Defending champion Kyren Wilson will play Lei Peifan with Ronnie O’Sullivan set to face Ali Carter in the first round of the World Championship as he bids for a record eighth title in the modern era.
O’Sullivan, 49, who is yet to confirm if he will participate, has not played competitively since snapping his cue at the Championship League in January.
His prospective meeting with Carter is a repeat of the 2008 and 2012 finals, which were both won by ‘The Rocket’.
World number one Judd Trump will take on Zhou Yuelong, while Masters winner Shaun Murphy will play debutant Daniel Wells.
Four-time world champion Mark Selby will meet qualifier Ben Woollaston, who is appearing in the televised stages of the competition for the first time since 2013.
John Higgins, who has also won four world crowns, will play Joe O’Connor, while 2024 finalist Jak Jones faces a difficult assignment against former UK champion Zhao Xintong, who is competing as an amateur having served a ban for breaching betting regulations.
Zhao is one of a record 10 Chinese players to reach this stage of the tournament with Ding Junhui facing another man making his debut in Zak Surety and Si Jiahui, who reached the last four two years ago, playing David Gilbert, a semi-finalist in 2024.
There are a number of other intriguing encounters in the draw, with 2010 champion Neil Robertson facing Chris Wakelin, Mark Allen taking on Fan Zhengyi, and Barry Hawkins playing Hossein Vafaei.
The tournament begins on Saturday at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, with live coverage across the TodayPriceNG
First-round draw
Kyren Wilson v Lei Peifan
Jak Jones v Zhao Xintong
Neil Robertson v Chris Wakelin
Mark Allen v Fan Zhengyi
Ronnie O’Sullivan v Ali Carter
Zhang Anda v Pang Junxu
Si Jiahui v David Gilbert
Mark Selby v Ben Woollaston
John Higgins v Joe O’Connor
Xiao Guodong v Matthew Selt
Barry Hawkins v Hossein Vafaei
Mark Williams v Wu Yize
Luca Brecel v Ryan Day
Ding Junhui v Zak Surety
Shaun Murphy v Daniel Wells
Judd Trump v Zhou Yuelong
Analysis – ‘It’s a horrible draw’ for O’Sullivan
Mark Selby, four-time world champion on BBC Radio 5 Live
I don’t think either of them [Ronnie O’Sullivan or Ali Carter] will be happy with that draw. It is great Ronnie is in the competition, we’ve not seen him since January. I want him to play and as it stands at the minute it seems like he is playing which is fantastic for the game.
Carter is one of the toughest qualifiers to get drawn against. It is a horrible draw.
