Mark Allen (Northern Ireland) v Zhang Anda (China)

Mark Selby (England) v Jak Jones (Wales)

Wu Yize (China) v Lei Peifan (China)

Ronnie O'Sullivan (England) v He Guoqiang (China)

Here we go...

Si Jiahui (China) v Hossein Vafaei (Iran)

England's Stan Moody, 19, and 20-year-old Liam Pullen are among the 16 qualifiers, while Poland's Antoni Kowalski, 22, will become the first player from Poland to play at the Crucible and Iran's Hossein Vafaei made it through for a fifth successive year.

Former winner Luca Brecel failed to qualify, losing to Wales' Jak Jones in the last qualifying round.

Two-time finalist Ali Carter won five frames in a row as he fought back from 7-5 behind to defeat Scotland's Anthony McGill 10-7.

England's Jack Lisowski, who claimed his first ranking title with victory at the Northern Ireland Open in October, was also eliminated.

After He Guoqiang, Zhang Anda, Fan Zhengyi and Lei Peifan all qualified on Wednesday, China will have a record 11 players in the 32 at the Crucible, a new record - beating the previous high of 10 who played last year.

Defending champion Zhao Xintong, who became the first champion from China after beating Mark Williams in last year's final, will get the 17-day tournament under way at 10:00 BST on Saturday.

Ronnie O'Sullivan hopes to win a record eighth world title at the age of 50 - 25 years after claiming his first - to finally move clear of Stephen Hendry as the championship's most successful player.

World number one Judd Trump, a semi-finalist last year, will aim to lift the trophy for the second time, while other contenders include four-time champions Mark Selby and John Higgins, three-time winner Mark Williams and 2024 winner Kyren Wilson.

This year is the 50th championship to be held at the Crucible since the tournament moved to Sheffield in 1977.

Hello, and welcome to the draw for the first-round of the World Championship live on BBC Radio 5 Live and here on this page.

It'll be coming up shortly...

The 2026 World Snooker Championship starts at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield on Saturday, 18 April - and you can watch every shot of the tournament live on the BBC.

Defending champion Zhao Xintong, who became the first champion from China after overcoming Mark Williams in last year's final, will get the 17-day tournament under way on the opening day.

This year is the 50th championship to be held at the Crucible since the tournament moved to Sheffield in 1977.

The final starts on 3 May and finishes on 4 May, with the winner taking home £500,000.

To watch live on BBC TV and follow uninterrupted coverage on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app, click here.