World Snooker Championship draw: O'Sullivan to face familiar foe

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The draw for the 2025 World Snooker Championship has been made - with Ronnie O'Sullivan set to face Ali Carter in the opening round.

O'Sullivan and Carter have history after famously barging shoulders at the Crucible during their clash in 2018. Their heated rivalry has since continued with a war of words, O'Sullivan insisted Carter needed to 'sort his life out' following their matchup in last year's Masters final.

Seven-time world champion O'Sullivan has said he will wait until the last minute before deciding whether to play at this year's tournament, with Sky Sports revealing on Wednesday that he was leaning towards playing.

The 49th World Championship takes place between April 19 and May 5.

Kyren Wilson, who is bidding to break the 'Crucible curse' by becoming the first maiden winner to retain the title, will face Lei Peifan.

World No 1 and 2019 champion Judd Trump takes on Zhou Yuelong, while Mark Selby has been drawn against Ben Woollaston.

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A general view of the trophy before the start of the final on day sixteen of the Betfred Snooker World Championships at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield.

Joe Johnson in 1987 and Ken Doherty in 1998 are the only men to reach the final a year after lifting their first title, with Johnson losing to Steve Davis (18-14) in a repeat of the 1986 showpiece and Doherty defeated by John Higgins (18-12).

Wilson is seeded to face Jak Jones in the second round a year after he defeated the Welshman 18-14 in the 2024 final.

O'Sullivan has not featured competitively since he snapped his cue after withdrawing from the Championship League in January, and has also withdrawn from five of the last six World Snooker Tour events on medical grounds.

"I don't think either of them will be happy with that draw," Selby said of O'Sullivan and Carter while speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live. "It's great that Ronnie is in the competition. We've not seen him since January, so it's great. I want him to play and, as it stands, he's playing which is good for the game.

"As you said, Carter is one of the toughest qualifiers to get drawn against. He's played Ronnie in the world final and played in the Masters final a few years ago. It's a horrible draw."

Will Ronnie O'Sullivan play?

Ronnie O'Sullivan celebrates his victory with the trophy after the final during the Final of the Betfred.com World Snooker Championships at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield.

O'Sullivan has left it late to reveal whether he will compete in this year's event in his quest to become the most decorated winner of the modern era.

He has not missed the tournament since making his Crucible debut at the age of 17 in 1993, with his seven title victories achieved in 2001, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2020 and 2022. He is one title victory away from overtaking Stephen Hendry on the all-time list.

The 49-year-old has not played at a ranking event since November, when he smashed up his cue out of frustration when he was beaten by Barry Hawkins, before dropping out of the Championship League in January. He has also missed a string of tournaments this year on "medical grounds".

O'Sullivan admitted earlier this year that the decision would be left to the last minute.

He said: "I haven't made my mind up, I'll probably make a decision on maybe the 17th or 18th of April. I'd love to be able to go there and play, I'd love to be able to have the confidence to be able to get my cue out and go and play snooker.

O'Sullivan vs Carter session times:

Tuesday April 22 at 2:30pm
Wednesday April 23 at 2:30pm

This will be a best of 19 frames with the first nine frames being played in the first session.

2025 World Championship draw

Top Half
Kyren Wilson (1) v Lei Peifan
Jak Jones (16) v Zhao Xintong
Neil Robertson (9) v Chris Wakelin
Mark Allen (8) v Fan Zhengyi
Ronnie O'Sullivan (5) v Ali Carter
Zhang Anda (12) v Pang Junxu
Si Jiahui (13) v David Gilbert
Mark Selby (4) v Ben Woollaston

Bottom Half
John Higgins (3) v Joe O'Connor
Xiao Guodong (14) v Matt Selt
Barry Hawkins (11) v Hossein Vafaei
Mark Williams (6) v Wu Yize
Luca Brecel (7) v Ryan Day
Ding Junhui (10) v Zak Surety
Shaun Murphy (15) v Dan Wells
Judd Trump (2) v Zhou Yuelong

How much is the Crucible prize money?

The winner will receive £500,000 and there is total prize fund of £2,395,000.
Winner: £500,000
Runner-up: £200,000
Semi-finalists: £100,000
Quarter-finalists: £50,000
Last 16: £30,000
Last 32: £20,000
Last 48: £15,000
Last 80: £10,000
Last 112: £5,000
Highest break (qualifying stage included): £15,000

What's the format?

First-round matches are the best of 19 frames.
Second round and quarter-final matches are played over a maximum of 25.
Semi-final matches are best of 33 frames.
The final is the best of 35 frames.

Morning sessions are scheduled to begin at 10am each day, with afternoon sessions starting at 2:30pm and evening sessions at 7pm.

The final will begin at 1pm on Sunday, May 4 and Monday, May 5, with the evening sessions for the final beginning at 7pm.

World Snooker Championship - previous 10 winners

2024: Kyren Wilson
2023: Luca Brecel
2022: Ronnie O'Sullivan
2021: Mark Selby
2020: Ronnie O'Sullivan
2019: Judd Trump
2018: Mark Williams
2017: Mark Selby
2016: Mark Selby
2015: Stuart Bingham