UK Snooker Championship live stream 2020: how to watch every shot from anywhere today
The UK Championship is one of snooker's most prestigious tournaments
Snooker's great and good including Ronnie O'Sullivan, Judd Trump, and Ding Junhui, ave gathered around the table for the 2020 UK Snooker Championship - the first Triple Crown event of the 2020/21 season. Read on as we explain how to get a snooker live stream and watch the UK Snooker Championship online today from anywhere on earth - including for free in some countries!
It's one of the so-called "big three" snooker tournaments, and for the first time in 10 years it's not taking place at the Barbican Centre in York. The Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes, a venue that's become extremely familiar to snooker fans over recent weeks, is instead the setting, and China's Ding, currently ranked 10th in the world, enters as the reigning champion.
The UK Snooker Championship runs from Monday, November 23 to Sunday, December 6 at Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes, and the action generally begins at 1pm GMT / 8am ET / 7am PT each day. Full snooker live stream and TV details are below - and you can watch your preferred coverage from anywhere in world with the help of a good VPN.
One man who'll be more determined than most to wrestle the trophy out of Ding's grasp is 2020 Masters winner Stuart Bingham, who needs a UK Snooker Championship victory in order to complete his Triple Crown set. Currently ranked 11th, Bingham's a dark horse and certainly a player to keep an eye on.
Nobody's won the tournament more times than Ronnie O'Sullivan, who's made no secret of his disappointment that this year's UK Snooker Championship isn't taking place in York, one of his favourite cities. You never quite know what to expect from snooker's GOAT, and we wouldn't be surprised if the Rocket packed up and got out of Milton Keynes early or blew his rivals away.
Fellow Triple Crown winners Judd Trump, Neil Robertson and Mark Selby are also among the favourites, and many would argue that a victory for the Juddernaut is well overdue, his one UK Championship title having been secured nearly a decade ago now, all the way back in 2011.
With 128 players in the running, it's a pretty fast-paced tournament, with all the matches bar the final being best of 11 frames. The final is best of 19. It's one of the most prestigious tournaments in snooker, so scroll down to find out how to get a UK Championship snooker live stream for FREE!
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How to watch a FREE UK Snooker Championship live stream in the UK
If you're in the UK right now, Eurosport is covering Round 1 from November 23-27. After that you can catch the UK Snooker Championship on BBC One and BBC Two for live broadcasts - and use the Red Button to watch highlights and action from additional tables.
If you're not in front of a television, the Beeb's iPlayer streaming service and BBC Sport are the ways to tune in. All options are completely FREE to watch in the UK - and signing up for an account couldn't be easier.
The BBC's coverage of the afternoon sessions starts at 1pm GMT each day, and its evening session coverage gets started at 7pm and stretches past 11pm on most nights.
Even if you're abroad right now, you can enjoy the coverage you would at home with the help of great VPN - like our #1 pick, ExpressVPN. Here's how it works.
How to watch a 2020 UK Snooker Championship live stream from abroad
If you're not in the UK this fortnight and find the BBC's coverage unavailable where you are, then there are still many ways to watch a UK Snooker Championship snooker live stream.
Scroll down to see various international viewing options, but if it's geo-blocking that's stopping you from getting your snooker live stream fired up, then we think we can help.
The solution to this and many other common internet grievances comes in the form of a VPN - a handy bit of software that lets you relocate the IP address of your device to practically anywhere in the world. It's the best way we know of to take your favourite streaming services and content away with you on holiday or business.
Here's our top pick and how to get started.
Use a VPN to live stream snooker from anywhere
ExpressVPN is the world's top VPN right now
We've taken the time to try out all the biggest VPN providers and we found ExpressVPN to be the pick of the bunch. It works with lots of devices and offers super fast connections across its many servers.
Throw in its robust set of security features and ExpressVPN is the best all-round VPN for streaming - and perhaps best of all, it has a 30-day money back guarantee plus 3 months FREE when you subscribe for a year.
Access ExpressVPN via your laptop, iPhone, tablet, Android phone, PlayStation, Xbox and plenty more. Express is a do-it-all service that also benefits from 24/7 customer support.
How to watch UK Snooker Championship 2020: get a snooker live stream in China
Snooker is huge in China - and the nation typically pins its hopes on Ding Junhui, the reigning UK Snooker Championship champion.
Viewers in China can watch the 2020 UK Snooker Championship on a dizzying array of channels and services, including Superstar Online, Youku, Zhibo.tv, Migu, Liaoning TV (all from Nov 23), and CCTV China and Now TV Hong Kong (from Nov 28).
The afternoon sessions start at 9pm CST each day, and the evening sessions get underway at 3am.
If there are any internet-related obstacles in your way or if you want to access your preferred feed from outside of China, then don't forget about the powers of a VPN, which can help you watch all the snooker action no matter where you are.
- Related: all of the best VPNs for China
UK Snooker Championship: How to get a snooker live stream in the US
There are no American players in the UK Snooker Championship mix, but on the bright side DAZN US will still be broadcasting the snooker for American fans, from Saturday, November 28 - which is when the second round gets underway.
Priced from just $19.99 a month, DAZN is pretty much on a par with most streaming-only sports platforms and offers plenty to watch other than just snooker - boxing and cricket being two of its bigger draws.
The afternoon sessions begin at 8am ET/5am PT, and the evening sessions get underway at 2pm ET/11am PT.
Don't forget, any Americans away from home can still access their normal subscriptions with a VPN.
How to watch a UK Snooker Championship live stream in Canada
Long gone are the days of Canada's golden generation of snooker players, and just like the US, there are no Canadian players in the mix at Marshall Arena.
We can still help you catch a snooker live stream from the UK Snooker Championship though, as streaming service DAZN also covers the Great White North.
First, simply grab a 1-month FREE trial, which is easily long enough to see the 2020 tournament in its entirety. Then, decide if keeping it on for $20 a month or $150 annually works for you.
For viewers based in Canada, the afternoon sessions get started at 8am ET/5am PT, and the evening sessions begin at 2pm ET/11am PT. As in the US, the coverage starts with Round 2 from Saturday, November 28.
And don't forget, Canada residents who are out of the country right now can always follow the VPN route as outlined above to tune in.
Snooker live stream: how to watch the UK Snooker Championship online in New Zealand
The official broadcaster for the UK Snooker Championship in New Zealand is Sky Sport, which costs $31.99 per month and includes channels dedicated to football, rugby, cricket and golf.
It's a schedule that calls for copious amounts of coffee though, with coverage of the afternoon sessions starting at 2am NZDT, and the evening sessions beginning at 8am. Coverage begins with Round 2 from Sunday, November 29.
For mobile streaming, you can tune in via the Sky Go app, and if you're away from New Zealand right now you can use a VPN to catch your home TV coverage.
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Aatif is a freelance copywriter and journalist based in the UK. He’s written about technology, science and politics for publications including Gizmodo, The Independent, Trusted Reviews and Newsweek, but focuses on streaming at Future, an arrangement that combines two of his greatest passions: sport and penny-pinching.