Ronnie O'Sullivan faces David Gilbert as World Snooker Championship draw is made

Image: Ronnie O'Sullivan has already won the Masters this year

Ronnie O'Sullivan will face David Gilbert in the first round of the World Championship, with the match starting on Sunday.

Former potato farmer Gilbert, 34, is enjoying the best season of his career and was a runner-up at the International Championship in China in November.

The Tamworth man secured his place in the main draw for Sheffield with victory over Jack Lisowski in the final qualifying round on Wednesday.

Five-time champion O'Sullivan, 40, is the favourite for the Crucible title, having already triumphed at the Masters and Welsh Open this year.

Defending champion Stuart Bingham begins his challenge on Saturday with a tough opener against two-time beaten finalist Ali Carter.

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Other highlights of the first-round draw include the all-Scottish clash of Stephen Maguire and Alan McManus, Judd Trump's match against Liang Wenbo and a repeat of last year's quarter-final between Shaun Murphy and Anthony McGill.

Image: Stuart Bingham will start his title defence against Ali Carter

Four-time champion John Higgins plays Ryan Day first, Mark Selby tackles Robert Milkins, while China's former world No 1 Ding Junhui, who was widely considered the qualifier best avoided, was handed a tie against Martin Gould.

Also See:

Former world champions Mark Williams and Graeme Dott go head to head.

The only debutant in this year's tournament, Birmingham's Mitchell Mann, will play former semi-finalist Mark Allen.

World Championship First Round Draw

Stuart Bingham v Ali Carter
Stephen Maguire v Alan McManus
Ricky Walden v Robbie Williams
John Higgins v Ryan Day
Judd Trump v Liang Wenbo
Martin Gould v Ding Junhui
Mark Williams v Graeme Dott
Neil Robertson v Michael Holt
Shaun Murphy v Anthony McGill
Marco Fu v Peter Ebdon
Barry Hawkins v Zhang Anda
Ronnie O'Sullivan v David Gilbert
Mark Allen v Mitchell Mann
Joe Perry v Kyren Wilson
Michael White v Sam Baird
Mark Selby v Robert Milkins
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