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.
GettyKyren Wilson was brilliant in winning the Northern Ireland Open last weekend[/caption]
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)
TBC
Wednesday, November 6 (last 16)
TBC
Thursday, November 7 (quarter-finals)
TBC
Friday, November 8 (semi-finals)
TBC
Saturday, November 9 (semi-finals)
TBC
Sunday, November 10 (final)
TBC
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.
PARonnie O’Sullivan has not played since September 12[/caption]
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.