World Snooker Championship star Liam Highfield on colossal Zhao Xintong challenge, Crucible excitement & underdog mentality

Liam Highfield couldn't have envisaged a more challenging draw than the one he has been presented with as he gets set to make his return to Sheffield's iconic Crucible Theatre for the first time in four years.

The Stoke-on-Trent cueist had to come through four arduous rounds of qualifying to seal his spot in the last 32 of the competition, producing some dazzling snooker to claim the scalps of a couple of high-profile names at the English Institute of Sport.

Highfield overcame Oliver Brown, Wang Yuchen, Stephen Maguire and Oliver Lines to secure qualification to the biggest event on the calendar for a fourth time in his career, remarkably dropping just 15 frames in the process.

His reward for that, a showdown with the likely soon to be world number one and current Crucible king, Xintong, who romped to glory 12 months ago courtesy of a dominant 18-12 victory over three-time world champion Mark Williams.

And, as Highfield undertook his preparations for the biggest date of his campaign thus far, he spent time with the bet365 Sports & Betting News team to give a unique insight into his plans and short preparations for the upcoming South Yorkshire showpiece.

First of all Liam, your reaction to the draw... matches in this sport don't come much bigger and more testing that the reigning champion of the world, Zhao Xintong, do they?

"Definitely not, it's as tough as they come, he will be the huge favourite I am sure, but what an opportunity and what a challenge.

"People were asking me prior to the draw who would I like to face and who would I not want to face, but I actually had a strange feeling that I could pull Zhao Xintong out of the hat, I don't know why I just had that feeling deep inside.

"He has almost taken the game to new levels over the past 12 months or so so I am going to have to be right at the top of my game, just as I was in qualifying, to even compete with him."

What an occasion though, the opening match of the 2026 World Snooker Championship against the defending champion, live on mainstream TV!

"Yeah, definitely, it's the place that every player on the tour wants to end their season, at the Crucible, and what a privilege to be there in the first match on table one.

"Obviously, as the tournament builds you want to make sure you are in there longer than just the first day, so I will be doing everything I can to play down all of the side stuff around the match if you know what I mean.

"It's great for my profile of course, there will be millions of people watching around the world, but the fact of the matter is that it's just another snooker match between two players.

"Ultimately I have to play really well and maybe hope that Xintong is slightly off with his scoring, and if that happens I know that I can compete with him."

Of course, the match comes just a couple of days after you secured qualification just a few miles down the road at the EIOS, is such a quick turnaround a positive for you given how well you have been playing?

"I think so yeah, I am feeling really sharp on the back of playing 54 frames of snooker in such a short space of time and obviously winning four successive matches means I am in a really confident place.

"The downside to it potentially is fatigue, so the 48 hours between qualifying and playing that first game at the Crucible will be really important for me - getting the right rest, not overdoing things on the practise table and what not.

"I need to make sure I get my energy levels right back up to go again because essentially it's as if I am playing another qualifying match given how close this match comes to my fourth qualifier against Ollie Lines.

"My game will be sharp, I am confident of that. Winning 40 frames against four very good players is great preparation for me, so to be able to fly straight into the next one against Xintong should be beneficial for me.

"To win four long matches over a best-of-19 format means your game has to be in good shape - you just don't come through that if it isn't, so I am heading to the Crucible with plenty of positivity, that's for sure."

You've just referenced those four matches you have had to come through, but the one result that probably stands out more than any other was that 10-5 victory over two-time semi-finalist and seven time ranking event winner, Stephen Maguire...

"Everything just really felt as though it came together against Stephen, there's still room for improvement, but a lot of the things I had been working on with Anthony Hamilton (my coach) came off that day.

"I won my first two matches before playing Stephen very comprehensively, but I wasn't too happy with my game, but playing against a player like him, who is a great player and an inspiring player, I knew I had to really be at full throttle to stand any chance of beating him.

"I, thankfully, was right at it and was able to take my practise game on to the big stage, which was really pleasing, because that can be very difficult to do when you are playing with so much riding on games.

"It was also a really good win for self-belief, because he is almost part of the furniture at the Crucible really, he has been there so many times in the past and knows what it takes to not only get there, but to go deep too, so to win in the manner I did was really satisfying."

We've spoken previously about the Crucible and the prestige of playing there, but this is your fourth time there now and I am sure the next big step for you is to try and make your mark there?

"Without a doubt. Listen, in terms of the draw, it's as tough as it could have been, I understand that and I know how difficult it is going to be to try and overcome a player of Xintong's calibre.

"But as you rightly say, a decade or so ago, I was just trying to get there, to kind of tick it off and say I had played in the World Snooker Championship at the most famous and history-steeped venue on the planet.

"When I first got there in 2018, it was my big day out, and that's fine, because we all, as snooker players, dream of playing there and walking down those famous steps hearing your name being announced to the crowd.

"It really is a dream to play there, but I have been there another couple of times now too, tried to compete as best as I could against Judd Trump and Anthony McGill but fell just short.

"This time, it feels a full circle moment for me. I fell off the tour as many people know about, bounced straight back and this is almost the perfect way to round off my comeback year on tour again, and an opportunity to really show people this new side of me, a version of me that is here to win.

"Undoubtedly, I will savour the moment again, and take everything in, but I want to win matches there and do the same things that I have done over the past 10 days in qualifying."

It's fair to say that you aren't simply there to make the numbers up then...

"Definitely not, and I don't think I am playing snooker that just makes the numbers up either.

"He is the big favourite as I said earlier and rightly so, he won this event last year and has won plenty of other big titles this year too, blowing some of the best players on the planet away in comprehensive fashion too.

"For me he is potentially the second most talented player to have picked up a cue, but snooker's remarkable strength in depth means that the quality of the top players doesn't have to dip too much before the players in the lower ranked positions can compete with them and pounce on them."

We have seen evidence of that in qualification haven't we - big name players like Jack Lisowski and Stuart Bingham, to name just a couple, succumbing to so called shock defeats...

"Exactly, they, for many people, are shock results, but for those of us who watch the game regularly and play against these players know that they aren't really upsets - the standard is genuinely at an all-time high now.

"Every year you see favourites being beaten in all competitions, especially the World Championship and hopefully it will be my day on Saturday. If not, it certainly won't be for the lack of trying."

You've played against Zhao Xintong before, on two occasions in fact, and have managed to beat him once too - does that mean anything as you prepare to face him on the grandest stage of them all?

I suppose it does and it doesn't.

"Of course, it's always nice to be able to look back at a win over an opponent you are facing for added motivation and belief, but that was a fair few years ago now and we are both different players to what we were back then.

"I played him in a small tournament and got a win over him, but he has moved on unbelievably since then, and in my own way, I have moved on too and become a better player in my own right."

Finally Liam, how beneficial is it proving to be for you to have somebody like Anthony Hamilton in your corner, because the numbers don't lie, a lot of your statistics such as match win percentage, breaks over 50s and century contributions are at an all-time high...

"Honestly, he has been unbelievable - instrumental really, I suppose it is fair to say.

"I've always had a big talent and a lot of ability, but maybe haven't always been able to harness that in the right way by myself.

"I have said before that I probably wasn't living my life how I needed to before to maximise my talents, and as well as that, you sometimes need another set of eyes to actually look in from the outside to help address maybe issues that you didn't even know were there.

"It takes a special person to see things like that and be able to put into words the changes that need to be made, and I do honesty think that he is an unspoken about genius in the game.

"The conversations we have are incredible and his understanding of what I am saying, he has been absolutely incredible for me - the best person imaginable to have by my side!"

And I imagine that having him there at the Crucible for a match of this magnitude will only benefit your chances of defying your underdog status too?

"Without a doubt, it's just all of the little details, he has been there and can resonate with every little thing that I am saying to him or feeling.

"He knows the pressures of the preparation, he knows the trials and tribulations of playing on that stage and obviously he knows what it takes to win there - he has beaten some giants of the sport inside that venue, so I will be calling upon him for all of the help and advice I can get.

"Ultimately though, Ant knows my qualities, he knows what I am capable of and he will be telling me that it's just another game... my skills against Xintong's skills, only with a few more people than normal watching!"