World Snooker Championship draw: Ronnie O'Sullivan faces Jackson Page in first round

Ronnie O'Sullivan will face Jackson Page in the first round of the World Championship as he seeks a record eighth title in the modern era.

O'Sullivan, 48, is also aiming to become the fourth player to win all three Triple Crown events in a season.

Defending champion Luca Brecel will face David Gilbert, while 2019 winner Judd Trump will face Hossein Bafai.

The tournament begins on Saturday at Sheffield's Crucible Theater and will be broadcast live across the BBC.

Joe O'Connor, played by four-time winner Mark Selby, makes it through the preliminaries and becomes the only debutant in the draw.

Another four-time champion, John Higgins, will face Jamie Jones, who defeated 2010 champion Neil Robertson in the final round of qualifying.

Mark Williams, who won the latest of his three titles in 2018, arrived at the Crucible having just won the prestigious Tour Championship, but faced a tough battle with Shi Jiahui, who reached the semi-finals 12 months earlier. He will face his first match.

Mark Allen, who has won three tournaments this season, will take on Robbie Williams, 2005 winner Shaun Murphy will take on Liu Haotian, and there could be an interesting matchup between Ding Junhui and Jack Lisowski. be.

Gary Wilson will look to build on his success at the Scottish Open and Welsh Open when he faces another former champion, Stuart Bingham.

Kyren Wilson will be the oldest qualifier since Steve Davis in 2010 and will be looking to avoid an upset with 52-year-old Dominic Dale, making his first appearance since 2014.

Mark Allen, 2018 Masters & 2022 British Champion

I've been here before and tied for last place in the preliminaries, but last time I lost. Robbie is a very good player and he's scoring a lot of goals and getting into a groove. he is looking forward to it.

Ronnie vs. Jackson could be really interesting. Jackson doesn't seem to be scared of anyone. Ronnie is looking to make a little history for himself, but he's not intimidated by the atmosphere.

Ding vs. Jack Lisowski is another big match. Given Jack's talent and performance in important matches, he was a player all seeded players would want to avoid.

Hossain isn't afraid to ruffle a few feathers, so it will be interesting to see how he handles the build-up playing as one of the players of the year at Judd. Judd has won five tournaments this year and will be brimming with confidence.

Luca Brecel v David Gilbert

Robert Milkins v Pan Junshu

Ali Carter v Stephen Maguire

Sean Murphy v Liu Haotian

Mark Selby v Joe O'Connor

Kyren Wilson v Dominic Dale

John Higgins v Jamie Jones

Mark Allen v Robbie Williams

Judd Trump vs Hossein Bafai

Mark Williams v Shi Jiahui

Ding Junhui v Jack Lisowski

Gary Wilson v Stuart Bingham

Ronnie O'Sullivan v Jackson Page