Selby

This was the 15th maximum in the main draw stage of the tournament and the first since Mark Selby's clearance in the 2023 final.

Before his success two years ago Brecel had not won a match at the Crucible, but an epic run saw him defeat Ricky Walden, Mark Williams, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Si Jiahui and finally Mark Selby 18-15 in the final to become the first world champion from mainland Europe.

������ about Mark Selby or John Higgins as they both go for a fifth World Championship title?

Selby comes into the tournament in the sort of form that indicates he could add to his four world titles, with thumping wins over Neil Robertson and Ding Junhui at the Tour Championship earlier this month.

While O'Sullivan has also not played in anything over a best-of-seven match since his first-round defeat by Barry Hawkins at the UK Championship in November, it would be foolish to discount him even if Wilson and Mark Selby are in the same side of the draw.