Ronnie O’Sullivan has been drawn against Chinese debutant He Guoqiang as he chases a record eighth World Snooker Championship at the Crucible.
He, ranked 47th, earned his place by beating Jack Lisowski in qualifying and will make his maiden Crucible appearance against seven-time champion O’Sullivan on Tuesday afternoon. The 25-year-old has won two of their three previous meetings and is one of 11 Chinese players in this year’s field.
Defending champion Zhao Xintong, who became China’s first world champion last year, will begin his title defence against Liam Highfield in the tournament’s opening match. The championship starts this weekend, with the final scheduled for Sunday, May 3.
Other notable first-round ties include four-time winner John Higgins versus two-time runner-up Ali Carter — if both advance they would meet O’Sullivan in round two. Mark Selby, a four-time champion, faces 2024 finalist Jak Jones. Judd Trump has been drawn against Gary Wilson, while three-time champion Mark Williams takes on Antoni Kowalski, the first Polish player to qualify for the Crucible.
A high-profile debut belongs to 19-year-old Stan Moody, who will make his Crucible bow against 2024 champion Kyren Wilson.
O’Sullivan is set to make a record 34th consecutive Crucible appearance. He was the last first-time world champion to reach the semi-finals, doing so in 2002 when he lost 17-13 to Stephen Hendry.
Since the first round was expanded to 32 players in 1982, no staging of the event has seen all 16 top seeds progress to the second round. Zhao will attempt to overcome the so-called “Crucible Curse” and become the first first-time winner to successfully defend the title; since 1980, 21 first-time champions have failed in their title defences.
List of World Champions (1977–2025):
1977 John Spencer bt Cliff Thorburn 25-21
1978 Ray Reardon bt Perrie Mans 25-18
1979 Terry Griffiths bt Dennis Taylor 24-16
1980 Cliff Thorburn bt Alex Higgins 18-16
1981 Steve Davis bt Doug Mountjoy 18-12
1982 Alex Higgins bt Ray Reardon 18-15
1983 Steve Davis bt Cliff Thorburn 18-6
1984 Steve Davis bt Jimmy White 18-16
1985 Dennis Taylor bt Steve Davis 18-17
1986 Joe Johnson bt Steve Davis 18-12
1987 Steve Davis bt Joe Johnson 18-14
1988 Steve Davis bt Terry Griffiths 18-11
1989 Steve Davis bt John Parrott 18-3
1990 Stephen Hendry bt Jimmy White 18-12
1991 John Parrott bt Jimmy White 18-11
1992 Stephen Hendry bt Jimmy White 18-14
1993 Stephen Hendry bt Jimmy White 18-5
1994 Stephen Hendry bt Jimmy White 18-17
1995 Stephen Hendry bt Nigel Bond 18-9
1996 Stephen Hendry bt Peter Ebdon 18-12
1997 Ken Doherty bt Stephen Hendry 18-12
1998 John Higgins bt Ken Doherty 18-12
1999 Stephen Hendry bt Mark Williams 18-11
2000 Mark Williams bt Matthew Stevens 18-16
2001 Ronnie O’Sullivan bt John Higgins 18-14
2002 Peter Ebdon bt Stephen Hendry 18-17
2003 Mark Williams bt Ken Doherty 18-16
2004 Ronnie O’Sullivan bt Graeme Dott 18-8
2005 Shaun Murphy bt Matthew Stevens 18-16
2006 Graeme Dott bt Peter Ebdon 18-14
2007 John Higgins bt Mark Selby 18-13
2008 Ronnie O’Sullivan bt Ali Carter 18-8
2009 John Higgins bt Shaun Murphy 18-9
2010 Neil Robertson bt Graeme Dott 18-13
2011 John Higgins bt Judd Trump 18-15
2012 Ronnie O’Sullivan bt Ali Carter 18-11
2013 Ronnie O’Sullivan bt Barry Hawkins 18-12
2014 Mark Selby bt Ronnie O’Sullivan 18-14
2015 Stuart Bingham bt Shaun Murphy 18-15
2016 Mark Selby bt Ding Junhui 18-14
2017 Mark Selby bt John Higgins 18-15
2018 Mark Williams bt John Higgins 18-16
2019 Judd Trump bt John Higgins 18-9
2020 Ronnie O‘Sullivan bt Kyren Wilson 18-8
2021 Mark Selby bt Shaun Murphy 18-15
2022 Ronnie O’Sullivan bt Judd Trump 18-13
2023 Luca Brecel bt Mark Selby 18-15
2024 Kyren Wilson bt Jak Jones 18-14
2025 Zhao Xintong bt Mark Williams 18-12