World Snooker Championship 2015: Mark Selby begins title defence against Kurt Maflin

On April 18, Mark Selby will begin his attempt to become the first player in Crucible history to win the World Snooker Championship title back-to-back, and he shall do so against debutant Kurt Maflin.

The Norweigan impressed during the exhausting qualifying process, defeating David Grace 10-5, six-time champion Steve Davis 10-1, and Fergal O'Brien 10-9 in a tightly-contested battle for a Crucible place. Selby, who won his first world title last year against Ronnie O'Sullivan, will know that he can take nothing for granted when he comes out for the first frame at 10:00 (BST) on Saturday.

Other standout ties from the draw include the in-form Mark Williams taking on his Welsh compatriot Matthew Stevens, in a repeat of the 2000 final - in which Williams eventually prevailed by two frames, winning 18-16.

Meanwhile, Ding Junhui will begin his tournament in a what promises to be a testing match against an experienced Mark Davis. The Chinese sensation has struggled for form in recent months, but recently reached the semi-final of his home competition - the China Open - before narrowly being defeated 6-5 by Gary Wilson.

Five-time winner - and perennial fan-favourite - O'Sullivan, will begin his quest to win another world title against Craig Steadman, who is another player set to make his Crucible debut.

World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn had this to say on snooker's biggest tournament: "There are no bad players at the Crucible. They have gone through the toughest regime. The top 16 are there on merit on what they have done during the year.

"The 16 qualifiers, no one has gone through more pain and suffering. This is going to be wide open, I'm glad I am not a bookmaker for once. I am looking for a lot of shocks and I think the top players are under a huge amount of pressure."

The 2015 Snooker World Championship begins on April 18 in Sheffield.

First round draw:

Mark Selby (Eng) v Kurt Maflin (Nor)

Stephen Maguire (Sco) v Anthony McGill (Sco)

Joe Perry (Eng) v Zhang Anda (Chn)

Shaun Murphy (Eng) v Robin Hull (Fin)

Barry Hawkins (Eng) v Matthew Selt (Eng)

Mark Allen (NI) v Ryan Day (Wal)

Ali Carter (Eng) v Alan McManus (Sco)

Neil Robertson (Aus) v Jamie Jones (Wal)

Ding Junhui (Chn) v Mark Davis (Eng)

John Higgins (Sco) v Robert Milkins (Eng)