Clash of China's finest to cue off Crucible action

Superstar Ding draws Xiao in opening match

Chinese snooker superstar Ding Junhui will face compatriot Xiao Guodong in an eye-catching first-round clash at the World Snooker Championship which gets underway on Saturday at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England.

World No 3 Ding, whose 2016 championship final loss to Mark Selby attracted an audience of 42 million in China, is once again the favored challenger from Asia and faces a 29-year-old opponent who is ranked 25th and appearing in just his third world championship.

The 31-year-old Ding has not shown great form this season although he reached the World Grand Prix final, where he was beaten 10-3 by Ronnie O'Sullivan.

"There are tough times in snooker, I have had many struggles," he told The Independent newspaper.

"It happens for all top players - the difference with Ronnie O'Sullivan, for example, is that his bad times last at most two months. For others, it can be six months, a year, two years."

Ding's countryman Liang Wenbo, ranked 19th in the world, will face Welsh qualifier Jamie Jones, while there are certain to be two players from China in the second round as veteran Marco Fu from Hong Kong has been drawn against Lyu Haotian, the lowest ranked player in the draw at 68th in the world.

Thailand's Thepchaiya Un-Nooh has a mammoth task in progressing as he faces Scotland's four-time world champion John Higgins while Australia's 2010 champion Neil Robertson plays journeyman English cueman Robert Milkins.

Two-time defending champion Selby begins the defense of his title on Saturday against fellow Englishman Joe Perry.

The championship runs until May 7.

Ronnie confident

Crowd favorite O'Sullivan believes he can cap a fine season by winning a sixth world title but has named two-time defending champion Selby as the Crucible favorite.

'The Rocket' has not reached the final in Sheffield since 2014, when Selby won his first title, and is still seeking the elusive sixth crown that would put him level with Steve Davis and Ray Reardon in second place on the sport's professional-era list, behind only Stephen Hendry, who won seven times.

"I think Mark Selby is obviously (the favorite)," O'Sullivan told Eurosport ahead of the start of the tournament on Saturday.

"He's won it three times out of the last four. Great match player. If he gets it right every player in the tournament knows he's a proper handful. And obviously Judd Trump as well. If he gets it right he's a handful for anybody."

At the age of 42, O'Sullivan would be the oldest champion since Reardon lifted the world title at 45 in 1978 but says he is pacing himself as he targets Hendry's record.

"I'd like to win another two world titles in the next eight years before I get to 50," he said.

"I just try to enjoy my life now and to stay in good shape. I'm looking for longevity so I'm trying not to get sucked into every tournament like the other guys do."

O'Sullivan has a tough first-round encounter with Scotland's Stephen Maguire.

O'Sullivan, who has won five ranking titles this season including a record-equaling sixth UK Championship, is in a more upbeat mood about the world championship than he was in December, when he said in a Twitter question-and-answer session that the tournament was his "least fav event".

Agence France - presse