Crucible debutants at the event were Fan Zhengyi, Jak Jones, Pang Junxu, Si Jiahui, and Wu Yize.

[8] Ronnie O'Sullivan was the defending champion, having defeated Judd Trump 18–13 in the 2022 final to win his seventh world title, equalling Stephen Hendry's modern-era record.

[16] Qualification rounds were broadcast by Discovery+ in Europe; Liaoning TV, Superstar online, Migu [zh], Youku and Huya Live in China; and by Matchroom Sport in all other territories.

[18] The first-round draw took place on BBC Radio 5 Live on 13 April, during which the 16 successful qualifiers were drawn at random against the top 16 players in the snooker world rankings.

Other international broadcasts were provided by Superstar online, Migu, Huya Live, Youku, and CCTV in China; by NowTV in Hong Kong; by FastsportsHD in Pakistan; by Astro SuperSport in Malaysia and Brunei; by TrueVisions in Thailand; by Premier Sports in the Philippines; by StarHub in Singapore; by Sportcast in Taiwan and Indonesia; and by DAZN in the United States and Brazil.

[31] The seven-time champion Hendry lost 4–10 to James Cahill, his ex-wife's nephew, but stated that he still had "a very distant dream" of one day reaching the Crucible again.

However, he lost 4–10 to O'Donnell, a defeat he blamed on tweaking his technique late in the season, calling it a "huge mistake" and a "schoolboy error".

[50] Doherty made a 137 break as he defeated Hammad Miah 10–6 but broached the possibility of retirement at the end of the 2023–24 season if his overall form did not improve.

[51] Stuart Carrington, Gerard Greene, Louis Heathcote, Duane Jones, Mitchell Mann, Miah, Jamie O'Neill, Fraser Patrick, Craig Steadman, and Alexander Ursenbacher all lost their tour cards after their second-round defeats.

[43] The fourth and final qualifying round, billed as "Judgement Day", featured the 32 third-round winners facing each other, with the 16 victors advancing to the main draw at the Crucible.

[63] Welsh player Jak Jones secured his Crucible debut with a 10–8 victory over Hawkins, who failed to reach the main stage for the first time since 2005.

[67] David Grace, who had earlier avoided relegation from the tour by winning his second-round qualifying match,[67] beat Andrew Higginson 10–5 to secure his second Crucible appearance.

Davis's qualifying loss left him outside the top 64 in the world rankings at the end of the season, implying that he would lose his tour card after 32 years as a professional.

Stating afterwards that he had felt "shaky, heavy and desperate" during the match due to illness,[70] O'Sullivan praised his opponent, calling Pang a "phenomenal player, a joy to watch.

[87] The cloth on table one was replaced in time for the first session between Jack Lisowski and Saengkham the following morning, which also saw tighter security measures at the venue.

[90][26] Former semi-finalist Gary Wilson, who had won his first ranking title earlier that season at the 2022 Scottish Open, made a highest break of 131 as he took a 7–2 lead over Slessor.

[93] After losing in the first round for the first time since 2017, Trump expressed frustration with his performance, saying he had "felt very rusty" and "missed too many easy balls", commenting: "You can't expect to play like that and win the World Championship.

Perry forced a decider, but Milkins secured a 10–9 victory with a 63 break, completing the biggest first-round comeback since Fu had recovered from 1–7 down to defeat Brecel in 2017.

[97] The 2020 runner-up Kyren Wilson made a maximum break in the fifth frame of his match with Day, the fourth of his career and the 13th in Crucible history.

Although Williams tied the scores at 11–11, Brecel won the last two frames with breaks of 84 and 67 to clinch a 13–11 victory, having made four centuries and eight more half-centuries in the match.

[112] During play, Allen wore a colourful bracelet with the word "dad", given to him by his five-year-old daughter Harleigh, which he said helped keep his mind at rest.

[121] In defeating Vafaei 13–2 with a session to spare,[116] O'Sullivan equalled his largest winning margin in a best-of-25-frame match, having beaten Milkins by the same scoreline at the 2002 event.

[8] Five seeds, Allen, Brecel, Higgins, O'Sullivan, and Selby, and three qualifiers, Jones, McGill, and Si, reached the quarter-final stage.

Even though Jones secured the foul points he needed, Allen won a safety battle on the brown and clinched a 13–10 victory, after which he promised to "give it everything" for the rest of the tournament.

Higgins potted the black after a lengthy safety battle and went on to lead 4–1, but Selby won three consecutive frames to finish the session level at 4–4.

Although McGill tied the scores at 12–12 with a 130 total clearance, he missed a pot while playing left-handed in the deciding frame, and Si made a 41 break.

The previous record for a comeback win at the Crucible had been set in the 1985 final, when Dennis Taylor recovered from eight frames behind to defeat Steve Davis.

Si, who advanced from 80th to 36th in the world rankings after his performance in the tournament, said of the final session that "I really wanted to win and I felt really nervous and couldn't really get going.

[173] Kyren Wilson and Selby were the ninth and tenth players respectively to make maximum breaks at the Crucible, following Thorburn, Jimmy White, Hendry, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Williams, Carter, John Higgins, and Neil Robertson.

[175] Ending the season at a career high of second in the world rankings,[175] Brecel predicted that snooker would "explode" in mainland Europe after his success.