Who are the qualifiers for the 2025 World Snooker Championship at the Crucible?

A total of 16 players emerged from the qualifying chaos, each winning a prized date with the Crucible Theatre a few days later where they will face one of the world’s top 16 ranked stars in round one proper.

Three players are set to make their Crucible debuts - Zak Surety, Daniel Wells and Lei Peifan. All three have enjoyed deep runs this season; Surety and Wells reached the semi-finals of the World Open and Xi’an Grand Prix respectively, while Lei became one of professional snooker’s unlikeliest ranking event champions at the Scottish Open in December.

World number 73 Surety was back in action after his heart-breaking 6-5 last four loss to John Higgins in Yushan a few weeks ago.

Surety navigated three rounds at the EIOS, coming back from 8-5 down to defeat Jack Lisowski 10-8 at the penultimate stage before seeing off Ricky Walden, 10-3.

Having lost in the final qualifying round three times before, progression for Wells was particularly sweet. The Welshman - who will be the 21st player from his nation to play at the Crucible - ousted world number 17 Gary Wilson, 10-9.

That result came 16 years on from his first trip to the final hurdle where he was pipped 10-9 by Barry Hawkins.

Like Wells, 21-year-old Lei put to bed some final round demons as he squeezed past fellow Chinese countryman Gao Yang 10-9, having trailed 7-4 at one point.

Three years ago, Lei was agonisingly denied qualification by Hossein Vafaei who defeated him on the final black of the deciding frame.

Last season, Lei didn't even have a professional tour card, but now he is a reigning ranking event champion and can look forward to a trip to the sport's grandest stage for the first time.

Just a note on his opponent Gao - one year younger than him - who was trying to get through despite technically being an amateur. We'll see plenty of the youngster next season, though, as he won back his pro tour stripes by claiming the World Snooker Federation Championship earlier this year in Morocco.

From no Crucible experience, to loads of it, as 45-year-old Ali Carter secured a 21st appearance.

The two-time world finalist played through pain and discomfort with an injured neck during the qualifiers. In his opening match with Ian Burns, Carter considered withdrawing because of it, but he persisted for a 10-8 victory before eliminating last season's Rookie of the Year He Guoqiang, 10-8, in his final assignment

World number 18 Carter will be looking to bookend his season having won the opening tournament of the campaign at the Championship League Ranking Event.

Ryan Day and David Gilbert are two more experienced Crucible campaigners who will be back in S1 1DA.

Three-time quarter-finalist Day will be making his 16th appearance there, while two-time semi-finalist Gilbert - who was at the one-table set-up 12 months ago - wins his 11th cap there.

Gilbert's qualification journey this year has been bumpy. In his first match he recovered from 6-3 down to defeat Gong Chenzhi 10-6, and in his second he squeezed past Ireland's number one Aaron Hill in a deciding frame.

The biggest story throughout this year's qualification process has been about the return of Zhao Xintong to World Championship action.

The former UK Champion was back in snooker's most prestigious event following the expiration of his ban from the sport in September.

Due to coming top of this season's Q Tour rankings race after winning four consecutive events on the secondary circuit, Zhao - who has his tour card back for next term - won an invite to the qualifiers.

Zhao needed to start in the first qualifying round and negotiate four matches - which he did - to become only the third amateur player to make the main draw.

The 28-year-old was fancied to come through qualifying, and was even rated more likely than several top 16 players to go all the way at the Crucible before a ball was struck at the EIOS. Zhao lived up to qualifying expectations, making 12 century breaks en route.

Lei and Zhao are two of six Chinese qualifiers this year. With Ding Junhui, Zhang Anda, Si Jiahui and Xiao Guodong all being top 16 seeds for the event, a record 10 players from China will be in the main draw - nearly a third of the entire field.

Zhou Yuelong will be back at the Crucible after a six-year hiatus, while Pang Junxu's stock continues to rise as he made it through for the third successive year.

Former European Masters Champion Fan Zhengyi is set for his second Crucible outing having made his debut there two years ago.

It has been a breakthrough season for Wu Yize having reached the first two ranking event finals of his career, and the 21-year-old will end it in front on the television cameras in Yorkshire.

In a thrilling final qualifying round encounter between different generations, Wu recovered from 4-0 down to lead two-time world runner-up Matthew Stevens, 9-7.

Stevens came back to force a decider where he had opportunities, but it was Wu who got the verdict on the colours to sneak through, 10-9.

The tightest Judgement Day finish came courtesy of the match between Matthew Selt and Jimmy Robertson - the final result of this year's qualifiers.

Ranking event winner Selt battled back from 8-3 and 9-6 down to force the tie all the way.

In a very scrappy - but compelling - deciding frame where reds made their way to the baulk end, it went to the colours where Robertson missed match ball pink from mid distance.

Selt stepped up to coolly pot the remaining two colours to progress by the barest of margins.

It will be Selt's fifth trip to the 'Theatre of Dreams' and he will be seeking his maiden match triumph there.

In a similar-looking boat to Selt will be world number 20 and former Shoot Out champion Chris Wakelin, who booked his berth with a 10-2 final round success over Martin O'Donnell. It will be the fourth time that Wakelin has featured in the main draw, and he is aiming for his first victory in round one proper.

Iran's number one Hossein Vafaei may be coming into form at just the right time. The 2022 Shoot Out champion put on the performance of the final qualifying round as he compiled five century breaks - three of them in consecutive frames at the end of the match - in a 10-4 victory over Wang Yuchen.

It will be Vafaei's fourth Crucible expedition - and all of them have come in the last four editions of the blue riband event.

Four-time World Champion Mark Selby will be joined by fellow Leicester natives Ben Woollaston and Joe O’Connor in the final stages.

Woollaston ends a 12-year wait for his second Crucible trip, while O’Connor has got his 12 months after his debut where he defeated Selby in round one.

O’Connor secured his passage through with a 10-7 win over double maximum star Jackson Page.

For all the results from the 2025 World Snooker Championship qualifying rounds, please visit our information centre here.