World Snooker Championship 2022: Mark Selby, Ronnie O’Sullivan in action on blockbuster opening day

The 46th running of the World Championship at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield begins with defending champion Mark Selby getting things underway at 10:00. He faces Jamie Jones on table 1 while Zhao Xintong takes on Jamie Clarke on table 2. The afternoon session – starting at 14:30 — is headlined by Ronnie O’Sullivan, who faces Dave Gilbert.

The build-up to the tournament has been dominated by Hossein Vafaei’s barb that O’Sullivan should retire, which the six-time champion has dismissed as “just words”. Barry Hawkins and Jackson Page are the other players in action in the afternoon session. Ad/> Shaun Murphy and Stephen Maguire begin their campaigns at 19:00 while Selby and Jones play to a conclusion in the other match.

Bookies’ favourite Neil Robertson opens his campaign on Monday at 14:30 with a match against Ashley Hugill, and Judd Trump takes to the baize to face Vafaei at 14:30 on Wednesday. World Championship'Just words' — O'Sullivan dismisses Vafaei 'retire' attack as other players weigh in13 HOURS AGO Live comments You can follow LIVE comments on every session from the World Snooker Championship 2022 on the Eurosport.co.uk website. How to watch the event The World Snooker Championship 2022 will be available on Eurosport and discovery+, with all the latest news, reaction and highlights on Eurosport.com.