THE 2026 World Snooker Championship has reached the second round stage where matches start to stretch over three sessions rather than two and the gruelling nature of snooker’s ultimate test of skill, nerve and endurance kicks in.

It’s one of the reasons that, for these two weeks, these players become highly familiar, as opposed to tournaments with shorter formats, where they appear for relatively brief one-session matches.

The players who reach the final stages of the World Championship will have logged a considerable number of hours on our screens within the first week, increasing the connection between the tournament and the viewer.

While the long drawn-out matches might suggest that an element of boredom kicks in, the opposite is generally true, and this long-form tournament has helped snooker grow through familiarity.

It’s sometimes said in the world of social media clips and increased popularity of short video formats that longer-form mediums are becoming less popular, but, like your favourite box set or long-running series, the World Snooker Championship, as a TV show itself, allows viewers to settle in and become engrossed in the narratives that develop over these days and weeks in April and May each year — even longer for those who follow the sport in the season that builds up to this event.

Even relatively new faces, such as the contingent of young Chinese players, including current champion Zhao Xintong, and debutants this year, including Englishmen Stan Moody and Liam Pullen, can soon become household names.

The longer form of any sport, whether a five-day test match or a best-of-35 game of snooker, can still have huge appeal if presented properly.

And snooker is presented better than most other sports. The fact that it is on the BBC helps, meaning those storylines throughout the tournament are readily available on any medium, from traditional TV to tablets and phones.

When this is combined with some of the best presenters, pundits, and commentators in any sport, which snooker has on both the BBC and TNT Sports, it makes the game more accessible and more enjoyable for all ages, from those new to the game to seasoned pros.

It is also a positive that the World Championship is retaining representation from a number of countries into the latter stages.

Iranian Hossein Vafaei has been prominent, not least due to the background of what’s going on in his homeland, but also because of his likable demeanour on the tour and attacking style of play.

After his first round win against Si Jiahui, Vafaei said: “It’s very tough to be an Iranian at this time. It’s like you lifting 10 people on your shoulders. It’s very hard.”

Vafaei came through the qualifying rounds at the English Institute of Sport and his win against Si meant he was the only player from qualifying to overcome a seeded player in the first round proper.

Along with Iran, England, China, Scotland, Australia, Wales and Northern Ireland are all represented in the second round, retaining some element of the global feel of the tournament that is especially evident during qualifying.

English snooker showman Shaun Murphy was the first player through to the quarterfinals following an impressive performance against Xiao Guodong across Thursday and Friday, while Aussie Neil Robertson was also turning on the style in the opening week.

There are few better to watch than Robertson at the top of his game, as he adds inventive attacking play and, when required, the occasional cannon and plant more akin to billiards shots.

As pointed out by commentator Dennis Taylor on Robertson’s first-round game against Pang Junxu, he is familiar with billiards and drew comparisons to the great Australian snooker and billiards player, Horace Lindrum.

This weekend’s second round highlights include a meeting between the trailblazer for Chinese players Ding Junhui, and one of the main beneficiaries of that, defending champion Zhao Xintong.

There is also the heavyweight clash between two of the “Class of 92” Ronnie O’Sullivan and John Higgins, while the other member of that group, Mark Williams, is in action against Barry Hawkins.

Robertson faces Chris Wakelin, while potentially the most entertaining spectacle sees Vafaei take on world number one, Judd Trump.

Switch on BBC Two at some point in the next week, and you’re likely to see a developing narrative and a familiar cast, as one of sport’s best slow-burning shows anticipates its unscripted plot twists.