 Higgins beat Shaun Murphy 18-9 to win the 2009 title |
Defending champion John Higgins will face Barry Hawkins in the first round of the World Snooker Championship. "He's the highest ranked qualifier in the draw, so it's a tough start again for me. But they're all tough," Higgins told BBC Scotland. "I'm just trying my best to win another one, which would be great." Seven-time champion Stephen Hendry has been paired with a rising Chinese star, Crucible debutant Anda Zhang, 18, while Graeme Dott will play Peter Ebdon. Scotland's Stephen Maguire will take on Stephen Lee in the tournament, which gets under way on 17 April, while Dumbarton's Marcus Campbell will play Mark Williams.  | My form is good and this is an exciting part of the year |
Three-time world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan has been handed a tricky tie against China's Liang Wenbo. Higgins has experienced a mixed year after claiming last year's title, losing to Neil Robertson in the semi-final of the Grand Prix in Glasgow, before beating defending champion Ali Carter 9-4 in the Welsh Open final. However, the man known as the 'Wishaw Wizard' is confident he can build on his win against Carter to shine at the Crucible. "My form is good, it's been good all year and this is an exciting part of the year," said Higgins. "I just need to practise a little bit harder. It's been a good year for me. I won the Welsh Open and did well in some of the other events. "It could have been better, were it not for a couple of missed balls here and there."
Full draw: John Higgins v Barry Hawkins Mark King v Steve Davis Neil Robertson v Fergal O'Brien Marco Fu v Martin Gould Ali Carter v Jamie Cope Joe Perry v Michael Holt Ding Junhui v Stuart Pettman Shaun Murphy v Gerrard Greene Stephen Maguire v Stephen Lee Peter Ebdon v Graeme Dott Mark Allen v Tom Ford Ryan Day v Mark Davis Mark Selby v Ken Doherty Stephen Hendry v Anda Zhang Mark Williams v Marcus Campbell Ronnie O'Sullivan v Liang Wenbo
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