David Gilbert reached the semi-finals last year as a qualifier (Picture: Getty Images) The 16 qualifiers for this year’s World Snooker Championship have been confirmed ahead of the draw for the opening round on Thursday morning. The gruelling qualification period began on April 7 and came to a close on Wednesday evening with the second of the two Judgement Days. A number of big names fell in the qualifiers, including the likes of Jack Lisowski, Stephen Maguire, Stuart Bingham and Anthony McGill. There will be three debutants at the Crucible this year, with Daniel Wells, Zak Surety and Lei Peifan making their first appearances at the iconic theatre. There is also a remarkable return to the big time for Zhao Xintong, who has bounced back after his ban for being part of the match-fixing scandal in some style. The top 16 in the world await in the draw on Thursday morning, with those elite players getting handed a random qualifier. The Crucible stages get underway on Saturday morning, with defending champion Kyren Wilson getting his campaign underway in the opening session. The 2025 World Snooker Championship field Judd TrumpKyren WilsonJohn HigginsMark SelbyRonnie O’SullivanMark WilliamsLuca BrecelMark AllenNeil RobertsonDing JunhuiBarry HawkinsZhang AndaSi JiahuiXiao GuodongShaun MurphyJak Jones Kyren Wilson lifted the trophy a year ago (Picture: Getty Images) Chris WakelinZak SuretyZhao XintongZhou YuelongRyan DayBen WoollastonDavid GilbertDaniel WellsFan ZhengyiHossein VafaeiAli CarterPang JunxuLei PeifanJoe O’ConnorMatt SeltWu Yize When is the World Snooker Championship draw and how to watch it The draw will take place on Thursday April 17 at 8.45am. It will be available to watch on the BBC Sport website, iPlayer and Red Button. You can also listen on BBC 5 Live Breakfast and BBC Sounds. The main stages then run from April 19 – May 5. Judgement Day results Tuesday April 15 Gary Wilson 9-10 Daniel WellsZhou Yuelong 10-5 Yuan SijunRicky Walden 3-10 Zak SuretyRoss Muir 4-10 Ben WoollastonElliot Slessor 8-10 Zhao XintongRyan Day 10-5 Sunny AkaniMartin O’Donnell 2-10 Chris WakelinDavid Gilbert 10-9 Aaron Hill Zhao Xintong makes a return to the Crucible (Picture: Getty Images) Wednesday April 16 Fan Zhengyi 10-3 Michael HoltHossein Vafaei 10-4 Wang YuchenAli Carter 10-5 He GuoqiangPang Junxu 10-6 Jamie JonesLei Peifan 10-9 Gao YangJoe O’Connor 10-7 Jackson PageWu Yize 10-9 Matthew StevensMatt Selt 10-9 Jimmy Robertson