Find out who will face who in the opening round at the Crucible, with action starting on Saturday.Ronnie O'Sullivan is chasing a modern-day record eighth world title
9:09, UK, Thursday 18 April 2024
Ronnie O'Sullivan begins his quest for a record eighth title when he takes on Jackson Page in the first round of the World Snooker Championship.
The seven-time champion will face the 22-year-old Welsh qualifier in the opening round of the best-of-19 frame at The Crucible on Wednesday, April 24.
Reigning champion Luca Brecel is tied with David Gilbert, while Judd Trump faces Hossein Bafai.
The 2024 World Championship begins on Saturday, with the final taking place on May 6th.
More to come..
1st round complete draw (seed number in parentheses)
(1) Luca Brecel vs David Gilbert
(16) Robert Milkins vs Pan Junshu
(9) Ali Carter vs Stephen Maguire
(8) Sean Murphy vs Liu Haotian
(5) Mark Selby vs Joe O'Connor
(12) Kyren Wilson vs Dominic Dale
(13) John Higgins vs Jamie Jones
(4) Mark Allen vs Robbie Williams
(3) Judd Trump vs Hossein Bafai
(14) Tom Ford vs Ricky Walden
(11) Zhang Anda vs Jack Jones
(6) Mark Williams vs Shi Jiahui
(7) Ding Junhui vs Jack Lisowski
(10) Gary Wilson vs Stuart Bingham
(15) Barry Hawkins vs Ryan Day
(2) Ronnie O'Sullivan vs Jackson Page
Who will challenge O'Sullivan at the Crucible?
mark williams
Like world number one O'Sullivan, Welshman Mark Williams will turn 49 at the end of March and could become the oldest world champion in history.
Age has not been an obstacle for Williams this season, as she has won two titles, the British Open in October and the Tour Championship earlier this month, and climbed to sixth in the world rankings.
He defeated O'Sullivan 10-5 in the final of the Tour Championship in Manchester, winning seven consecutive frames in the evening session, defeating world No. 2 Judd Trump in the quarter-finals and world No. 3 Mark Mark in the semi-finals. Defeated Allen. -Final game.
Williams will seek a fourth world title at Sheffield in 2018, 24 years after winning the Crucible for the first time and six years after his last victory.
judd trump
President Trump's trophy-laden 2023-34 season will tie him with Steve Davis' 28 career ranking titles, and move him ahead of O'Sullivan (41), Stephen Hendry (36) and John Higgins in the all-time rankings. He then tied for 4th place. (31).
The Bristol native has won five ranking matches this season, winning three in a row at the British Open, Wuhan Open and Northern Ireland Open last fall, and also won the German Masters and World Open in early 2024.
President Trump will now seek his second world title, his first since 2019, but the 34-year-old has only made it past the quarter-finals since winning five years ago, losing to O'Sullivan in the 2022 final. Only once. The opponent achieved a record-tying seventh Crucible victory.
Ding Junhui
Long thought to be China's first world champion, Ding has rediscovered his form and, after a season in which he lost to O'Sullivan at the British Championship and to Trump at the World Championship, and reached the ranking final twice, he won the Crucible. He will be the 7th seed. World open.
Ding, whose cue ball control was praised by O'Sullivan, reached the world final in 2016 before losing to Mark Selby, and a year later lost in the semi-finals to the same player in the first round. rounds for the past three seasons.
Still, his four Triple Crown titles (three British Championships, one Masters) prove he can win big events.
mark selby
Selby indicated after losing in the first round to Gary Wilson at the Tour Championship earlier this month that he would not continue unless his form improved.
Despite this, Selby is the only player to defeat O'Sullivan in a one-table Crucible setup, which takes place in the semi-final and final stages, when he defeated Lockett in the 2014 final.
His cautious, good safety approach contrasts with the all-out attacking style against the likes of O'Sullivan and Trump, and it suits the long format of the World Championship, which is why Selby is a four-time world champion. .
Let's not forget that Selby narrowly lost to Luca Brecel in the 2023 World Championship final 12 months ago, and he's the type of player who can keep himself up during the tournament.
mark allen
Allen has adopted a similar tactical approach to Selby in recent years, with incredible results.
Along with O'Sullivan and Trump, Allen has been in great form over the past 18 months, winning the Champion of Champions, Players Championship and Shootout this season, advancing to his 20th career title.
The Northern Irishman has won the British Championship and the Masters, but his Crucible crown is indicative of him.
Last year was Allen's best effort at the world championships, reaching the semifinals for only the second time, but losing in the final four to Selby 17-15.
Perhaps this will be the year Allen joins the illustrious list of snooker world champions.
