World Snooker Championship 2024: How to Watch Live From Anywhere - CNET

Thirty-two of the sport's best players are set to battle it out on the green baize of the Crucible in Sheffield over the next two weeks for the 2024 World Snooker Championship. 

Ronnie O'Sullivan is once again installed as the bookies' favorite to triumph this year, with "The Rocket" going in search of a record eighth win in snooker's most prestigious event.

O'Sullivan's most likely challenge from the 32-man field is from 2019 winner Judd Trump and last year's beaten finalist Mark Selby, with defending champion Luca Brecel rated as an outside bet. 

Below, we'll outline the best live TV streaming services to use to watch every match of the 2024 World Snooker Championship, no matter where you are in the world. 

Tournament favorite Ronnie O'Sullivan last won the World Snooker Championship in 2022; he first won it in 2001.

Tai Chengzhe/VCG/Getty Images

World Snooker Championship 2024: When and where?

The 2024 World Snooker Championships takes place between Saturday, April 20, and Monday, May 6, at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England.

Morning sessions of play begin at 10 a.m. BST in the UK (5 a.m. ET or 2 a.m. PT in the US and Canada, and 7 p.m. AEST in Australia). Afternoon sessions usually start at 1 p.m. BST (8 a.m. ET, 5 a.m. PT, 10 p.m. AEST), while evening sessions kick-off at 7 p.m. BST (2 p.m. ET, 11 a.m. PT, 4 a.m. AEST)

The full schedule for the tournament, including start times for each match, can be found on the official World Snooker Tour website.

How to watch the World Snooker Championship 2024 online from anywhere using a VPN

If you can't view the tournament locally, you may need a different way to watch this match; this is where a VPN can come in handy. A VPN is also the best way to stop your ISP from throttling your speeds on game day by encrypting your traffic. It's also a great idea if you're traveling and find yourself connected to a Wi-Fi network and want to add an extra layer of privacy for your devices and logins.

With a VPN, you can virtually change your location on your phone, tablet or laptop to get access to the game. Most VPNs, like our Editors' Choice, ExpressVPN, make it really easy to do this.

Using a VPN to watch or stream sports is legal in any country where VPNs are legal, including the US, UK and Australia, as long as you have a legitimate subscription to the service you're streaming. You should be sure your VPN is set up correctly to prevent leaks: Even where VPNs are legal, the streaming service may terminate the account of anyone it deems to be circumventing correctly applied blackout restrictions.

Looking for other options? Be sure to check out some of the other great VPN deals taking place right now.

Watch the World Snooker Championship 2024 for free in the UK

Snooker fans in the UK can watch live coverage of key games from the 2024 World Championship on free-to-air broadcaster the BBC, with coverage spanning BBC One, BBC Four and the BBC Red Button service. This also means viewers in the UK will be able to stream live action from The Crucible for free on BBC iPlayer.  

For more comprehensive coverage of this year's tournament, Eurosport and its associated streaming service Discovery Plus boast live coverage of every session. 

Livestream the 2024 World Snooker Championship in the US, Australia and Canada

This year's tournament can be watched live in both regions via streaming service Matchroom Live.

Livestream the World Snooker Championship 2024 in China

If you're based in China you can watch the 2024 World Snooker Championship on free-to air broadcaster CCTV5, as well as Migu, and Huya.

Quick tips for streaming the 2024 World Snooker Championship using a VPN

With four variables at play -- your ISP, browser, video streaming provider and VPN -- your experience and success when streaming the 2024 World Snooker Championship live may vary. If you don't see your desired location as a default option for ExpressVPN, try using the "search for city or country" option. If you're having trouble getting the game after you've turned on your VPN and set it to the correct viewing area, there are two things you can try for a quick fix. First, log into your streaming service subscription account and make sure the address registered for the account is an address in the correct viewing area. If not, you may need to change the physical address on file with your account. Second, some smart TVs -- like Roku -- don't have VPN apps you can install directly on the device itself. Instead, you'll have to install the VPN on your router or the mobile hotspot you're using (like your phone) so that any device on its Wi-Fi network now appears in the correct viewing location. All of the VPN providers we recommend have helpful instructions on their main site for quickly installing the VPN on your router. In some cases with smart TV services, after you install a cable network's sports app, you'll be asked to verify a numeric code or click a link sent to your email address on file for your smart TV. This is where having a VPN on your router will also help since both devices will appear to be in the correct location.  And remember, browsers can often give away a location despite using a VPN, so be sure you're using a privacy-first browser to log into your services. We normally recommend Brave.