Mark Williams vs. Kyren Wilson in the First Round of the World Snooker Championship

The first round of the World Championship at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre has already served up drama by the bucket load. One of the big names, Kyren Wilson, fell prey to the dreaded ‘Crucible curse’ losing in a final frame decider to debutant Lei Peifan.

1. Mark Williams vs. Kyren Wilson

Kyren Wilson was left fuming after losing to Mark Williams for the first time in a match longer than best-of-five. The Welshman, 32, had held a 7-0 record over the Englishman in matches over the best of nine frames before the meeting in Tuesday’s Champion of Champions group semi-final in Bolton. The wilson clash with Williams turned into a real battle, with world number six Williams winning 6-5 in a match labelled ‘a classic’, producing breaks of 109 and 72 to lead 3-2. Wilson hit a break of 71 in his attempt to come back from 5-3 down, but Williams did enough to ensure he marched on to the final four.

2. Mark Williams vs. Lei Peifan

THE World Snooker Championship at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield is up and running and some of the sport's biggest names are in action. John Higgins will play his second-round match against Xiao Guodong in the evening, while Ronnie O'Sullivan begins his clash with Pang Junxu.

Mark Williams withstood a Chinese whirlwind to clinch a 5-4 lead over Wu Yize in a contest that will be decided on Sunday afternoon. The Welshman produced runs of 86 and 103 to move two frames clear before the Chinese youngster hit a 66 break to close the gap.

3. Mark Williams vs. Barry Hawkins

The two-time world champion Williams, who faces Hossein Vafaei or Barry Hawkins next, said: "Whoever I face, it's going to be a great match. I'm looking forward to it and will be ready."

Lei Peifan takes a risky pot on the red but manages to clear the side cushion and stay in a strong position in this final frame decider. He will clinch the match for himself and deny Williams a last-minute escape from elimination.

The three-time champion, who is seeking a fourth title in the event, had led 5-4 after Monday's opening session but was pegged back to 9-7 by 2023 semi-finalist Si Jiahui. It was the Chinese player's first victory over the sixth seed in a ranking tournament since the World Championship in 2023.

4. Mark Williams vs. Hossein Vafaei

Williams has won six of his seven matches against Vafaei but the Iranian will be a tough customer for the Gwent native. Vafaei scored a century break during his quarter-final win over Duane Jones and Wang Yuchen and he will be keen to add another memorable performance in Sheffield.

The Iranian is also renowned for his love of doner kebabs and he sparked controversy during his first-round match against Barry Hawkins by shouting at referee Olivier Marteel after failing to sink the pink in the final frame. He later defended his actions but the incident has set the tone for a fiery encounter in the Crucible.

Williams survived a scare in his opening match against Wu Yize, taking the last three frames to progress 10-8 and he will be boosted by his dominant head-to-head record with Vafaei. The 50-year-old will be expected to reach the quarter-finals and a showdown with either four-time Crucible winner John Higgins or Xiao Guodong awaits whomever prevails in this best-of-25 contest.