Ronnie O'Sullivan has been drawn against rival Ali Carter in the 2025 World Snooker Championship at the Crucible.
O'Sullivan and Carter have history after famously barging shoulders at the Crucible during their clash in 2018. Their heated rivalry has since continued with a war of words, O'Sullivan insisted Carter needed to 'sort his life out' following their matchup in last year's Masters final.
The 49th World Championship takes place between April 19 and May 5.
Kyren Wilson, who is bidding to break the 'Crucible curse' by becoming the first maiden winner to retain the title, will face Lei Peifan.
World No 1 and 2019 champion Judd Trump takes on Zhou Yuelong, while Mark Selby has been drawn against Ben Woollaston.
Joe Johnson in 1987 and Ken Doherty in 1998 are the only men to reach the final a year after lifting their first title, with Johnson losing to Steve Davis (18-14) in a repeat of the 1986 showpiece and Doherty defeated by John Higgins (18-12).
Wilson is seeded to face Jak Jones in the second round a year after he defeated the Welshman 18-14 in the 2024 final.
O'Sullivan has not featured competitively since he snapped his cue after withdrawing from the Championship League in January, and has also withdrawn from five of the last six World Snooker Tour events on medical grounds.
"I don't think either of them will be happy with that draw," Selby said of O'Sullivan and Carter while speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live. "It's great that Ronnie is in the competition. We've not seen him since January, so it's great. I want him to play and, as it stands, he's playing which is good for the game.
"As you said, Carter is one of the toughest qualifiers to get drawn against. He's played Ronnie in the world final and played in the Masters final a few years ago. It's a horrible draw."
O'Sullivan vs Carter session times:
This will be a best of 19 frames with the first nine frames being played in the first session.
O'Sullivan and Carter, who overcame a neck injury to qualify, have endured a rocky relationship and notably clashed following last year's Masters final.
O'Sullivan said his opponent was "not a nice person" during an expletive-laden rant following his 10-7 victory in that match after Carter accused him of "snotting all over the floor".
Carter beat O'Sullivan in the second round of the same tournament in 2018 when they were involved in a "shoulder barge" incident.
'The Captain' called out O'Sullivan's behaviour during the match, admitting that his bitter rival "looked like he wanted to kill" him. Despite practising together growing up, Carter and O'Sullivan have been on frosty terms ever since.
Top Half
Kyren Wilson (1) v Lei Peifan
Jak Jones (16) v Zhao Xintong
Neil Robertson (9) v Chris Wakelin
Mark Allen (8) v Fan Zhengyi
Ronnie O'Sullivan (5) v Ali Carter
Zhang Anda (12) v Pang Junxu
Si Jiahui (13) v David Gilbert
Mark Selby (4) v Ben Woollaston
Bottom Half
John Higgins (3) v Joe O'Connor
Xiao Guodong (14) v Matt Selt
Barry Hawkins (11) v Hossein Vafaei
Mark Williams (6) v Wu Yize
Luca Brecel (7) v Ryan Day
Ding Junhui (10) v Zak Surety
Shaun Murphy (15) v Dan Wells
Judd Trump (2) v Zhou Yuelong
Morning sessions are scheduled to begin at 10am each day, with afternoon sessions starting at 2:30pm and evening sessions at 7pm.
The final will begin at 1pm on Sunday, May 4 and Monday, May 5, with the evening sessions for the final beginning at 7pm.
2024: Kyren Wilson
2023: Luca Brecel
2022: Ronnie O'Sullivan
2021: Mark Selby
2020: Ronnie O'Sullivan
2019: Judd Trump
2018: Mark Williams
2017: Mark Selby
2016: Mark Selby
2015: Stuart Bingham
