The BBC will show every shot of the championship on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app, with comprehensive coverage also on network TV.

We'll also bring you live pages throughout the 17-day extravaganza, but in the meantime, we'll finish here today with a reminder of the draw:

• Zhao Xintong (China, 1) v Liam Highfield (England)
• Ding Junhui (China, 16) v David Gilbert (England)
• Xiao Guodong (China, 9) v Zhou Yuelong (China)
• Shaun Murphy (England, 8) v Fan Zhengyi (China)
• John Higgins (Scotland, 5) v Ali Carter (England)
• Ronnie O'Sullivan (England, 12) v He Guoqiang (China)
• Chris Wakelin (England, 13) v Liam Pullen (England)
• Neil Robertson (Australia, 4) v Pang Junxu (China)
• Kyren Wilson (England, 3) v Stan Moody (England)
• Mark Allen (Northern Ireland, 14) v Zhang Anda (China)
• Barry Hawkins (England, 11) v Matthew Stevens (Wales)
• Mark Williams (Wales, 6) v Antoni Kowalski (Poland)
• Mark Selby (England, 7) v Jak Jones (Wales)
• Wu Yize (China, 10) v Lei Peifan (China)
• Si Jiahui (China, 15) v Hossein Vafaei (Iran)
• Judd Trump (England, 2) v Gary Wilson (England)

All first-round matches are best of 19 frames. Seeds are in brackets.

The first-round will be played between Saturday, 18 April and Thursday, 23 April.

The Crucible has staged the World Championship yearly since 1977 and last month it was announced it would remain there until 2045, with the venue set to be redeveloped to add up to 500 additional seats.

This year will be the 50th staging of the championship at the famous venue in Sheffield.

Whoever becomes champion on 4 May will need to win a total of 71 frames over four matches to lift the trophy and will receive £500,000 out of a prize fund of almost £2.4m.

Another emotional qualifier was Antoni Kowalski.

The Pole was in tears after coming through qualifying to secure his place at the Crucible:

"I never cry, so that's the perfect explanation of what it means to me," he said. "I'm going to realise one of my biggest dreams and play at the 'Theatre of Dreams'.

"I'm not based in the UK so it is more special, and my girlfriend and my parents will come to the Crucible. At the end of the first session and beginning of the second I was absolutely gone, then I stopped thinking, turned off my brain and just played."

Stan Moody, 19, had been struggling with tonsillitis but managed to beat China's Jiang Jun 10-9 in qualifying on Tuesday, with a break of 104 in the deciding frame securing his place at the Crucible.

"I was in hospital yesterday," said Moody afterwards. "They said 'we know you're going to say no, but we want you to stay in', but I said 'no, I have a match to play tomorrow', so it was never really in question.

"I've been given a load of antibiotics so I'm on the mend. I couldn't talk or eat or drink, so I've come a long way. They said if it gets worse, come back.

"I'm normally good under pressure but in that last frame I've never felt pressure so much in my life, I'm so happy."

Mood will become the first British teenager to make his Crucible debut since a 17-year-old Judd Trump in 2007.

British teenager Stan Moody will make his Crucible debut against 2024 world champion Kyren Wilson, while 20-year-old Liam Pullen takes on 13th seed Chris Wakelin.

Antoni Kowalski, the first Polish player to reach the Crucible, faces three-time champion Mark Williams, while the other debutant He Guoqiang comes up against Ronnie O'Sullivan first up.

Top seed and defending champion Zhao Xintong plays Liam Highfield, who only returned to the World Snooker Tour last year after he suffered a broken wrist in an e-scooter accident in 2023.

Ranked 92nd, 35-year-old Highfield had to win four qualifying matches to book his spot at the Crucible, completing the job with a convincing 10-2 victory over Oliver Lines.

"I couldn't make a bridge when I broke my wrist and it has been a long journey back and it's quite emotional to be back," said the Englishman.

Ronnie O'Sullivan, trying to make it a record eight world titles, faces China's He Guoqiang on Tuesday afternoon.

He crushed Jack Lisowski yesterday in qualifying so will come into the championship in excellent form.

The 50-year-old O'Sullivan has not won a ranking title this season but made the sport's highest-ever professional break with a 153 at the World Open in March.

If the Rocket can win his best-of-19 match opener, he could face fellow class of 92 stalwart John Higgins in the second round.

That has the potential to be an absolute classic.

Former world champion Neil Robertson on BBC Radio 5 Live: "Ali Carter v John Higgins and Mark Selby v Jak Jones are two matches that really stand out."

Neil Robertson (Australia) v Pang Junxu (China)

John Higgins (Scotland) v Ali Carter (England)

Xiao Guodong (China) v Zhou Yuelong (China)

Shaun Murphy (England) v Fan Zhengyi (China)

Barry Hawkins (England) v Matthew Stevens (Wales)

Kyren Wilson (England) v Stan Moody (England)

Chris Wakelin (England) v Liam Pullen (England)

Judd Trump (England) v Gary Wilson (England)

Zhao Xintong (China) v Liam Highfield (England)

Mark Williams (Wales) v Antoni Kowalski (Poland)

Ding Junhui (China) v David Gilbert (England)