Mark Selby wary of 'horrible' first-round ties at the Crucible as stars battle it out in World Championship qualifiers
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Updated 08/04/2024 at 22:19 GMT
Mark Selby has been highlighting snooker's strength in depth as he gears up for a tilt at a fifth World Championship title. The qualifying event for the Crucible has got underway this week, with a number of former winners and runners-up all desperate to book their ticket to Sheffield. Selby says with the likes of Stuart Bingham and Neil Robertson in action, some "horrible" matches lie ahead.
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Mark Selby says he is wary of some possibly "horrible" opponents coming through qualifying at the World Championship.
Neil Robertson and Stuart Bingham, the 2010 and 2015 winners respectively, are among the players desperately trying to secure their place at the Crucible.
Four-time world champion Selby believes that shows snooker's strength in depth, and that some tasty early contests could come up.
"You’ve got some horrible matches coming through the qualifiers," he told Metro.co.uk.
"Normally over the last few years there’s been some horrible matches and you can pick four or five where you don’t really want him and him, but now there’s more than ever."
The world's top 16 players get direct entry into the first round, meaning Selby, alongside the likes of Tour Championship winner Mark Williams and 2023 winner Luca Brecel, do not have to come through qualifying.
Ronnie O'Sullivan, who will be attempting to land a record eighth crown, is also assured of his place at the Crucible.
For everyone else, though, they face the wild west of coming through up to four rounds of qualifying to make it to Sheffield.
Robertson and Bingham are joined in the draw by the likes of former runners-up Matthew Stevens and Jimmy White, the latter of whom is already through to the second round after a 10-0 walkover win over Martin Gould.
And Selby is wary of anybody who does the business to reach the Crucible.
"Neil is going to be a tough game for anyone," he continued. "People like [Stephen] Maguire, he’s still a class act. I know the last 12-18 months he’s not played anywhere near as good as we know he can, but you still wouldn’t want him first round.
"You’ve got Hossein [Vafaei], Ricky Walden, some horrible ties. [Anthony] McGill, [Jack] Lisowski, Bingham, there’s nearly eight or nine straight away.
"Half of the qualifiers you don’t want to draw."
The final round of qualifying, otherwise known as 'Judgement Day,' takes place across April 16 and 17, while the main event starts on April 20.
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