The draw for the 2026 World Snooker Championship has thrown up some barnstorming opening round clashes with reigning champion Zhao Xintong set to begin his quest to go back-to-back at the Crucible against Liam Highfield.
The supremely talented Chinese star stormed to victory in Sheffield 12 months ago, seeing off the likes of Ronnie O'Sullivan and Mark Williams, in the final, to become the first Asian player to capture the coveted silverware.
He will now attempt to become the first player in modern day history to break the Crucible Curse and make a successful defence of their first crown with Stoke-on-Trent's Highfield - the lowest ranked player in the competition - awaiting in the last 32.
Meanwhile, record-chasing Ronnie O'Sullivan will play debutant He Guoqiang in his opening match as he attempts to become the first player to secure eight Crucible victories.
Like Highfield, Guoqiang, came through an arduous qualification campaign this month to seal his first appearance at the World Snooker Championship and he will head into the high-profile showdown boasting a winning record against the Rocket.
The winner of that clash will face either John Higgins or Ali Carter after they were paired together in a blockbuster opening round encounter, whilst four-time champion Mark Selby is in action against 2024 runner-up Jak Jones in another blockbuster affair.
Other standout ties see Judd Trump taking on Gary Wilson and Neil Robertson facing the dangerous Pang Junxu, whilst debutant Stan Moody faces former titlist Kyren Wilson as he bids to notch his maiden win inside the fabled Yorkshire venue.
The tournament gets underway on Saturday morning, at 10:00 (BST), and the full draw for the opening round can be found below.
World Snooker Championship Draw - First Round
- Si Jiahui v Hossein Vafaei
- Ronnie O’Sullivan v He Guoqiang
- Wu Yize v Le Peifan
- Mark Selby v Jak Jones
- Mark Allen v Zhang Anda
- Ding Junhui v David Gilbert
- Mark Williams v Antoni Kowalski
- Zhao Xintong v Liam Highfield
- Judd Trump v Gary Wilson
- Chris Wakelin v Liam Pullen
- Kyren Wilson v Stan Moody
- Barry Hawkins v Matthew Stevens
- Shaun Murphy v Fan Zhengyi
- Xiao Guodong v Zhou Yuelong
- John Higgins v Ali Carter
- Neil Robertson v Pang Junxu
