Ronnie O'Sullivan and Judd Trump among key names to watch out for as snooker's ultimate showcase nears

Here we go again. It only seems like yesterday that Ronnie O’Sullivan was sobbing into the arms of Judd Trump after beating him to win a record-equalling seventh World Championship title. O’Sullivan will walk out at the Crucible theatre in Sheffield on the morning of April 15 to begin his quest for an eighth world crown.

Before he does, 10 days of qualifying will decide the 16 players to face the elite top 16 in round one. Ad The qualifiers have an eco-system all of their own. They are played a few miles away from the Crucible at the English Institute of Sport where eight tables in tiny cubicles serve as a stark contrast to the glitz and glamour of the final stages.

World ChampionshipExclusive: ‘I could have won five World Championships if I wasn’t partying’ – White11/01/2023 AT 12:42 To qualify means you are part of snooker’s greatest show. Failing to get through ends your season in anonymity and disappointment. For some, the stakes are even higher as the qualifiers will also decide who keeps their tour card and who has to try and win it back at Q School.

This year, the matches have reverted to best-of-19 frames throughout, as befitting the status of a tournament which stands far above any other. The World Championship is the only professional event which pre-dates the television age. It was first staged in 1926/27 and the same trophy Joe Davis won nearly a century ago is presented to the winner today.

The qualifiers are enlivened by the presence of ghosts of Crucibles past. Stephen Hendry, who won seven world titles in the 1990s, will face James Cahill on Wednesday, the same time that Ken Doherty, who beat Hendry in the 1997 final, takes on 12 times women’s world champion Reanne Evans. Jimmy White, six times the