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´óÏó´«Ã½ Sport launches the 2009 World Championship Snooker tournament on Saturday 18 April on ´óÏó´«Ã½ Two with live and exclusive coverage from The Crucible in Sheffield.

Day one will see Ronnie O'Sullivan begin his defence of the World Championship trophy as he bids to secure the title for a fourth time.

Guiding us through the action for the 17-day tournament will be Ray Stubbs and Rishi Persad, who will be joined in the studio by Steve Davis and John Parrott.

Six-time champion Steve will be combining TV duties with his own campaign for the trophy, coming on the 30th anniversary of his first appearance at The Crucible.

Expert commentary will be provided by Dennis Taylor, John Virgo, Willie Thorne, Neal Foulds, Terry Griffiths, Clive Everton and Ken Doherty, who joins the team for the last five days of the championship.

´óÏó´«Ã½'s red button coverage will give snooker fans access to daily live action as well as Snooker On The Red, a weekday highlights programme shown at 6.00pm.

Hosted by Rob Walker, Snooker On The Red will give viewers the opportunity to catch up with all the action from the morning session.

´óÏó´«Ã½ Sport online will also offer live streaming from the Championship (UK only) at bbc.co.uk/snooker, as well as details of the full ´óÏó´«Ã½ schedule across TV, online and red button.

Notes to Editors

Transmission details correct as of 9 April 2009 and may be subject to schedule change.

ST2