Higgins lines up Hawkins

Higgins: Reigning world champion

I baulk at being happy because I know how hard it is at the Crucible.

Steve Davis
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John Higgins will kick off his Betfred.com World Championship title defence against Barry Hawkins, it was announced on Thursday.

Higgins, who saw off Shaun Murphy in the Crucible final last year, will open his campaign on April 17 in Sheffield.

Aside from the champion's first encounter, the most enticing first round ties will involve two of the three Chinese players in the draw, with three-time title winner Ronnie O'Sullivan pitted against Chinese player Liang Wenbo and seven-time champion Stephen Hendry set to take on 18-year-old Chinese Crucible debutant Zhang Anda.

The third Chinese player in the draw, Ding Junhui, will face England's Stuart Pettman.

Veteran

Veteran Steve Davis, celebrating his 30th outing in Sheffield, will go up against fellow Romford professional Mark King, and the 52-year-old is relishing the clash.

"I baulk at being happy because I know how hard it is at the Crucible," said Davis.

"It's not so much about who you play as how you play and you can talk yourself into one player being easier than another, but there are certain players you'd be happy to avoid so once you've avoided them you can't be displeased."

Davis, who returns to the Crucible 25 years after his loss to Dennis Taylor in the most famous final ever contested, was present at the Wembley Stadium draw on Thursday.

Excitement

"From the point of view of excitement it's about the Chinese players. We don't know what Liang is capable of but I don't suppose he's too happy, but I don't imagine Ronnie will be absolutely delighted to play a player who is on the up," added Davis.

"We also have an unknown quantity in an 18-year-old (Zhang) who has drawn the most established player at the Crucible (Hendry).

"That's a fascinating match and Hendry will want to get through to prove he's still got a future.

"We don't know what he's capable of but Stephen Hendry has got to go out and justify his existence as a snooker player."

Meanwhile, Masters champion Mark Selby will take on 1997 world champion Ken Doherty, while Murphy is set to face Northern Ireland's Gerard Greene.

Last year's defeated semi-finalists Mark Allen and Neil Robertson will go up against Tom Ford and Fergal O'Brien respectively.

First round:

John Higgins (Sco) v Barry Hawkins (Eng), Mark King (Eng) v Steve Davis (Eng), Neil Robertson (Aus) v Fergal O'Brien (Irl), Marco Fu (Hkg) v Martin Gould (Eng), Ali Carter (Eng) v Jamie Cope (Eng), Joe Perry (Eng) v Michael Holt (Eng), Ding Junhui (Chn) v Stuart Pettman (Eng), Shaun Murphy (Eng) v Gerard Greene (Nir), Stephen Maguire (Sco) v Stephen Lee (Eng), Peter Ebdon (Eng) v Graeme Dott (Sco), Mark Allen (Nir) v Tom Ford (Eng), Ryan Day (Wal) v Mark Davis (Eng), Mark Selby (Eng) v Ken Doherty (Irl), Stephen Hendry (Sco) v Zhang Anda (Chn), Mark Williams (Wal) v Marcus Campbell (Sco), Ronnie O'Sullivan (Eng) v Liang Wenbo (Chn)