2024 World Snooker Championship: First Round Matches and Preview

For the full draw, scores, results and daily schedules throughout the 2024 World Snooker Championship, please visit here.

Visit our World Championship information page for details, news stories and features throughout the blue riband event.

Luca Brecel (1) v David Gilbert 

Both players have only met once before, back in 2015 for a Shanghai Masters qualifying match. Brecel won that tie, 5-3.

Defending champion Brecel has reached two big invitational finals this season, and won the World Mixed Doubles alongside Reanne Evans, but it has been a disappointing campaign in terms of ranking events with just one quarter-final appearance. He missed out on qualifying for all three Players Series events and sits 37th on the one-year list.

Gilbert’s seasonal ranking (28th) is higher; he too has a quarter-final as his best ranking result in 2023/24, so far. This will be Gilbert’s tenth Crucible appearance. In 2019, he heartbreakingly missed out on the sport’s biggest fixture when he lost 17-16 to John Higgins in the semi-finals.

Robert Milkins (16) v Pang Junxu

Nothing to really go off in terms of head-to-head between these two; their only previous meeting came earlier this season in a 2-2 draw at the Championship League ranking event.

This will be Milkins’ tenth Crucible appearance, he made his debut in 2002 although has never been past the last 16. It has been a quiet season (35th on the one-year list) for ‘The Milkman’ with his best showing at a ranking event being the aforementioned CL where he reached finals day (eight players).

China’s Pang made his Crucible debut last year where he gave defending champion Ronnie O’Sullivan a decent workout despite losing 10-7. Having made the final of the 2023 WST Classic, Pang has not built on that progress in 2023/24 with just one last 16 appearance.

Ali Carter (9) v Stephen Maguire

There is nearly 50 years of combined professional snooker experience between these two. Their most famous meeting came here in 2012 when Carter defeated Maguire 17-12 in the semi-finals.

Carter leads the career head-to-head, although Maguire has won their last four match-ups. They haven’t faced each other since 2019.

The same as Carter, Maguire will be making his 20th Crucible appearance. He failed to qualify last year for the first time since his debut in 2004. The Scot is a two-time semi-finalist at the venue. The world number 28 has had a steady year; 20th on the one-year list, he made the quarter-finals of both the Northern Ireland Open and International Championship.

Despite not lifting a trophy, Carter has enjoyed another reasonably strong campaign, making the finals of both the Wuhan Open and Masters. He is ranked ninth on both the main world rankings and the one-year list. ‘The Captain’ debuted here in 2003 and has played every year except for 2020 and 2022, although he hasn’t won a match since 2019. He is a two-time runner-up, losing both times to O’Sullivan. Carter made a 147 here in 2008.

Shaun Murphy (8) v Lyu Haotian 

These two have met three times in pro competition - Lyu won the first but Murphy registered 6-1 and 5-0 victories in the two most recent.

2005 world champion Murphy won the season-opening Championship League - his third ranking title in just a matter of months - but since then he has been largely anonymous by not making a ranking event quarter-final and failing to qualify for the final two Players Series events. He did feature in the last four of the Masters, though.

Murphy has lost first round in three of the last four world championships, but in contrast, he reached the final in 2021.

China’s Lyu has enjoyed a very decent season and is placed 17th on the one-year list. The 26-year-old made the quarters of the European Masters and semis of the Wuhan Open. He has three Crucible appearances under his belt, defeating Marco Fu in round one on debut in 2018.

Mark Selby (5) v Joe O’Connor 

This all-Leicester derby has been a one-sided affair thus far, with Selby undefeated in all seven meetings (six wins, one draw). The duo met in the Championship League Invitational grand final only a few weeks ago, Selby won 3-1 - his only title of the campaign, so far.

Selby was frustrated after his recent Tour Championship first round defeat. He is 11th on the one-year list with a run to the British Open final back in September/October being his best seasonal ranking result.

The 40-year-old’s Crucible pedigree is simply top notch. From his last 10 appearances here, he has won the title four times, was runner-up last year and a semi-finalist in 2020. An incredible record.

The final player to qualify, O’Connor is the only debutant in this year’s field. The 28-year-old is a former Scottish Open finalist, but the world number 30 has not been past the last 32 of a ranking event this term.

Kyren Wilson (12) v Dominic Dale 

In all competitions, these two have met 10 times. Wilson leads 7-3, but he has won their last six match-ups.

The five-time ranking event winner endured a frustrating first half to the season but has showed signs of improvement in recent months having made the semis of the German Masters and last eight at the World Open.

This will be Wilson’s 10th trip to the Crucible. His only opening round loss came on debut in 2014. A runner-up in 2020, he also made semi-finals in 2018 and 2021.

One of the big stories from this year’s qualifying rounds, 52-year-old Dominic Dale became the oldest Crucible qualifier since Steve Davis in 2010. The Welshman has enjoyed a resurgence this season (29th on one-year list) with two ranking event quarter-finals. It will be Dale’s tenth Crucible, although his first in ten years. He debuted in 1997 and has twice reached the quarters (2000 and 2014).

John Higgins (13) v Jamie Jones 

John Higgins prepares for his 30th consecutive (and in total) Crucible appearance. The four-time champion and eight-time finalist has not lost in the opening round here since 2014.

Without a ranking title since 2021, Higgins has made four ranked semi-finals this term and went to the last four of the invitational Champion of Champions.

Jamie Jones produced the biggest headline of the qualifiers as he eliminated 2010 champion Neil Robertson in the final round. The 36-year-old Welshman now looks forward to a sixth visit to the Crucible Theatre. On his debut in 2012, Jones made the last eight.

Jones, the world number 41, hasn't had much to write home about this season so far, although his best result was a last 16 run at the UK Championship in York.

Higgins and Jones are locked 2-2 in career meetings.

Mark Allen (4) v Robbie Williams 

Allen and Williams share a quirky head-to-head record. Removing their Shoot Out tie, Allen has won three out of the four with 4-0, 5-0 and 4-0 scorelines, although Williams claimed the other, 4-0.

Northern Ireland’s Allen is a serious contender for his first world crown - and the world number one spot - as he continues to build on the best spell of his career; he has won two ranking events this season and the Champion of Champions.

The Crucible has not been overly fruitful for Allen so far; he has played there every year since 2007 with a pair of semi-finals being his best return - although one of those was last year.

World number 45 Robbie Williams survived a deciding frame shootout against Chris Wakelin to make the main draw for the fourth time in his career. Williams has had a consistent season and knocked out John Higgins, Mark Williams, Zhang Anda and Ding Junhui from ranking events this term. 

The 37-year-old featured at the Crucible three years running between 2014 to 2016, although has not been back since. He is looking for his first match win here.

Judd Trump (3) v Hossein Vafaei 

One of the standout ties of round one, Trump leads the career head-to-head. The duo faced each other in round one in 2022 (Vafaei’s debut), with Trump prevailing 10-4.

Second favourite for the title, 2019 champion Trump has had yet another sensational season with seven ranking event final appearances, and five titles. Number one on the one-year-list (by some distance), he also won the European Series race with an event to spare.

‘The Ace in the Pack’ will be making his 15th Crucible appearance and has played every year since 2011 (debut in 2007). Trump lost first round last year, but his five previous results before that yielded three quarter-finals, a final, and a title win.

Iran’s number one Vafaei is the world number 19. He has had a good season, sitting 13th on the one-year with semi-final runs to the British Open and UK Championship highlighted. The former Shoot Out winner has qualified for the Crucible three years running; last year he picked up his first match win before losing 13-2 to O’Sullivan.

Tom Ford (14) v Ricky Walden 

The makings of a close match, if you remove meetings in 6-red competitions, the career head-to-head is 3-3. Ford won the first three, Walden the last three, although they haven’t faced each other in any event since 2020.

Ford has arguably had the best season of his career (10th on the one-year list), reaching the world’s elite top 16 for the first time. He made the final of the International Championship and three further ranking event quarter-finals. He is a Crucible seed for the first time, although is yet to win a match at the venue in four previous outings. His debut was in 2010 and he last featured there in 2020 when he gave defending champion Trump a scare on the opening day.

Former world semi-finalist Walden secured a tenth Crucible outing after recovering from 5-2 down to oust Mark Davis 10-9 in the final qualifying round. The current world number 32, Walden is 26th on the one-year list, with a last eight finish at the Northern Ireland Open being his best result of the season.

Zhang Anda (11) v Jak Jones 

Zhang has been a revelation this season. Previously a mid-ranked professional all his career, ‘Mighty Mouse’ continues to break new personal ground - getting to his first ranking final, winning his first ranker, going into the world’s top 16 and being a Crucible seed for the first time.

The world number 11 (third on the one-year list) will be making his fourth Crucible outing, although his first since 2016. He is yet to win a match there.

That is in contrast to Jones who went to the quarter-finals last year on debut. The world number 44 hasn’t really built on that memorable run this season, though, currently occupying 67th on the one-year list. However, he impressively dispatched three-time ranking event finalist Zhou Yuelong 10-4 in the final qualifying round, winning eight consecutive frames from 4-2 down.

Jones has won the last two of their three head-to-head matches, the most recent being in February at the Welsh Open.

Mark Williams (6) v Si Jiahui 

This year’s only match in round one where the players have never met before in professional competition. (They did play at the Macau Masters in December but that wasn’t a WST event. For the record, though, Williams won 6-3).

Si Jiahui enjoyed an incredible run to the semi-finals on his Crucible debut last year before losing to Brecel 17-15 having been 14-5 up. This year, the 21-year-old needed a snooker when 9-8 down to Ben Mertens in the penultimate qualifying round before emerging as a 10-9 victor.

The Chinese star appeared in his maiden ranking event final earlier this season at the German Masters. He lost to Trump, but being placed 18th on the one-year list represents a largely pleasing season. He is currently number 23 in the overall world rankings.

Williams comes to Sheffield high on confidence having lifted the Tour Championship trophy only a couple of weeks ago. His second ranking triumph of the season, the 49-year-old is back up to world number six. A three-time world champion, ‘The Welsh Potting Machine’ is set for his 26th Crucible cap (debut 1997). He has not lost in the first round since 2015.

Ding Junhui (7) v Jack Lisowski

Another star first round attraction, Ding holds a 100% head-to-head record against Lisowski - and with a frame aggregate of 15-3 - although they have not duelled since 2019.

Former world number one Ding is without a ranking title since 2019, but he made both the UK Championship and World Open finals this season and is currently seventh in the world rankings (5th on the one-year list). Former world finalist Ding has played at the Crucible every year since 2007, but 2018 was the last time he made the last eight.

Lisowski has slipped outside the top 16 this term, but he dropped only seven frames across his two qualifying matches. It hasn’t been the greatest of seasons for ‘Jackpot’, although he did reach the semi-finals of the Northern Ireland Open.

He has previously been to the Crucible seven times, with his best result being a run to the quarter-finals in 2022 when he lost 13-12 to John Higgins.

Gary Wilson (10) v Stuart Bingham 

These two have played each other seven times in top flight competition, although every occasion was in Championship League Snooker over a best of five frames match. Bingham leads that metric, 6-1.

Wilson has experienced his best ever season, retaining the Scottish Open and winning the Welsh Open, and is up to world number 10. This will be the ‘Tyneside Terror’s’ fifth appearance on snooker’s biggest stage; he made the semi-finals in 2019.

2015 world champion Bingham preserved his record of appearing at the Crucible every year since 2011, although qualifying was far from straightforward. ‘Ballrun’ came back from 7-3 down to pip Stuart Carrington 10-9 in the penultimate round before claiming the final three frames of a 10-8 victory against Louis Heathcote at the last hurdle.

Bingham has endured a frustrating season and his one-year ranking of 57 shows that. The current world number 29 did reach the last eight of the Scottish Open, though. This will be Bingham’s 18th Crucible outing. He famously made his debut in 2000 when he knocked out reigning champion Stephen Hendry on the opening day.

Barry Hawkins (15) v Ryan Day 

If you include all formats, Hawkins and Day are locked 19-19 (and one draw) in career head-to-heads. They played each other in the qualifying rounds of the 2000 World Championship (Day won 10-1).

Last year, Hawkins missed out on the Crucible for the first time since his debut in 2006. He responded to that disappointment in superb style, winning his fourth career ranking event a few months later at the European Masters (first ranker in over six-and-a-half years) and getting back into the world’s top 16.

Between 2013 to 2018, incredibly, Hawkins made at least the world championship semi-finals every year except once, although he hasn’t been to the last eight since 2018.

Four-time ranking event winner Ryan Day was put through the wringer as he squeezed past Scott Donaldson 10-9 in the final qualifying round having led 7-2 and then trailed 8-7. It is Crucible berth number 15 for the 44-year-old with his debut having come two decades ago. He has graced the quarter-finals there three times.

World number 18 Day has had a very quiet season, so far, although he did make the last eight of the German Masters earlier this year.

Ronnie O'Sullivan (2) v Jackson Page 

The bulk of attention in Sheffield will no doubt be on O’Sullivan who is looking to complete a seasonal Triple Crown and secure a record eighth world title in the modern era.

‘The Rocket’ has been sublime this season, with five titles (two ranked, three invitational) and having maintained his world number one status. This will be his 32nd consecutive Crucible appearance and he has lost only four times in round one, with one of those being as a qualifier on debut in 1993.

22-year-old Page is one of six Welsh cueists in the tournament. ‘Action Jackson’ eliminated 2006 champion Graeme Dott 10-5 and then ousted Noppon Saengkham 10-9 to get through to the main draw for the second time. On debut in 2022, he beat Hawkins in round one but lost to practice partner Mark Williams in round two.

The world number 43 is in very good form; only a few weeks ago he reached his first ranking event semi-final at the World Open in Yushan where he bowed out to eventual winner Judd Trump. He’d previously not been to the last eight of a ranked tournament.

In head-to-heads, O’Sullivan leads 2-0. The pair produced a fantastic spectacle earlier this season at the English Open; O’Sullivan won 4-1 in which he made three centuries. Page also registered one during the frame he won.

Please note, whilst we do reference head-to-head records above, remember, multi-session matches at the Crucible help make it an event like no other!Thank you to cuetracker.net for continuing to provide snooker statistics.