The draw for the 2026 World Snooker Championship took place this morning, and Ronnie O'Sullivan now knows who stands between him and a historic eighth world title.
The seven-time champion will take on He Guoqiang, a Crucible debutant who secured his spot just yesterday with a convincing 10-5 victory over Jack Lisowski in qualifying.
It's a fascinating opener for O'Sullivan, who reached the World Open final in Yushan last month and clearly fancies another crack at glory.
Should he get past Guoqiang, he'll face either John Higgins or Ali Carter in round two.
Zhao Xintong won the World Snooker Championship last year | PADefending champion Zhao Xintong arrives in Sheffield in absolutely brilliant form.
The Chinese star demolished John Higgins 10-1 and then Judd Trump 10-3 to claim the Tour Championship in Manchester last week, adding to his World Grand Prix and Players Championship triumphs this season.
He's looking to become the first player to break the infamous 'Crucible curse' – that strange phenomenon where first-time winners have never successfully defended their crown.
His opening opponent is Liam Highfield, who only got back to competitive play last year following a broken wrist sustained in 2023.
Their match kicks off at 10am on Saturday.
World number one Judd Trump will face Gary Wilson in one of several all-English encounters in the opening round.
Ronnie O'Sullivan is looking for an eighth World Championship title
| PAThere's a lovely story with teenager Stan Moody, who becomes the first British teenager to qualify since Trump himself back in 2007 – though Trump was just 17 at the time, two years younger than Moody is now.
The 19-year-old has drawn former champion Kyren Wilson, which is quite the baptism of fire.
History will also be made when Antoni Kowalski becomes the first Polish player ever to compete at the Crucible, though he faces a tough test against three-time champion Mark Williams.
The tournament gets underway this Saturday at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, with Zhao's match against Highfield among the first to begin alongside Mark Allen's clash with Zhang Anda.
It's going to be a proper marathon of snooker, running all the way through to the first May bank holiday.
The final begins at 1pm on Sunday, May 3rd, with the concluding session scheduled for 7pm on Monday, May 4th.
And there's plenty at stake – the champion walks away with a whopping £500,000, while the runner-up collects £200,000.
​World Snooker Championship draw in full
Si Jiahui (China) v Hossein Vafaei (Iran)
Ronnie O'Sullivan (England) v He Guoqiang (China)
Wu Yize (China) v Lei Peifan (China)
Mark Selby (England) v Jak Jones (Wales)
Mark Allen (Northern Ireland) v Zhang Anda (China)
Ding Junhui (China) v David Gilbert (England)
Mark Williams (Wales) v Antoni Kowalski (Poland)
Zhao Xintong (China) v Liam Highfield (England)
Judd Trump (England) v Gary Wilson (England)
Chris Wakelin (England) v Liam Pullen (England)
Kyren Wilson (England) v Stan Moody (England)
Barry Hawkins (England) v Matthew Stevens (Wales)
Shaun Murphy (England) v Fan Zhengyi (China)
Xiao Guodong (China) v Zhou Yuelong (China)
John Higgins (Scotland) v Ali Carter (England)Neil Robertson (Australia) v Pang Junxu (China)