CWM cueman Mark Williams will start his bid for a third World Snooker Championship against England’s Jimmy Robertson next Tuesday.

Williams, 43, whose previous Crucible triumphs came in 2000 and 2003, beat world number 34 Robertson on his way to the German Masters crown earlier this year.

Victory for the Gwent left-hander, ranked seventh in the world, would set him up for a second-round clash with either Neil Robertson or Robert Milkins.

Meanwhile, Williams’ fellow Welshmen Matthew Stevens, Ryan Day and Jamie Jones play Kyren Wilson, Anthony McGill and Shaun Murphy.

Ronnie O’Sullivan and Mark Selby were handed tough opening tests for the Betfred-sponsored event, which starts tomorrow.

Both will need to be sharp on the opening weekend after five-time champion O’Sullivan was paired with Stephen Maguire and title holder Selby landed a first-round tussle with Joe Perry.

Maguire and Perry have reached the semi-finals at the Crucible before, though both have fallen out of the top 16 so had to come through qualifying to reach the main draw this time.

Former runner-up Judd Trump meets debutant Chris Wakelin, John Higgins, a four-time winner, starts against Thailand’s Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, another newcomer to snooker’s most famous venue.

Ding Junhui plays fellow Chinese cueman Xiao Guodong first, 2006 champion Graeme Dott takes on twice runner-up Ali Carter and 2015 winner Stuart Bingham faces Jack Lisowski.

Remaining first round ties: Mark Allen v Liam Highfield, Luca Brecel v Ricky Walden, Marco Fu v Lyu Haotian, Barry Hawkins v Stuart Carrington.