MARK SELBY dropped his head in despair after getting the draw “he didn’t want” at the World Snooker Championship.
The British ace is just one of the big names competing at this year’s epic event at the Crucible.
He will play pal Ben Woollaston in the opening round[/caption]
Selby is currently number four in the world rankings.
And he is hungry for victory after losing the Tour Championship final to John Higgins 10 days ago.
However, Selby’s path to glory at the World Championship will not be straightforward.
The draw for this year’s tournament was made live on the BBC.
Selby was in the studio as his name was pulled out of the hat.
But he dropped his head dramatically while rolling his eyes after discovering he will play Ben Woollaston in the opening round.
The pair, who both hail from Leicester, are close mates and have played each other seven times before.
Selby has won five of those meetings, including their most recent one at the 2023 British Open.
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But his pained expression showed he would have rather avoided Woollaston at the World Championship.
And it was quickly picked up on by BBC host Rob Walker, who declared: “Oh no. One of the matches he didn’t want.”
2025 World Snooker Championship draw
- Kyren Wilson (ENG) (1) v Lei Peifan (CHN)
- Jak Jones (WAL) (16) v Zhao Xintong (CHN)
- Neil Robertson (AUS) (9) v Chris Wakelin (ENG)
- Mark Allen (NIR) (8) v Fan Zhengyi (CHN)
- Ronnie O’Sullivan (ENG) (5) v Ali Carter (ENG)
- Zhang Anda (CHN) (12) v Pang Junxu (CHN)
- Si Jiahui (CHN) (13) v David Gilbert (ENG)
- Mark Selby (ENG) (4) v Ben Woollaston (ENG)
- John Higgins (SCO) (3) v Joe O’Connor (ENG)
- Xiao Guodong (CHN) (14) v Matthew Selt (ENG)
- Barry Hawkins (ENG) (11) v Hossein Vafaei (IRN)
- Mark Williams (WAL) (6) v Wu Yize (CHN)
- Luca Brecel (BEL) (7) v Ryan Day (WAL)
- Ding Junhui (CHN) (10) v Zak Surety (ENG)
- Shaun Murphy (ENG) (15) v Daniel Wells (WAL)
- Judd Trump (ENG) (2) v Zhou Yuelong (CHN)
But it wasn’t the only horror tie served up.
Ronnie O’Sullivan will face nemesis Ally Carter if he decides to play after their X-rated war of words following the 2024 Masters.
The Rocket has yet to make a definite decision on whether to appear at the tournament for the 33rd successive time, having withdrawn from five ranking events this year on medical grounds.
Selby had his say on O’Sullivan and Carter’s draw, declaring: “I don’t think either of them will be happy with that.
“It’s great that Ronnie is in the competition. We have not seen him since January. I wanted him to play. It seems he is playing and that is fantastic for the game.
“Carter is probably one of the toughest qualifiers to draw again. He has played Ronnie in two world finals and the Masters final. Yeah, that’s a horrible draw.”
List of all-time Snooker World Champions
BELOW is a list of snooker World Champions by year.
The record is for the modern era, widely considered as dating from the 1968-69 season, when the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) took control of the sport.
The first World Championships ran from 1927 – with a break from 1941-45 because of World War II and 1958-63 because of a dispute in the sport.
Joe Davis (15), Fred Davis and John Pulman (both 8) were the most successful players during that period.
Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O’Sullivan share the record for the most titles in the modern era, with seven each.
- 1969 – John Spencer
- 1970 – Ray Reardon
- 1971 – John Spencer
- 1972 – Alex Higgins
- 1973 – Ray Reardon (2)
- 1974 – Ray Reardon (3)
- 1975 – Ray Reardon (4)
- 1976 – Ray Reardon (5)
- 1977 – John Spencer (2)
- 1978 – Ray Reardon (6)
- 1979 – Terry Griffiths
- 1980 – Cliff Thorburn
- 1981 – Steve Davis
- 1982 – Alex Higgins (2)
- 1983 – Steve Davis (2)
- 1984 – Steve Davis (3)
- 1985 – Dennis Taylor
- 1986 – Joe Johnson
- 1987 – Steve Davis (4)
- 1988 – Steve Davis (5)
- 1989 – Steve Davis (6)
- 1990 – Stephen Hendry
- 1991 – John Parrott
- 1992 – Stephen Hendry (2)
- 1993 – Stephen Hendry (3)
- 1994 – Stephen Hendry (4)
- 1995 – Stephen Hendry (5)
- 1996 – Stephen Hendry (6)
- 1997 – Ken Doherty
- 1998 – John Higgins
- 1999 – Stephen Hendry (7)
- 2000 – Mark Williams
- 2001 – Ronnie O’Sullivan
- 2002 – Peter Ebdon
- 2003 – Mark Williams (2)
- 2004 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (2)
- 2005 – Shaun Murphy
- 2006 – Graeme Dott
- 2007 – John Higgins (2)
- 2008 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (3)
- 2009 – John Higgins (3)
- 2010 – Neil Robertson
- 2011 – John Higgins (4)
- 2012 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (4)
- 2013 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (5)
- 2014 – Mark Selby
- 2015 – Stuart Bingham
- 2016 – Mark Selby (2)
- 2017 – Mark Selby (3)
- 2018 – Mark Williams (3)
- 2019 – Judd Trump
- 2020 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (6)
- 2021 – Mark Selby (4)
- 2022 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (7)
- 2023 – Luca Brecel
- 2024 – Kyren Wilson
Most World Titles (modern era)
- 7 – Stephen Hendry, Ronnie O’Sullivan
- 6 – Ray Reardon, Steve Davis
- 4 – John Higgins, Mark Selby
- 3 – John Spencer, Mark Williams
- 2 – Alex Higgins