Michael Emons
BBC Sport at the Crucible Theatre

Image source, Michael Emons

Ali Carter has twice lost in the Crucible final - 2008 and 2012 - and when I was speaking to him on Friday he said reaching the last four this year would be seen as a good tournament for him.

"It would mean everything to every player in the building to be world champion and we all saw what happened to Luca last year and I would love that to be me this season," said Carter.

"It shows what can happen, you get on a good run and go home with the trophy and a pocket of prize money."

Carter reached the Masters final earlier this season, losing to Ronnie O'Sullivan, and hopes to find the form that got him to that final.

"That gives me a lot of confidence, but this is a very different event, a lot longer," added Carter. "All I can do is try my best and see what it brings. I've had a consistent season.

"It's a privilege to be playing here. It's a tough match, Stephen is a great player and I will have to be on my game."

After spending the opening two frames pretty much glued to his seat he'll need to get going soon to prevent Maguire from opening up a handy lead.

That is some shot. Hossein Vafaei drops in a red dead weight to get on the black. What a reaction to going two frames down.

Meanwhile, Judd Trump is knocking balls in left, right and centre and plays a wonderful shot from brown to blue to ensure he wins the second frame.

Another half century for the world number two, who goes two up with a run of 66.

That'll sting Hossein Vafaei.

Stephen Maguire does indeed make the most of that Ali Carter miss over on the other side of the partition.

The Scot is playing some great stuff here and compiles a superb 114 break to go with his 93 in the opener.

What a shot that is. Hossein Vafaei looks to be racing through the gears as he gets to 48 but is then faced with a horrible red along the bottom cushion...which he rattles in.

He does not get a decent run of the ball after cannoning into the cluster of reds while knocking in the black and misses a difficult red into the top left corner with his next shot.

Judd Trump is up and out of his seat and barring a couple of tricky balls will fancy a counter clearance.

Who'd have thought it.

A match between Judd Trump and Hossein Vafaei has sustained bout of safety before the impasse is broken.

JT leaves a long red near to the right corner and his opponent knocks that in.

Vafaei than plays a superb long blue into the heart of the top left corner and will be hoping to make a sizable contribution here.

Ali Carter misses a long red to the bottom left corner and leaves Stephen Maguire with the chance to cash in.

The balls look pretty well placed for the 2004 UK Championship winner here.

Stephen Hendry
Seven-time world champion on BBC Two

I have been wrong in the past and I will be in the future but think Judd could dominate this session now.

Steve Davis
Six-time world champion on BBC Two

Judd is impressive because he is a great front runner but he also knows how to come back from behind. It is important to have that character and makes him tough to beat.

Over on the other side of the screen, Stephen Maguire takes an early lead over Ali Carter with an impressive break of 93.

And he does with a break of 63.

Judd Trump wafts a long red into the bottom right corner. A brilliant shot to nothing. He looks like he's snookered himself on that rogue black that stayed over the bottom but nothing that a bit of swerve can't sort out.

The Englishman should take the first frame from here.

Shaun Murphy
2005 world champion on BBC One

You would not see Judd miss more than two or three blacks like that over a season.

A collector's item. Judd Trump misses a black off its spot into the bottom left corner pocket.

Michael Emons
BBC Sport at the Crucible Theatre

Image source, Michael Emons

Judd Trump lifted this trophy in 2019, beating John Higgins 18-9 in the final, and then lost to Ronnie O'Sullivan 18-13 in the 2022 showpiece.

Trump comes in as the world number two, although Iran's Hossein Vafaei - 19th in the world - is theoretically the third toughest player he could have been paired with.

But in the build up to this match Trump, who beat Vafaei 10-4 at the Crucible two years ago, reckoned the Iranian's attacking style would suit his game.

“It’s another high-ranked player, but it makes my job easier as I struggle against the lower-ranked players," said Trump. "With Hossein you know he will be a good standard and it’s a good draw for me. I want the toughest tests and hardest draws as that’s when I feel I can prove what I’m about.

"I played him two years ago and I won comfortably. He plays the game the right way and I would rather play him than someone who is a bit slower as you get bogged down and only play seven frames a session. We play a similar game and I back myself that I’m better than him to do it."

An unexpected and early miss on a straightish red into the bottom right corner from Hossein Vafaei on 13.

Judd Trump is in and in prime position with a couple of reds hovering over the bottom corner pockets.

Could this be the first frame?

Judd Trump plays an attacking safety that goes wrong and leaves Hossein Vafaei with an long early red right over the right bag.

The Iranian knocks that in and decides the black is too tricky before taking on an equally difficult pink, which he strokes into the right middle.

What can he do from here?

Right master of ceremonies Rob Walker, has done his bit, all four players are out, so let's get this show on the road.

Ali Carter and Stephen Maguire are both making their 20th appearances at the Crucible this time around.

The pair have not met at the World Championship for over a decade, with Carter prevailing 17-12 in the 2012 semi-final.

The Englishman, who has already reached the final of the Wuhan Open and Masters this term also boast a marginally better head-to-head record against the Scot.

This is Hossein Vafaei's third trip to the Crucible and he is yet to get beyond the second round.

His match against Judd Trump is also a repeat of their first-round meeting in 2022.

The Iranian has shown he can beat Trump in the past but the Englishman, who tends to grow into the big events will be keen to avoid a second exit at this stage in consecutive years.