Zhao Xintong will battle it out with three-time champion Mark Williams in the what could be a historic World Snooker Championship final. Below, we’ll outline the best live TV streaming services to use to watch the final as it happens, wherever you are in the world, and how to use a VPN if the match isn’t available where you are. Xintong, who overcame his hero Ronnie O’Sullivan, is in line to become the first Chinese player to win snooker’s most prestigious tournament, and is only the second man from his country to reach the Crucible final after Ding Junhui’s appearance in 2016. Standing in his way is veteran star Williams, who fended off the challenge of world No. 1 Judd Trump to win 17-14 in his final, becoming the oldest player to reach a World Championship final at the age of 50.
World Snooker Championship 2025: When and where? The 2025 World Snooker Championship final takes place between Sunday, April 4, and Monday, May 5, at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. Afternoon sessions begin at 1 p.m. BST in the UK (8 a.m. ET and 5 a.m. PT in the US and Canada, 8 p.m. CST in China, and 10 p.m. AEST in Australia), while the evening sessions begin at 7 p.m. BST ( 2 p.m. ET and 11 a.m. PT in the US and Canada, 2 a.m. CST in China, and 4 a.m. AEST in Australia). How to watch the World Snooker Championship 2025 online from anywhere using a VPN If you’re traveling abroad and want to keep up with all the snooker action, a VPN can help enhance your privacy and security when streaming. It encrypts your traffic and prevents your internet service provider from throttling your speeds, and can also be helpful when connecting to public Wi-Fi networks while traveling, adding an extra layer of protection for your devices and logins. VPNs are legal in many countries, including the US and Canada, and can be used for legitimate purposes such as improving online privacy and security. However, some streaming services may have policies restricting VPN usage to access region-specific content. If you’re considering a VPN for streaming, check the platform’s terms of service to ensure compliance. If you choose to use a VPN, follow the provider’s installation instructions, ensuring you’re connected securely and in compliance with applicable laws and service agreements. Some streaming platforms may block access when a VPN is detected, so verifying if your streaming subscription allows VPN usage is crucial.
ExpressVPN is our current best VPN pick for people who want a reliable and safe VPN, and it works on a variety of devices. It’s normally $13 a month, but if you sign up for an annual subscription for $100 you’ll get three months free and save 49%. That’s the equivalent of $6.67 a month.
Note that ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Watch the World Snooker Championship 2025 for free in the UK
Snooker fans in the UK can watch live coverage of key games from the 2025 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.
With coverage being broadcast on BBC linear channels, that also means you’ll be able to watch the tournament online for free via the network’s on-demand streaming service, BBC iPlayer.
With an app that’s available for Android and Apple mobile devices as well as a vast array of smart TVs and streaming boxes, all you need is a valid UK TV license to stream the game.
For more comprehensive coverage of this year’s tournament, Eurosport and its associated streaming service Discovery Plus have live coverage of every session.
Discovery Plus
Carries comprehensive live coverage of the World Snooker Championship 2025 in the UK
A subscription to Discovery Plus in the UK costs £7 per month or £60 for the year.
The service is available on a wide array of devices, and also includes access to all Eurosport TV channels.
Livestream the 2025 World Snooker Championship in the US, Australia and Canada
This year’s tournament can be watched live in both regions via streaming service WST Play.
WST Play
Showing the 2025 Snooker World Championship in the US
A subscription to WST Play currently costs $2 per day, $6 per month or $50 per year, and is available on a wide variety of platforms, including Android and iOS.
- Livestream the World Snooker Championship 2025 in China If you’re in China, you can watch the 2025 World Snooker Championship on free-to air broadcaster CCTV5, as well as Migu and Huya. Quick tips for streaming the 2025 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 2025 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.
