Wilson to face Lei, O'Sullivan v Carter at World Championship

Halo World Championship

Venue: Crucible Theatre, Sheffield Dates: 19 April to 5 May

Coverage: Watch live on BBC TV, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website and app; live text coverage of selected matches; updates on Radio 5 Live.

Defending champion Kyren Wilson will play Lei Peifan in the World Championship first round - with Ronnie O'Sullivan set to face Ali Carter as he bids for a record eighth title in the modern era.

O'Sullivan, 49, who confirmed on Thursday that he plans to participate in the tournament, has not played competitively since snapping his cue at the Championship League in January.

His prospective meeting with Carter, who at 18th in the world is the highest ranked qualifier, is a repeat of the 2008 and 2012 finals, which were both won by 'The Rocket'.

World number one Judd Trump will take on Zhou Yuelong, while Masters winner Shaun Murphy will play debutant Daniel Wells.

Four-time world champion Mark Selby will meet qualifier Ben Woollaston, who is appearing in the televised stages of the competition for the first time since 2013.

John Higgins, who has also won four world crowns, will play Joe O'Connor, while 2024 finalist Jak Jones faces a difficult assignment against former UK champion Zhao Xintong, who is competing as an amateur having served a ban for breaching betting regulations.

Zhao is one of a record 10 Chinese players to reach this stage of the tournament -with Ding Junhui facing another man making his debut in Zak Surety and Si Jiahui, who reached the last four two years ago, playing David Gilbert, a semi-finalist in 2024.

There are a number of other intriguing encounters in the draw, with 2010 champion Neil Robertson facing Chris Wakelin, Mark Allen taking on Fan Zhengyi, and Barry Hawkins playing Hossein Vafaei.

The tournament begins on Saturday at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, with live coverage across the BBC.

O'Sullivan & Carter to renew rivalry

There is plenty of history when it comes to O'Sullivan versus Carter.

Formerly practice partners, their relationship appears to have soured over the years. They have met twice with the world title on the line and more recently played out a fiercely contested Masters final in 2024, with O'Sullivan victorious.

After that encounter, O'Sullivan called Carter "not a nice person" and "a nightmare" to play against after being criticised by his opponent.

O'Sullivan, who has claimed a record 41 ranking titles, has dominated their head-to-head statistics, winning 24 of their 27 matches in varying formats of the game.

However, Carter did triumph in the second-round contest at the World Championship in April 2018, in another match with a bit of spice to it.

The pair barged shoulders during the 19th frame of Carter's 13-9 second-round win at the Crucible. Referee Paul Collier told the players to get back to the game after words were exchanged between the pair.

O'Sullivan later said the incident was "nothing" - and blamed the media for trying to make a story out of it.

First-round draw

Kyren Wilson v Lei Peifan

Jak Jones v Zhao Xintong

Neil Robertson v Chris Wakelin

Mark Allen v Fan Zhengyi

Ronnie O'Sullivan v Ali Carter

Zhang Anda v Pang Junxu

Si Jiahui v David Gilbert

Mark Selby v Ben Woollaston

John Higgins v Joe O'Connor

Xiao Guodong v Matthew Selt

Barry Hawkins v Hossein Vafaei

Mark Williams v Wu Yize

Luca Brecel v Ryan Day

Ding Junhui v Zak Surety

Shaun Murphy v Daniel Wells

Judd Trump v Zhou Yuelong

Analysis - 'It's a horrible draw' for O'Sullivan

Mark Selby, four-time world champion on BBC Radio 5 Live

I don't think either of them [Ronnie O'Sullivan or Ali Carter] will be happy with that draw. It is great Ronnie is in the competition - we've not seen him since January. I want him to play and as it stands, it seems like he is playing which is fantastic for the game.

Carter is one of the toughest qualifiers to get drawn against. It is a horrible draw.