British Open snooker: Ronnie O'Sullivan, Mark Williams, Mark Allen and Judd Trump discover first-round opponents

Mark Williams will open his British Open title defence against world No. 85 Rory Thor after the draw for the opening round of the ranking event was announced by the World Snooker Tour. Former British Open winners Ronnie O'Sullivan, John Higgins and Ryan Day are also competing in Cheltenham in September, with world No. 1 Mark Allen set to take on former finalist Gary Wilson at the Centaur.

Mark Williams will begin the defence of his British Open title against Malaysia's leading player Rory Thor while world No. 1 Mark Allen has been handed a tough task after being drawn against Scottish and Welsh Open champion Gary Wilson in the first round.

All top 16 seeds will begin their respective campaigns at the Centaur Arena at Cheltenham Racecourse (September 23-29) with 26-time ranking event winner Williams bidding to defend the title he collected with a 10-7 victory in the final against Mark Selby last season.

The Welshman first won the British Open in 1997 and is chasing a third title in four years after defeating Wilson 6-4 in the 2021 final.

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Ronnie O'Sullivan, the 1994 winner, will meet Thailand's world No. 94 Manasawin Phetmalaikul in his tournament opener, with Judd Trump handed a potentially tricky clash against former Welsh Open holder Robert Milkins.

Meanwhile, world champion Kyren Wilson will face Belgian talent Julien Leclercq, with Selby taking on Pang Junxu, the player he defeated 6-2 to win the World Snooker Tour Classic in his home city of Leicester last year.

Elsewhere, four-time British Open champion John Higgins meets Ross Muir in an all-Scottish battle, with China's leading player Ding Junhui opening against Ireland's Aaron Hill.

A qualifying round for the event will be staged in Leicester between 31 July until 3 August at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester with winners advancing to the last 64 at the finals venue.

Six-time world finalist Jimmy White has been drawn against Chris Totten, with David Gilbert up against Dylan Emery and an evergreen battle between 2006 world champion Graeme Dott and two-time Crucible runner-up Matthew Stevens could be close.

All matches are an open FA Cup-style draw and are the best of seven frames until the quarter-finals (best of nine frames), the semi-finals (best of 11 frames) and a best-of-19 frame final.

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Video credit: TNT Sports

Key British Open first round matches

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