The 16 World Snooker Championship qualifiers

The main stages of the 2024 World Snooker Championship are just around the corner after the qualifiers concluded on Wednesday in Sheffield.

Sixteen players emerged from the English Institute of Sport to join the top 16 seeds from the world rankings in the round-of-32 draw.

The first round proper commences on Saturday at the Crucible Theatre, but let’s see who made it through Judgement Day this week.

Who advanced from the World Snooker Championship Qualifiers?

Jack Lisowski

Lisowski had a relatively easy time of it in the qualifiers, securing 10-4 and 10-3 victories over Liu Hongyu and Matthew Stevens respectively.

The world number 17 just missed out on an automatic spot but will safely return to the Crucible for the seventh year on the trot.

Ricky Walden

Ricky Walden sealed his appearance at the Crucible with a dramatic 10-9 triumph over Mark Davis on Judgement Day.

Walden, a three-time ranking event winner, reached the World Championship semi-finals in 2013.

Dominic Dale

Following a ten-year absence from the sport’s spiritual home, Dominic Dale will compete at the Crucible again at the age of 52.

The veteran Welshman, twice a quarter-finalist, beat David Grace and He Guoqiang in the World Snooker Championship qualifiers this year.

Jamie Jones

Jamie Jones fought back from 8-5 down to sensationally dump former world champion Neil Robertson out of the qualifying competition.

Jones memorably reached the last eight on his debut in 2012 and has twice reached the last 16 since.

Jak Jones

Like his namesake Jamie, Jak Jones also embarked on an unlikely run to the quarter-finals on his first Crucible appearance in 2023.

The 30 year-old is back for another crack after beating Jamie Clarke and Zhou Yuelong.

Stephen Maguire

After the disappointment of losing in the preliminary competition a year ago, Stephen Maguire bounced back in 2024 with victories over Ashley Hugill and Yuan Sijun.

The Scot, a two-time semi-finalist, will make his 20th appearance in the prestigious event.

Stuart Bingham

Former world champion Stuart Bingham certainly didn’t have it all his own way in the qualifiers, beating Stuart Carrington 10-9 and Louis Heathcote 10-8.

However, with his vast experience, he will undoubtedly be one of the players most seeds will be desperate to avoid in the first round.

Robbie Williams

Robbie Williams qualified for the Crucible three years in a row between 2014 and 2016, but it has taken him until now to secure a return.

As the world number 45, Williams is the lowest ranked qualifier in this year’s World Championship draw.

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World Championship Seeds
1. Luca Brecel
2. Ronnie O’Sullivan
3. Judd Trump
4. Mark Allen
5. Mark Selby
6. Mark Williams
7. Ding Junhui
8. Shaun Murphy
9. Ali Carter
10. Gary Wilson
11. Zhang Anda
12. Kyren Wilson
13. John Higgins
14. Tom Ford
15. Barry Hawkins
16. Robert Milkins

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Hossein Vafaei

Hossein Vafaei looked to be in some trouble when he trailed Jiang Jun 3-0 on Judgement Day, but the Iranian fought back to prevail 10-5.

The former Shoot Out champion shared a memorable war of words with Ronnie O’Sullivan at the Crucible last year when he reached the last 16.

Joe O’Connor

Joe O’Connor will represent the only debutant in this year’s World Snooker Championship draw.

The English former ranking event runner-up outlasted Matthew Selt in a marathon 10-8 match in which their last frame took almost two hours to complete.

Pang Junxu

Pang Junxu made it consecutive Crucible qualifications courtesy of a 10-8 triumph over fellow Chinese cueist Cao Yupeng in the final round.

The 24 year-old is one of three Chinese qualifiers and five from China who will feature in Thursday’s first round draw.

Jackson Page

After accounting for 2006 world champion Graeme Dott in the penultimate round, Jackson Page pipped Noppon Saengkham in a deciding-frame thriller on Judgement Day.

The young Welshman reached the last 16 on his debut two years ago, his only previous Crucible appearance.

Si Jiahui

Si Jiahui looked to be in big trouble when he lost the opening four frames of his Judgement Day clash with Wu Yize.

But last year’s surprise semi-finalist, who emerged from a dramatic third qualifying-round clash with Ben Mertens in a decider, won the following ten frames to advance.

Lyu Haotian

Lyu Haotian ended the hopes of Jenson Kendrick in the last round, the latter having battled his way through from the first qualifying round.

Lyu has made three appearances at the Crucible in the past, reaching the second round in 2018.

David Gilbert

A 10-6 triumph earned David Gilbert a spot in the World Championship draw for the tenth time in his career.

The Englishman has played at the Crucible every year since 2019, when he embarked on a memorable run to the semi-finals.

Ryan Day

Ryan Day looked to be in complete control when he led Scott Donaldson 7-2 after their first session, but in the end he only just scrambled through with a 10-9 success.

The four-time ranking event winner is vastly experienced and will be one of the World Snooker Championship qualifiers that several seeds will want to avoid.

When is the first round draw for the Crucible?

The first round draw for the 2024 World Snooker Championship will be made from around 8:30am UTC on Thursday, April 18th.

The draw will be conducted live on BBC Radio 5 Live and the BBC Sport website.

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World Snooker Championship qualifiers draw

All matches are the best of 19 frames played across two sessions.
Scorelines in italics indicate the end of the first session.

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Qualifier 1

Route	R1	R2	R3	R4
1	Jimmy White w/o Martin Gould	Jimmy White 3-10 Liu Hongyu	Liu Hongyu 4-10 Jack Lisowski
				Jack Lisowski 10-3 Matthew Stevens
2	Ryan Thomerson 3-10 Liam Davies	Liam Davies 2-10 Jimmy Robertson	Jimmy Robertson 6-10 Matthew Stevens

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Qualifier 2

Route	R1	R2	R3	R4
3	Ian Burns 10-1 Dean Young	Ian Burns 10-7 Mark Joyce	Ian Burns 7-10 Ricky Walden
				Ricky Walden 10-9 Mark Davis
4	Andy Lee 9-10 Andrew Pagett	Andrew Pagett 2-10 Mark Davis	Mark Davis 10-8 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh

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Qualifier 3

Route	R1	R2	R3	R4
5	Rory Thor 10-2 Hamza Ilyas	Rory Thor 8-10 David Grace	David Grace 6-10 Dominic Dale
				Dominic Dale 10-8 He Guoqiang
6	Ross Muir 10-9 Cheung Ka Wai	Ross Muir 8-10 He Guoqiang	He Guoqiang 10-5 Anthony McGill

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Qualifier 4

Route	R1	R2	R3	R4
7	Alfie Burden 10-1 Rebecca Kenna	Alfie Burden 10-3 Xu Si	Alfie Burden 5-10 Jamie Jones
				Jamie Jones 10-9 Neil Robertson
8	Ishpreet Singh Chadha 6-10 Gao Yang	Gao Yang 6-10 Zak Surety	Zac Surety 2-10 Neil Robertson

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Qualifier 5

Route	R1	R2	R3	R4
9	Sean O’Sullivan 8-10 Bulscu Revesz	Bulscu Revesz 8-10 James Cahill	James Cahill 0-10 Zhou Yuelong
				Zhou Yuelong 4-10 Jak Jones
10	Andres Petrov 10-1 Ahmed Elsayed	Andres Petrov 7-10 Jamie Clarke	Jamie Clarke 6-10 Jak Jones

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Qualifier 6

Route	R1	R2	R3	R4
11	Adam Duffy 10-5 Mink Nutcharut	Adam Duffy 4-10 Ashley Hugill	Ashley Hugill 7-10 Stephen Maguire
				Stephen Maguire 10-6 Yuan Sijun
12	Andrew Higginson 10-7 Duane Jones	Andrew Higginson 8-10 Michael White	Michael White 8-10 Yuan Sijun

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Qualifier 7

Route	R1	R2	R3	R4
13	Louis Heathcote 10-4 Oliver Sykes	Louis Heathcote 10-7 Oliver Lines	Louis Heathcote 10-8 Elliot Slessor
				Louis Heathcote 8-10 Stuart Bingham
14	Stuart Carrington 10-5 Himanshu Jain	Stuart Carrington 10-9 Liam Highfield	Stuart Carrington 9-10 Stuart Bingham

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Qualifier 8

Route	R1	R2	R3	R4
15	Alexander Ursenbacher 10-0 Iulian Boiko	Alexander Ursenbacher 7-10 Anthony Hamilton	Anthony Hamilton 5-10 Robbie Williams
				Robbie Williams 10-9 Chris Wakelin
16	Allan Taylor 10-6 Vladislav Gradinari	Allan Taylor 9-10 Lukas Kleckers	Lukas Kleckers 5-10 Chris Wakelin

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Qualifier 9

Route	R1	R2	R3	R4
17	Marco Fu 10-1 Baipat Siripaporn	Marco Fu 10-6 Ken Doherty	Marco Fu 4-10 Hossein Vafaei
				Hossein Vafaei 10-5 Jiang Jun
18	Jiang Jun 10-6 Amir Sarkhosh	Jiang Jun 10-8 Fan Zhengyi	Jiang Jun 10-8 Sam Craigie

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Qualifier 10

Route	R1	R2	R3	R4
19	Hammad Miah 2-10 Haydon Pinhey	Haydon Pinhey 3-10 Julien Leclercq	Julien Leclercq 1-10 Joe O’Connor
				Joe O’Connor 10-8 Matthew Selt
20	Daniel Womersley w/o Muhammad Asif	Daniel Womersley 3-10 Aaron Hill	Aaron Hill 4-10 Matthew Selt

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Qualifier 11

Route	R1	R2	R3	R4
21	Ma Hailong 10-1 Victor Sarkis	Ma Hailong 10-7 Martin O’Donnell	Ma Hailong 4-10 Cao Yupeng
				Cao Yupeng 8-10 Pang Junxu
22	Oliver Brown 10-0 Reanne Evans	Oliver Brown 10-8 Dylan Emery	Oliver Brown 7-10 Pang Junxu

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Qualifier 12

Route	R1	R2	R3	R4
23	Fergal O’Brien 8-10 Mostafa Dorgham	Mostafa Dorgham 5-10 Graeme Dott	Graeme Dott 5-10 Jackson Page
				Jackson Page 10-9 Noppon Saengkham
24	Long Zehuang 10-1 Sydney Wilson	Long Zehuang 2-10 Andy Hicks	Andy Hicks 5-10 Noppon Saengkham

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Qualifier 13

Route	R1	R2	R3	R4
25	Rod Lawler 10-7 Gong Chenzhi	Rod Lawler 9-10 Ben Mertens	Ben Mertens 9-10 Si Jiahui
				Si Jiahui 10-4 Wu Yize
26	Stan Moody 6-10 Mohamed Shehab	Mohamed Shebab 8-10 Tian Pengfei	Tian Pengfei 8-10 Wu Yize

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Qualifier 14

Route	R1	R2	R3	R4
27	Xing Zihao 10-6 Michael Holt	Xing Zihao 5-10 Daniel Wells	Daniel Wells 8-10 Lyu Haotian
				Lyu Haotian 10-7 Jenson Kendrick
28	Jenson Kendrick 10-7 Bai Yulu	Jenson Kendrick 10-8 Ben Woollaston	Jenson Kendrick 10-5 Jordan Brown

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Qualifier 15

Route	R1	R2	R3	R4
29	Liam Pullen 10-3 Anton Kazakov	Liam Pullen 8-10 Sanderson Lam	Sanderson Lam 2-10 Xiao Guodong
				Xiao Guodong 6-10 David Gilbert
30	Peng Yisong 10-5 Manasawin Phetmalaikul	Peng Yisong 9-10 David Lilley	David Lilley 4-10 David Gilbert

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Qualifier 16

Route	R1	R2	R3	R4
31	Mohamed Ibrabim 6-10 Peter Lines	Peter Lines 6-10 Scott Donaldson	Scott Donaldson 10-6 Joe Perry
				Scott Donaldson 9-10 Ryan Day
32	Ashley Carty 10-4 Liam Graham	Ashley Carty 6-10 John Astley	John Astley 6-10 Ryan Day

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Featured photo credit: WST