The draw for the 2025 World Snooker Championship has been made as the top 16 discover which qualifier they will meet in round one at the Crucible.
The gruelling qualifying stage came to an end on Wednesday night at the English Institute of Sport, which is not far from the Crucible in Sheffield, but feels a million miles away.
The qualifiers will mostly go in as underdogs against elite players, but come in with victories under their belts and some confidence in their game.
They will also be buoyed by the performance of Jak Jones last year, who came through qualifying and made it all the way to the final, beating Judd Trump on his way.
Kyren Wilson beat Jones in that Crucible final 12 months ago and he gets his title defence underway on Saturday morning in the tournament’s opening session.
The Warrior will also be the first player to complete his first round game, with his second session on Saturday evening.
Seven-time champion Ronnie O’Sullivan is expected to play, with his campaign beginning on Tuesday afternoon against Ali Carter, while world number one Judd Trump plays his first session on Tuesday evening.
2025 World Snooker Championship draw
Kyren Wilson vs Lei Peifan
Jak Jones vs Zhao Xintong
Neil Robertson vs Chris Wakelin
Mark Allen vs Fan Zhengyi
Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Ali Carter
Zhang Anda vs Pang Junxu
Si Jiahui vs Dave Gilbert
Mark Selby vs Ben Woollaston
John Higgins vs Joe O’Connor
Xiao Guodong vs Matt Selt
Barry Hawkins vs Hossein Vafaei
Mark Williams vs Wu Yize
Luca Brecel vs Ryan Day
Ding Junhui vs Zak Surety
Shaun Murphy vs Daniel Wells
Judd Trump vs Zhou Yuelong
Four-time champion Mark Selby was in studio with the BBC during the draw and spoke out on the blockbuster O’Sullivan vs Carter tie.
‘I don’t think neither of them will be happy with that draw,’ he said. ‘It’s great that Ronnie is in the competition, we’ve not seen him since January, I wanted him to play and it seems like he is playing, which is fantastic for the game.
‘Carter’s probably one of the toughest qualifiers to get drawn against. He’s played Ronnie in the World final, played in the Masters final, so that’s a horrible draw.’
Judgement Day results
Tuesday April 15
Gary Wilson 9-10 Daniel Wells
Zhou Yuelong 10-5 Yuan Sijun
Ricky Walden 3-10 Zak Surety
Ross Muir 4-10 Ben Woollaston
Elliot Slessor 8-10 Zhao Xintong
Ryan Day 10-5 Sunny Akani
Martin O’Donnell 2-10 Chris Wakelin
David Gilbert 10-9 Aaron Hill
Wednesday April 16
Fan Zhengyi 10-3 Michael Holt
Hossein Vafaei 10-4 Wang Yuchen
Ali Carter 10-5 He Guoqiang
Pang Junxu 10-6 Jamie Jones
Lei Peifan 10-9 Gao Yang
Joe O’Connor 10-7 Jackson Page
Wu Yize 10-9 Matthew Stevens
Matt Selt 10-9 Jimmy Robertson