The World Snooker Championship is the sport’s greatest event, although it no longer can boast a winner’s cheque that is bigger than every other tournament.
The prize fund at the Crucible remains the largest on the World Snooker Tour calendar, but the top prize has been equalled by another competition.
The Saudi Arabia Masters has emerged on the calendar this season and has matched the World Championship’s top prize of £500,000.
Judd Trump won that event in Riyadh, dramatically beating Mark Williams in a deciding frame to land the handsome prize.
There remains more money on offer in Sheffield overall, though, and of course there is more prestige and glory to be banked by winning the World Championship.
The first edition of the World Championship at the Crucible in 1977 saw John Spencer land a winner’s prize of £6,000.
Kyren Wilson won the £500,000 prize last year, but will not be doing the same this time round after losing in the first round to Lei Peifan.
2025 World Snooker Championship prize money
Winner: £500,000
Runner-up: £200,000
Semi-finalists: £100,000
Quarter-finalists: £50,000
Last 16: £30,000
Last 32: £20,000
Highest break (qualifying stage included): £15,000
Total (including qualifying): £2,395,000
How much does a player get for a 147?
Any player making a 147 at the Crucible this year will win a bonus of £40,000.
There have only been 14 maximums at the Crucible since the World Championship moved to Sheffield in 1977, so it remains a rare feat.
Ronnie O’Sullivan and Stephen Hendry have made three each of those 14, while Mark Selby’s in 2023 remains the only one in a Crucible final.
There is a huge £147,000 bonus on offer for any player who makes two 147s across the three Triple Crown events and the Saudi Arabia Masters.
Jackson Page already won this prize after making two 147s in the same match in World Championship qualifying, however, the massive prize is still on offer to two other players.
The most likely to land it will be Zhang Anda and Shaun Murphy as they made maximums in the UK Championship and Masters respectively this season.
Crucible Maximums
1983 – Cliff Thorburn
1992 – Jimmy White
1995 – Stephen Hendry
1997 – Ronnie O’Sullivan
2003 – Ronnie O’Sullivan
2005 – Mark Williams
2008 – Ronnie O’Sullivan
2008 – Ali Carter
2009 – Stephen Hendry
2012 – Stephen Hendry
2020 – John Higgins
2022 – Neil Robertson
2023 – Kyren Wilson
2023 – Mark Selby
What are the other big prize funds in snooker?
Saudi Arabia Masters
Winner: £500,000
Total: £2,302,000
UK Championship
Winner: £250,000
Total: £1,205,000
Masters
Winner: £350,000
Total: £1,015,000