Three sporting events to watch this week: Your handy guide to sport on television

Snooker

The 2024 World Championship begins on Saturday at the home of snooker – the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield. This being the 17th and final ranking event of the 2023/24 snooker season, the winner will receive a cool half a million sterling (€585,000). As ever, Ronnie O’Sullivan will begin as tournament favourite – both with the crowd and the bookies. Judd Trump, Mark Selby, Mark Williams and Luca Brecel – all former champions – stand in O’Sullivan’s path, along with Antrim’s Mark Allen of course. – BBC, Apr 20th-May 6th

Athletics

Almost 580,000 people applied to walk, jog or run in the 2024 edition of the London Marathon, which apparently is the most ballot entries for any such event in history. Just 50,000 will actually line-up at the start-line. They will then make their way past the Tower of London, the Monument, the Embankment, Westminster Bridge and Buckingham Palace, before finishing on The Mall. – BBC, Sunday

Hurling

The race for the Liam MacCarthy Cup begins again at the weekend, with five provincial matches on the first weekend’s dancecard – three in Leinster and two in Munster. One, however, promises to be a blockbuster of an opening clash – with five-in-a-row chasing Limerick coming to Cusack Park, Ennis to take on recent Division One league champions Clare. – RTÉ, Sunday

MONDAY (Apr 15th)

• CYCLING – Eurosport 1, 12.40pm-2.30pm – Stage 1 Tour of the Alps
• ATHLETICS – Eurosport 1, 2.30pm-5.15pm Boston Marathon
• SOCCER – TNT Sports 1 – Serie A – 5.30pm Fiorentina v Genoa; 7.45pm Atalanta v Hellas Verona
• SOCCER – Sky Sports Premier League – 8pm Chelsea v Everton
• SOCCER – LaLigaTV & Premier Sports 1 – La Liga – 8pm Osasuna v Valencia
• GAA – TG4, 8pm-9pm League highlights

TUESDAY (Apr 16th)

• CYCLING – Eurosport 1, 12.35pm-2.30pm – Stage 2 Tour of the Alps
• SOCCER – RTÉ 2 & TNT Sports 1 – Champions League Quarter-final – 8pm Barcelona (3) v PSG (2)
• SOCCER – TNT Sports 2 – Champions League Quarter-final – 8pm Borussia Dortmund (1) v Atlético Madrid (2)
• SOCCER – Sky Sports Football – Championship – 8pm Southampton v Preston NE

WEDNESDAY (Apr 17th)

• CYCLING – Eurosport 1, 11.35am-1.30pm – Stage 3 Tour of the Alps
• RACING – Virgin Media One, 1.10pm-4pm Newmarket
• CYCLING – Eurosport 1, 1.30pm-5.15pm – Men’s & women’s races Fleche Wallonne
• GAA – TG4 YoutTube – Munster Under-20 Football – 7pm Cork v Kerry
• SOCCER – Sky Sports Premier League & Showcase – Women’s Super League – 7pm Chelsea v Aston Villa
• SOCCER – Virgin Media Two & TNT Sports 1 – Champions League Quarter-final – 8pm Man City (3) v Real Madrid (3)
• SOCCER – TNT Sports 2 – Champions League Quarter-final – 8pm Bayern Munich (2) v Arsenal (2)
• SOCCER – Sky Sports Football – Scottish Premiership – 8pm Dundee v Rangers

THURSDAY (Apr 18th)

• CYCLING – Eurosport 1, 12.35pm-2.30pm – Stage 4 Tour of the Alps
• RACING – Virgin Media One, 1.10pm-4pm Newmarket
• GOLF – Sky Sports Mix, 3pm-7pm, 11pm-1am LPGA: Chevron Championship
• GOLF – Sky Sports Golf, 12.15pm-11pm RBC Heritage
• SOCCER – TNT Sports 3 & Virgin Media Two – Europa Conference League Quarter-final – 5.45pm Lille (1) v Aston Villa (2)
• SOCCER – TNT Sports 4 – Europa Conference League Quarter-final – 5.45pm Fiorentina (0) v Viktoria Plzen (0); Europa League Quarter-final – 8pm Roma (1) v AC Milan (0)
• DARTS – Sky Sports Action, 7pm-11pm – Rotterdam Premier League
• SOCCER – TNT Sports 1 & Virgin Media Two – Europa League Quarter-final – 8pm Atalanta (3) v Liverpool (0)
• SOCCER – TNT Sports 2 & Virgin Media More – Europa League Quarter-final – 8pm West Ham Utd (0) v Bayer 04 Leverkusen (2)
• SOCCER – TNT Sports 5 – Europa League Quarter-final – 8pm Marseille (1) v Benfica (2)

FRIDAY (Apr 19th)

• F1 – Sky Sports F1 from 4am – Practice Chinese Grand Prix
• RUGBY Sky Sports Action – Super Rugby – 8.05am Fijian Drua v Hurricanes; 10.35am Reds v Highlanders
• GOLF – Sky Sports Golf, 12.15pm-11pm RBC Heritage
• CYCLING – Eurosport 1, 12.35pm-2.30pm – Final stage Tour of the Alps
• GOLF – Sky Sports Mix, 3pm-7pm, 11pm-1am LPGA: Chevron Championship
• SOCCER – TNT Sports 1 – Serie A – 5.30pm Genoa v Lazio; 7.45pm Cagliari v Juventus
• GAA – TG4 YouTube – Munster Under-20 Hurling – 7pm Waterford v Tipperary
• RUGBY – TG4, BBC 2 & Premier Sports 1 – URC – 7.35pm Ulster v Cardiff
• SOCCER – RTÉ 2 – Airtricity League Premier Division – 7.45pm Derry City v Shamrock Rovers
• SOCCER – Sky Sports Football – League 1 – 8pm Oxford Utd v Stevenage
• SOCCER – Premier Sports 2 – La Liga – 8pm Athletic Bilbao v Granada
• SOCCER – TNT Sports 2 – Ligue 1 – 8pm Nice v Lorient
• RUGBY LEAGUE – Sky Sports Action – Super League – 8pm Leeds Rhinos v Huddersfield Giants
• RUGBY LEAGUE – Sky Sports Mix – Super League – 8pm St Helens v Hull FC
• RUGBY LEAGUE – Sky Sports Arena – Super League – 8pm Wigan Warriors v Castleford Tigers

SATURDAY (Apr 20th)

• F1 – Sky Sports F1 from 3.30am – Sprint & Qualifying Chinese Grand Prix
• RUGBY – Sky Sports Action – Super League – 8.05am Blues v Brumbies; 10.35am Western Force v Crusaders
• SNOOKER – BBC 2, 10am-noon, BBC 1, 1.45pm-4.30pm, BBC Four, 7pm-9pm; Eurosport 1, 10am-1pm, 2.25pm-10pm World Championship
• ATHLETICS – Virgin Media Two, noon-2pm – China Diamond League
• GOLF – Sky Sports Golf, noon-3pm Joburg Ladies’ Open
• SOCCER – Premier Sports 2 – Scottish Cup Semi-final – 12.30pm Aberdeen v Celtic
• SOCCER – Sky Sports Football – Championship – 12.30pm Leicester City v West Brom
• SOCCER – TNT Sports 2 & DAZN – Women’s Champions League Semi-final – 12.30pm Barcelona v Chelsea
• RACING – UTV, 1pm-4pm Ayr & Newbury
• SOCCER – LaLigaTV – La Liga – 1pm Celta Vigo v Las Palmas, 3.15pm Rayo Vallecano v Osasuna, 5.30pm Valencia v Real Betis
• RUGBY – RTÉ 2 – URC – 2pm Lions v Leinster
• RUGBY – BBC 2 & Virgin Media One – Women’s Six Nations – 2.15pm England v Ireland
• SOCCER – Premier Sports 1 – Premier League – 3pm Luton Town v Brentford
• RUGBY LEAGUE – Sky Sports Arena – Super League – 3pm London Broncos v Salford Red Devils
• RUGBY LEAGUE – Sky Sports Action – Super League – 3pm Warrington Wolves v Leigh Leopards, 5.30pm Catalans Dragons v Hull KR
• GOLF – Sky Sports Golf, 3pm-11pm RBC Heritage
• RUGBY – TNT Sports 1 – English Premiership – 3.05pm Northampton v Leicester, 5.30pm Exeter v Bath
• RUGBY – RTÉ 2 & Premier Sports 2 – URC – 4.05pm Bulls v Munster
• RUGBY – BBC 1 Scotland – Women’s Six Nations – 4.45pm Italy v Scotland
• SOCCER – TNT Sports 2 – Serie A – 5pm Empoli v Napoli, 7.45pm Hellas Verona v Udinese
• SOCCER – BBC 1 & Premier Sports 1 – FA Cup Semi-final – 5.15pm Man City v Chelsea
• SOCCER – Sky Sports Football – Championship – 5.15pm QPR v Preston NE
• SOCCER – Sky Sports Arena – Bundesliga – 5.30pm Union Berlin v Bayern Munich
• SOCCER – TNT Sports 3 & DAZN – Women’s Champions League Semi-final – 6pm Lyon v PSG
• GAA – RTÉ 2 & BBC 2 – Ulster SFC – 6.15pm Derry v Donegal
• RUGBY – S4C – URC – 6.15pm Stormers v Ospreys
• GOLF – Sky Sports Mix, 7pm-11pm LPGA: Chevron Championship
• SOCCER – Sky Sports Premier League – 7.30pm Wolves v Arsenal
• RUGBY – TG4 & Premier Sports 2 – URC – 7.35pm Connacht v Zebre
• SOCCER – LaLigaTV & Premier Sports 1 – La Liga – 8pm Girona v Cádiz
• SOCCER – TNT Sports 3 – Ligue 1 – 8pm Lens v Clermont
• SOCCER – BBC 1, 10.20pm-11.10pm Match of the Day

SUNDAY (Apr 21st)

• F1 – Sky Sports F1 from 7am Chinese Grand Prix
• ATHLETICS – BBC 1 from 8.30am London Marathon
• CYCLING – Eurosport 1, 9.30am-11.30am – Stage 1 Tour of Turkey
• SNOOKER – BBC 2, 10am-12.25pm, BBC Four, 7pm-9pm; Eurosport 1, 6.45pm-10pm World Championship
• CYCLING – Eurosport 1, 11.30am-5.15pm – Men’s & women’s races Liège–Bastogne – Liège
• SOCCER – TNT Sports 1 – Serie A – 11.30am Sassuolo v Lecce
• TENNIS – Sky Sports Tennis, noon-2pm – WTA Final from Stuttgart
• GOLF – Sky Sports Golf, noon-3pm Joburg Ladies’ Open
• SOCCER – Sky Sports Football – Championship – 12.30pm Blackburn v Sheffield Wednesday
• SOCCER – LaLigaTV – La Liga – 1pm Getafe v Real Sociedad, 3.15pm Almería v Villarreal
• SOCCER – Sky Sports Premier League – 1.30pm Everton v Nottingham Forest, 4.30pm Fulham v Liverpool
• GAA – RTÉ 2 – Munster SHC – 2pm Clare v Limerick; Connacht SFC – 4pm Roscommon v Mayo
• SOCCER – TNT Sports 2 – Serie A – 2pm Torino v Frosinone, 5pm Salernitana v Fiorentina, 7.45pm Monza v Atalanta
• SOCCER – TNT Sports 3 – Ligue 1 – 2pm Lille v Strasbourg, 4.05pm Brest v Monaco
• RACING – TG4, 2.30pm-5.40pm Tramore
• SOCCER – Sky Sports Mix – Bundesliga – 2.30pm Werder Bremen v Stuttgart
• SOCCER – Premier Sports 2 – Scottish Cup Semi-final – 3pm Rangers v Hearts
• GOLF – Sky Sports Golf, 3pm-11pm RBC Heritage
• RUGBY – TNT Sports 1 – English Premiership – 3pm Sale v Harlequins
• TENNIS – Sky Sports Tennis, 3pm-5pm – ATP Final from Barcelona
• RUGBY – Virgin Media Two & BBC 2 Wales – Women’s Six Nations – 3.15pm Wales v France
• SOCCER – UTV & Premier Sports 1 – FA Cup Semi-final – 3.30pm Coventry City v Man Utd
• RACING – ITV4, 3.30pm-7.05pm Musselburgh
• GAA – BBC 2 – Ulster SFC – 4pm Cavan v Tyrone
• SOCCER – Sky Sports Football – Bundesliga – 4.30pm Borussia Dortmund v Bayer Leverkusen, 6.30pm SC Freiburg v Mainz
• SOCCER – LaLigaTV & Premier Sports 2 – La Liga – 5.30pm Alavés v Atlético Madrid
• SOCCER – TNT Sports 1 – Ligue 1 – 6pm Toulouse v Marseille, 8pm PSG v Lyon
• GOLF – Sky Sports Mix, 7pm-11pm LPGA: Chevron Championship
• SOCCER – LaLigaTV & Premier Sports 1 – La Liga – 8pm Real Madrid v Barcelona
• GAA – RTÉ 2, 9.30pm-11.30pm League Sunday
• SOCCER – BBC 1, 10.30pm-11.35pm Match of the Day 2