The Six Red World Championship commences on Monday in Thailand, marking its return to the calendar for the first time since 2019.
Previously an annual fixture on the schedule, the tournament was repeatedly postponed or cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
But the tournament is finally back with a number of big stars in attendance and a huge sum of money to fight for in Pathum Thani.
Prize, history, format
There is 4,200,000 Thai baht on offer for the champion on Saturday, which converts to about £100,000.
Stephen Maguire will finally have the opportunity to defend the title he won three years ago, when he overcame fellow Scot John Higgins in the final.
Maguire is somewhat of a six-red specialist having also claimed glory in 2014, although given his recent form he probably won’t be among the favourites this week.
Several other participants in the 2023 Six Red World Championship draw have plenty of experience in the reduced-balls format as well.
Home hero Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, Ding Junhui, and Ricky Walden have all featured in two finals, winning one each.
Mark Williams and Jimmy White are the other former champions in the field which has been comprised through a mix of invitations and qualifiers.
The format is the same as in previous editions with the 32-player lineup first split into eight round-robin groups of four, before the top two from each group advance to the knockout phase of the event.
Six Red World Championship draw
Alongside the former winners, there are a lot of other formidable competitors involved.
World champion and world number one Ronnie O’Sullivan will participate for the first time and has been placed in a group alongside Thai legend James Wattana.
Recent Masters champion Judd Trump is back for the first time since 2015, while there are spots for Higgins, Stuart Bingham, Robert Milkins, Hossein Vafaei, Ken Doherty, and Mink Nutcharut as well.
It had been initially reported by the World Snooker Tour that numerous other members of the top 16 in the world rankings would be taking part.
Mark Selby, Mark Allen, Shaun Murphy, Kyren Wilson, Jack Lisowski, Luca Brecel, Ali Carter, and Barry Hawkins were all supposed to feature but have withdrawn.
Round-robin groups (L32)
| GROUP A | GROUP B |
| Stephen Maguire | Zhou Yuelong |
| Ding Junhui | Tom Ford |
| Zhang Anda | Thepchaiya Un-Nooh |
| Mink Nutcharut | Jimmy White |
| GROUP C | GROUP D |
| John Higgins | Judd Trump |
| Hossein Vafaei | Ricky Walden |
| Ken Doherty | Ma Hailong |
| Poramin Danjirakul | Kritsanut Lertsattayathorn |
| GROUP E | GROUP F |
| Matthew Selt | Mark Williams |
| Robert Milkins | Joe Perry |
| Chris Wakelin | Andres Petrov |
| Dechawat Poomjaeng | Sunny Akani |
| GROUP G | GROUP H |
| Jordan Brown | Ronnie O’Sullivan |
| Stuart Bingham | Jimmy Robertson |
| Noppon Saengkham | James Wattana |
| Mahmoud El Hareedy | Stan Moody |
Where to watch
There will be live coverage throughout Europe on Eurosport and discovery+.
Other options are available to viewers across the world, which can be seen over at the WST website.
Featured photo credit: WST
