World Championship draw: Record number of Chinese players set for Crucible
The World Championship may not be moving to the Far East but China certainly has a growing influence on the sport of snooker.
Eleven Chinese potters – the majority all live and train in Sheffield – were in Thursday’s first-round draw of 32 players for the Halo World Championship.
That surpasses the record of 10 Chinese players who featured last year at the Crucible.
That number included defending champion Zhao Xintong, who has been paired with Liam Highfield in Saturday’s opening match.
Highfield reached the Crucible after knocking out Leeds’ Oliver Lines 10-2 in the final round of qualifiers at Sheffield’s English Institute of Sport on Wednesday night.
Stoke’s Highfield said: "Things have come full circle for me, I fell off the tour and broke my wrist, it was been a long journey coming back so it's emotional for me to be back at the Crucible. Hopefully my career is on an upward curve now."
Crucible debutant He Guoqiang faces Ronnie O’Sullivan on Tuesday, as the latter looks to claim a record eighth world title. The 25-year-old beat world No 18 Jack Lisowski in qualifying.
O’Sullivan is looking to eclipse Stephen Hendry with whom he currently tops the standings on seven modern era Crucible crowns.
Halifax teenager Stan Moody faces a daunting Crucible debut against 2024 champion Kyren Wilson on Monday, while fellow Yorkshire cueman Liam Pullen, 20, will take on former quarter-finalist Chris Wakelin on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Both Yorkshiremen had to come through the qualifiers to secure Crucible debuts.
Four-time winner John Higgins faces two-time runner-up Ali Carter in a high-quality opener with a potential second round meeting with O’Sullivan at stake.
Mark Selby starts against the shock 2024 finalist Jak Jones, who knocked the 2023 world champion Luca Brecel out in qualifying.
"I enjoy the Crucible, you can crumble but I love the atmosphere, it's an unbelievable venue and that really gets me up for it" said Jones, who was runner-up to Kyren Wilson in 2024.
Judd Trump has a tough opener against 2019 semi-finalist Gary Wilson, who survived a qualifying epic against Xu Si.
Antoni Kowalski, the first Polish player to qualify for the Crucible and who saved his tour card in the process, starts against three-time champion Mark Williams.
Crucible first-round draw: Zhao Xintong v Liam Highfield; Ding Junhui v David Gilbert; Xiao Guodong v Zhou Yuelong; Shaun Murphy v Fan Zhengyi; John Higgins v Ali Carter; Ronnie O'Sullivan v He Guoqiang; Chris Wakelin v Liam Pullen; Neil Robertson v Pang Junxu; Kyren Wilson v Stan Moody; Mark Allen v Zhang Anda; Barry Hawkins v Matthew Stevens; Mark Williams v Antoni Kowalski; Mark Selby v Jak Jones; Wu Yize v Lei Peifan; Si Jiahui v Hossein Vafaei; Judd Trump v Gary Wilson.