Mark Selby to face Jamie Jones in first round of World Snooker Championship

Defending champion Mark Selby will take on Jamie Jones in the first round of the World Championship while Ronnie O’Sullivan faces a tricky opener against David Gilbert.

Selby collected his fourth world title last year by beating Shaun Murphy in the final but the Leicester potter has failed to lift a trophy this season and has opened up about his mental health struggles.

He will begin the defence of his crown in Sheffield on Saturday morning, when the tournament gets under way, against his Welsh opponent in a match that concludes in the evening.

O’Sullivan, currently top of the rankings, will start his quest to equal Stephen Hendry’s record of seven world titles by facing qualifier Gilbert, a semi-finalist at the Crucible three years ago.

Murphy has been handed an unenviable first-round match against former UK Championship winner Stephen Maguire while Hossein Vafaei, the first Iranian to qualify for the Crucible, takes on Judd Trump.

“I make my people happy and make them proud, they have someone in the snooker finals,” said Vafaei, the world number 19, after beating Lei Peifan in a final-frame shootout on Wednesday to qualify for the main draw.

Neil Robertson won the Masters in January and has been tipped by many to get his hands on a second world title this year, and the Australian, champion in 2010, faces Crucible debutant Ashley Hugill.

Kyren Wilson and Ding Junhui go head-to-head in the battle of two former finalists while ex-champions John Higgins and Mark Williams have been paired with Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and Michael White respectively.

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