O'Sullivan to face Gilbert in Crucible opener while defending champion Selby gets Jones

Ronnie O'Sullivan has been drawn to face Dave Gilbert in the first round of this year's Betfred World Snooker Championships after this morning's draw.

The Rocket is once again trying to match Stephen Hendry's record of seven titles at the iconic Crucible Theatre in Sheffield. His opponent's best run in the tournament saw him reach the semi-final in 2019.

Belfast's Mark Allen could meet O'Sullivan in the second round if the two players progress. Allen is set to meet Scott Donaldson, who defeated his stepson Robbie McGuigan in the qualifiers.

Elsewhere, defending champion Mark Selby is up against Jamie Jones with that contest set to open the tournament on Saturday. It'll be the first match to be completed on Saturday evening.

Hossein Vafaei became the first Iranian to qualify for the Crucible this week and he's set to take on 2019 winner Judd Trump, while two former finalists have also been pitted against one another, with Kyren Wilson facing Ding Junhui.