The ManicaPost
THE 2024 World Snooker Championship is taking place in Sheffield between April 20 and May 6 with Ronnie O’Sullivan targeting a record eighth title.
O’Sullivan won the World Championship in 2022 to equal Stephen Hendry’s record of seven Crucible crowns and comes into the 2024 event having won five titles so far this season, including The Masters and the UK Championship for a record eighth time each.
Second seed O’Sullivan began his tournament on Wednesday against Jackson Page, before concluding that match at 1pm the following afternoon (yesterday).
Belgium’s Luca Brecel, who won the 2023 World Championship, was knocked out in the first round this year, pipped 10-9 by David Gilbert, as he became the 19th first-time champion to fail to defend his title in Sheffield.
Full first-round draw and results – Best of 19 frames (seeding number in brackets)
(1) Luca Brecel 9-10 David Gilbert
(16) Robert Milkins 10-9 Pang Junxu
(9) Ali Carter 7-10 Stephen Maguire
(8) Shaun Murphy 10-5 Lyu Haotian
(5) Mark Selby 6-10 Joe O’Connor
(12) Kyren Wilson 10-1 Dominic Dale
(13) John Higgins vs Jamie Jones
(4) Mark Allen 10-6 Robbie Williams
(3) Judd Trump 10-5 Hossein Vafaei
(14) Tom Ford 10-6 Ricky Walden
(11) Zhang Anda 4-10 Jak Jones
(6) Mark Williams 9-10 Si Jiahui
(7) Ding Junhui 9-10 Jack Lisowski
(10) Gary Wilson 5-10 Stuart Bingham
(15) Barry Hawkins 8-10 Ryan Day
(2) Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Jackson Page. – SKYsports
