World Snooker Championship 2025 draw LIVE: Ronnie O’Sullivan faces bitter rival Carter, champ Wilson paired with Peifan
THE World Snooker Championship 2025 draw has concluded - and Ronnie O'Sullivan will go up against bitter rival Ali Carter in a sensational first-round tie!
Reigning champion Kyren Wilson gets his title defence underway against Lei Peifan, while Scottish hero John Higgins faces Joe O'Connor.
And British icon Judd Trump is set to face Zhou Yuelong in his opening encounter.
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Follow our live blog below for the latest updates from the huge draw...
O'Sullivan's blunt response to Carter
Ronnie O'Sullivan's x-rated response to Ali Carter's claim he "snotted" on the floor during their Masters clash last January has resurfaced.
“He needs to sort his f*****g life out," O'Sullivan said of Carter.
“I’m not going to skirt around it anymore, tip-toeing on eggshells around someone like that.
"He's a f*****g nightmare.”
Credit: PA Prize money revealed
New snooker fans may be wondering just how much the winner of the iconic Crucible tournament will take home.
The answer: a cool £500,000.
The Rocket's statement of intent
Ronnie O'Sullivan has issued a statement of intention to his World Snooker Championship rivals after the today's draw.
He told TNT Sports: "I’m proud to continue my record of having never missed a World Championship.
"I have many fond memories at the Crucible and look forward to making more in 2025.
"I’ve enjoyed some good prep with my new cue over the last week so feel good ahead of Tuesday."
Credit: Getty
Selby weighs in on O'Sullivan vs Carter
Former World No.1 Mark Selby has had his say on Ronnie O'Sullivan's mouth-watering first-round clash with Ali Carter.
I don't think either of them will be happy with that draw. 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."
Mark Selby in an interview with the BBCBeeb gaffe
BBC viewers spotted a huge gaffe during the World Snooker Championship draw this morning.
After the draw began, an initial graphic shown on screen showed a completely incorrect draw.
In the botched graphic, defending champion Kyren Wilson was claimed to be facing Ronnie O'Sullivan in round one.
Draw recap
In case you missed the draw, here are the full list of match-ups for the World Championships.
- Kyren Wilson (ENG) (1) v Lei Peifan (CHN)
- Jak Jones (WAL) (16) v Zhao Xintong (CHN)
- Neil Robertson (AUS) (9) v Chris Wakelin (ENG)
- Mark Allen (NIR) (8) v Fan Zhengyi (CHN)
- Ronnie O’Sullivan (ENG) (5) v Ali Carter (ENG)
- Zhang Anda (CHN) (12) v Pang Junxu (CHN)
- Si Jiahui (CHN) (13) v David Gilbert (ENG)
- Mark Selby (ENG) (4) v Ben Woollaston (ENG)
- John Higgins (SCO) (3) v Joe O’Connor (ENG)
- Xiao Guodong (CHN) (14) v Matthew Selt (ENG)
- Barry Hawkins (ENG) (11) v Hossein Vafaei (IRN)
- Mark Williams (WAL) (6) v Wu Yize (CHN)
- Luca Brecel (BEL) (7) v Ryan Day (WAL)
- Ding Junhui (CHN) (10) v Zak Surety (ENG)
- Shaun Murphy (ENG) (15) v Daniel Wells (WAL)
- Judd Trump (ENG) (2) v Zhou Yuelong (CHN)
Selt tips
Matthew Selt has thanked former Chelsea captain John Terry for giving him advice on how to control his emotions on and off the table.
The world No.34 – who faces Xiao Guodong in round one of the World Snooker Championship from 10am on Saturday – can often lose his temper if results go against him.
Page turner
Jackson Page would happily swap up to £172,000 in cash for a spot at the Crucible.
Page, 23, bagged a sensational £147,000 reward after becoming the first snooker player to compile TWO 147 breaks in the same professional match.
But he failed to make it to this week’s World Championships.
The world No35 said: “Everyone’s been congratulating me, most of the players as well. It’s a great feat but I’m still gutted now.
“It’ll be great. Life-changing I suppose. I can buy a house, I can do whatever, support my family.
“I know I should be happy but I’m not seeing it that way at the minute.
“I think I’d rather be at the Crucible. You’ve got a chance of winning if you’re there and I was here to win the tournament. I’m not now.”
Credit: Getty Wilson – ‘Watch out’
Kyren Wilson is in confident mood as he prepares to defend his title in Sheffield.
The 33-year-old won his maiden world crown at the Crucible last year.
No player in history has ever defended their title after winning it for the first time.
But when asked about the Crucible curse, Wilson responded: “The Curse had better watch out for me.”
Snot on
Ronnie O’Sullivan claimed Ali Carter was “not a nice person” during an expletive-laden rant after last year’s Masters.
It came after Carter accused him of “snotting all over the floor” as The Rocket claimed a 10-7 victory.
Now the pair will face off again in the first round of the World Championship.
Here’s the inside story of one of snooker’s biggest rivalries.
Ronnie decision
Still nothing official from The Rocket on whether he will play this weekend.
But SunSport understands O'Sullivan WILL play this weekend.
Ronnie is due to attend the traditional pre-tournament media day at the Crucible on Friday before his match against Ali Carter on Tuesday.
Vafaei returns
Hossein Vafaei is back at the Crucible – despite slamming the venue last year.
The Prince of Persia took aim at the South Yorkshire venue after suffering a 10-5 first-round loss to Judd Trump.
He said: “You want to go somewhere really nice as a player, as a media team.
“You walk around the Crucible and it smells really bad. As a player I’m honest, it’s just really bad. Everything’s so bad.
“You go to other venues in other countries and you see how nice they treat you. Everything is shiny.
“But here it’s completely different. If you ask me do I want to come back here again, I tell you ‘no way.'”
Credit: Getty Selby – ‘It’s a horrible draw’
Mark Selby believes neither Ronnie O’Sullivan nor Ali Carter will be happy with their first-round draw.
The two rivals are set to meet in a repeat of last year’s ‘Snotgate’ Masters final.
Selby told BBC Radio 5 Live: “I don’t think either of them will be happy with that draw.
“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.
“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.”
Credit: AFP Saturday's schedule
Day 1 of the World Snooker Championship is less than 48 hours away.
Here’s how Saturday is shaping up after today’s draw –
10:00
- Kyren Wilson (1) v Lei Peifan
- Xiao Guodong (14) v Matthew Selt
14:30
- Neil Robertson (9) v Chris Wakelin
- Mark Williams (6) v Wu Yize
19:00
- Kyren Wilson (1) v Lei Peifan
- Barry Hawkins (11) v Hossein Vafaei
Draw recap
The World Championship is almost upon us – and we’ve 16 first-round matches to look forward to.
This morning’s draw has thrown up some surprises, as well as some scores to settle.
- Kyren Wilson (ENG) (1) v Lei Peifan (CHN)
- Jak Jones (WAL) (16) v Zhao Xintong (CHN)
- Neil Robertson (AUS) (9) v Chris Wakelin (ENG)
- Mark Allen (NIR) (8) v Fan Zhengyi (CHN)
- Ronnie O’Sullivan (ENG) (5) v Ali Carter (ENG)
- Zhang Anda (CHN) (12) v Pang Junxu (CHN)
- Si Jiahui (CHN) (13) v David Gilbert (ENG)
- Mark Selby (ENG) (4) v Ben Woollaston (ENG)
- John Higgins (SCO) (3) v Joe O’Connor (ENG)
- Xiao Guodong (CHN) (14) v Matthew Selt (ENG)
- Barry Hawkins (ENG) (11) v Hossein Vafaei (IRN)
- Mark Williams (WAL) (6) v Wu Yize (CHN)
- Luca Brecel (BEL) (7) v Ryan Day (WAL)
- Ding Junhui (CHN) (10) v Zak Surety (ENG)
- Shaun Murphy (ENG) (15) v Daniel Wells (WAL)
- Judd Trump (ENG) (2) v Zhou Yuelong (CHN)
Credit: PA
