vs Andrew Pagett (qualifier)
- Noppon Saengkham vs Wildcard (qualifier)
- Ding Junhui vs Reanne Evans (qualifier)
- Hossein Vafaei vs Wildcard (qualifier)
- Kyren Wilson vs Mitchell Mann (qualifier)
- Haydon Pinhey vs Lyu Haotian
- Simon Blackwell vs Matthew Stevens
- John Higgins vs Ben Woollaston
- Zark Surety vs Chris Wakelin
- Pang Junxu vs Elliot Slessor
- Ricky Walden vs Xiao Guodong
- Stan Moody vs Xu Si
- Ryan Day vs Daniel Wormesley
- Robbie Williams vs Stuart Carrington
- Dean Young vs Gary Wilson
- Jamie Clarke vs Mark Selby
- Jiang Jun vs Amir Sarkhosh
Monday, November 4 (last 64 unless stated)
- Anthony Hamilton vs Shaun Murphy
- Judd Trump vs Sanderson Lam
- Thepchaiya Un-Nooh vs Stuart Bingham
- Gong Chenzhi vs Jack Lisowski
- Mark Davis vs Mark Williams
- Andrew Higginson vs Wu Yize
- Joe Perry vs Barry Hawkins
- Fan Zhengyi vs Neil Robertson
- David Gilbert vs Jackson Page
- Aaron Hill vs Mark Allen
- Michael Holt vs Yuan Sijun
- Joe O’Connor vs Anthony McGill
Tuesday, November 5 (last 32)
Wednesday, November 6 (last 16)
Thursday, November 7 (quarter-finals)
Friday, November 8 (semi-finals)
Saturday, November 9 (semi-finals)
Sunday, November 10 (final)
3
What is the prize money for the International Championship snooker 2024?
The tournament in China is one of the richer events on the circuit, with a total prize pot of £825,000.
The breakdown is as follows:
- Winner: £175,000
- Runner-up: £75,000
- Semi-final: £33,000
- Quarter-final: £22,000
- Last 16: £14,000
- Last 32: £9,000
- Last 64: £5,000
- Highest break: £5,000
- Total: £825,000
Will Ronnie O’Sullivan play in the International Championship snooker 2024?
The question on every snooker fans lips.
O’Sullivan is slated to play women’s star Mink Nutcharut – the first time he will have played a female player.
3
Mink, 24, is the current women’s world No 1 and has been in very good form in recent months, making four finals in 2024 so far.
She won the recent Australian Open and was the runner-up in the World Women’s Snooker Championship in March, losing 6-5 to Bai Yulu in the final.
Notably, she is the only female player to ever record a 147, during a practice match in March 2019.
At the time of writing it is not known if Ronnie O’Sullivan plans to play in Nanjing.
He has not played on the circuit since a shock defeat on September 12 at the English Open, missing the British Open and Northern Ireland Open.
