Kent snooker player Barry Hawkins has been handed the toughest of tasks in the opening round of the World Snooker Championships.

The competition that begins at The Crucible in Sheffield on Saturday will see Hawkins face world number one Mark Selby in the First Round.

Selby, who has been plagued by a back complaint will face an in form Hawkins who has climbed the world rankings over the past year.

Meanwhile, Gerard Greene from Rainham missed out on a place in the tournament after falling out of the top thirty two players in the world.

World Snooker Championship – First round draw

John Higgins v Liang Wenbo

Stuart Bingham v Stephen Hendry

Graeme Dott v Joe Perry

Stephen Maguire v Luca Brecel

Shaun Murphy v Jamie Jones

Stephen Lee v Andrew Higginson

Ali Carter v Mark Davis

Judd Trump v Dominic

Dale Mark Williams v Liu Chuang

Ronnie O’Sullivan v Peter Ebdon

Martin Gould v David Gilbert

Neil Robertson v Ken Doherty

Ding Junhui v Ryan Day

Mark Allen v Cao Yupeng

Matthew Stevens v Marco Fu

Mark Selby v Barry Hawkins