John Higgins was the defending champion, but lost in the second round 11–13 to Steve Davis.

Neil Robertson won the event after a 18–13 win over Graeme Dott in the final.

[1] Invented in the late 19th century by British Army soldiers stationed in India,[2] the sport was popular in Great Britain.

[3] In modern times it has been played worldwide, especially in East and Southeast Asian nations such as China, Hong Kong and Thailand.

[6] The 32 players were selected for the event using the snooker world rankings and a pre-tournament qualification competition.

[10][11] Scotsman John Higgins was the defending champion, having defeated Shaun Murphy 18–9 in the previous year's final.

[22] All 16 non-seeded spots in the main draw were filled with players from the qualifying rounds.

[6] The draw for the televised stage of the World Championship was made on Thursday, 11 March 2010 at 11 a.m. GMT.