World Snooker Championship draw REVEALED as Ronnie O’Sullivan discovers first opponent ahead of Crucible showdown
RONNIE O’SULLIVAN has found out his fate for his first match at the Crucible.
The World Snooker Championship gets underway this Saturday and will last through to April 6.
And you will be able to follow all the action from it with SunSport’s live blog here.
Defending champion Luca Brecel is looking to break the curse held by the Sheffield venue by defending his maiden title – a feat not achieved in 45 years.
O’Sullivan, beaten by Brecel in the quarter-final last year, is also bidding to make his own history by winning a record eighth World Championship title.
The Rocket, 48, won a record-equalling seventh title in 2022.
However, there will also be competition from former champions Judd Trump and Mark Williams.
Those four are among the 16 players to have already been seeded, with Mark Allen, Mark Selby, Ali Carter, John Higgins and Shaun Murphy also among them.
Bullet Brecel will kick off his title defence at 10am on Saturday, with 2019 champion Trump also playing on the opening day.
Meanwhile, O’Sullivan’s first game is not til Wednesday 24.
BEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKER
Find out what the draw has conjured up below:
Luca Brecel v David Gilbert
Robert Milkins v Pang Junxu
Ali Carter v Stephen Maguire
Shaun Murphy v Lyu Haotian
Mark Selby v Joe O’Connor
Kyren Wilson v Dominic Dale
John Higgins v Jamie Jones
Mark Allen v Robbie Williams
Judd Trump v Hossein Vafaei
Tom Ford v Ricky Walden
Zhang Anda v Jak Jones
Mark Williams v Si Jiahui
Ding Junhui v Jack Lisowki
Gary Wilson v Stuart Bingham
Barry Hawkins v Ryan Day
Ronnie O’Sullivan v Jackson Page
The final will be on May 6.
There is £500,000 up for grabs for the winner.
Furthermore, any player who achieves a maximum break of 147 will earn £40,000.