A total of 128 players will vie for one of the 16 coveted spots at the Crucible.
The draw for the World Snooker Championship qualifying stages has been made, with Stephen Hendry set to take on old rival Jimmy White in an almost unbelievable pairing.
Hendry is competing for a World Championship berth for the first time in nine years, when he originally retired from the game after losing in the 2012 quarter-finals.
The Scot will begin his attempt at securing an unlikely eighth world crown against the man he famously beat in four finals and played seven times in total World Championship encounters between 1988 and 1998 at the Crucible.
Like in the 2020 edition, there will be four rounds in the preliminaries with competitors ranked from 81 and below in the official world rankings battling it out at the first hurdle alongside 16 invited international amateurs.
The 32 winners enter the second round and face the players ranked from 49 to 80, before those in the 17 to 48 bracket enter in round three.
The final 32 contenders will finally go head-to-head on what is known as Judgement Day in the World Snooker Championship qualifying draw.
Defending champion Ronnie O’Sullivan, world number one Judd Trump, and former champions John Higgins, Mark Selby, and Mark Williams are among the top 16 members who are already guaranteed their places at the venue stages in Sheffield.
The qualifiers take place from April 5th to 14th with the first round proper getting under way three days later at the Crucible Theatre.
The action will be played over the best of 11 frames until the final round, which will be contested across two sessions and the usual best of 19 frames.
As well the obvious bid to compete in snooker’s blue-riband tournament, there will also be the additional drama surrounding the tour survival hopes of those lower down the rankings list.
There will be more information on that later, but for now, you can check out the draw via this link or below.
Pingback: Stephen Hendry on Facing Jimmy White: 'It's a Dream Draw' - SnookerHQ
Pingback: Stephen Hendry vs Jimmy White - A Famous Rivalry - SnookerHQ