Stephen Hendry names his favourite for the 2026 World Snooker Championship

Having won the World Snooker Championship seven times, Stephen Hendry knows a thing or two about conquering the Crucible and he likes the chances of another former champion this year.

With a wide range of different winners on the World Snooker Tour this season, picking a winner in Sheffield looks like it is going to be tougher than ever.

Barry Hawkins won the Welsh Open on Sunday night, becoming the 14th different winner of a ranking event this campaign.

Those 14 winners don’t include the likes of Kyren Wilson – who has won the non-ranking Masters and Shanghai Masters this season – Ronnie O’Sullivan and John Higgins.

With big events still to come at the World Open and Tour Championship before Sheffield, things could change, but right now Hendry likes the look of a man who has won three titles this season.

Mark Selby landed the UK Championship in style in December and has also won the Champion of Champions and Championship League Invitational.

His 63 centuries are more than any other player has managed so far this campaign and Hendry feels coupling scoring power with his immense safety game makes him favourite for the Crucible.

‘I love watching Selby. I think Selby’s a genius, always have done,’ Hendry said on WST’s Snooker Club podcast. ‘One of the misinterpretations of the way he plays…I think if he plays another negative player, he gets dragged into that kind of thing, but his safety play, he plays shots I could never think of.

‘He’s just an absolute genius. And what he’s done this season is score. He’s top of the centuries list, he’s scored really heavily.

‘If he can bring everything together the way he won the UK, for me he’s still favourite for Sheffield, even though I think Xintong will go deep.’

Indeed Hendry is also a huge fan of the current world champion, Zhao Xintong, who has been in sparkling form of late.

The Cyclone won the World Grand Prix and Players Championship back-to-back, before a last 16 defeat to Stuart Bingham at the Welsh Open as he ran out of steam a bit.

Hendry sees the opening game as defending champion as a huge challenge for Zhao, but if he can clear that hurdle then he will be difficult to stop in Sheffield.

‘Even though he didn’t win last week, I think he’s operating at a different level to everyone else,’ Hendry said of the 28-year-old.

‘There’s obviously a couple of big ones to come. The World Open in China – there’s always huge expectation on him for that one – and then the Tour Championship, which is long frame matches.

‘I think if he gets though the first round of the Crucible he can have a very deep run there. But if he were to win the World Open and the Tour Championship that might affect him. He’s still young and fit, but it might affect him.’

O’Sullivan will be a real wildcard at the World Championship this year, having not played a great deal this season and struggled for results when he has.

The Rocket is in the draw for the World Open this month, but Hendry is not sure he is bothered about any ever other than the World Championship.

‘I think the way Ronnie lives his life now, I don’t think he puts a lot of importance on much,’ he said. ‘He’s stated publicly that the only thing he’s interested in is trying to win an eighth world title. That’s the only thing he seems to mention that gets his juices flowing.

‘I think he’ll turn up to the World Open and just see what happens. We all know how good he could play at his best. Can he do it over a sustained period of a whole week? That’s the question. But I don’t think he’ll put a lot of importance on it, I don’t think so.

‘It doesn’t mean he’s not going to try! He’s going to try. The Class of 92, they’re such great competitors. Even if he’s going there not that bothered if he wins or loses. When he puts his suit on, he’ll be trying.’

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