A total of 144 players started the qualifying tournament at Sheffield's English Institute of Sport on 7 April. It runs until 16 April. Among those bidding to qualify are two-time finalists Ali Carter and Matthew Stephens. China's Zhao Xintong, the 2021 UK champion, has secured his place at the Crucible after returning to the sport in September following a 20-month ban for his involvement in a match-fixing scandal. Six-time finalist Jimmy White's bid to play at the Crucible for the first time since 2006 ended in the second round, while former semi-finalist Joe Perry and Dominic Dale retired from the sport after going out in the third round. Stuart Bingham, the 2015 champion, also suffered a third qualifying round defeat. Jackson Page made the first 147 maximum break of his career during the third round of qualifying, and incredibly the 23-year-old Welshman added a second later in the same match - a 10-2 win against Allan Taylor. That earned Page a £147,000 bonus and put him in line for the £15,000 World Championship highest break prize. Sixteen qualifiers will join 16 seeded players in the first round proper.