Six-time Crucible finalist Jimmy White drawn against Gao Yang in first round of gruelling World Snooker Championship qualifying
Published 31/03/2026 at 15:56 GMT+1
Jimmy White has discovered his opponent for the first round of qualifying for the World Snooker Championship, which takes place from April 18. He will take on Gao Yang - the first hurdle in a testing four-round process in Yorkshire. The top 16 players in the world have already automatically secured their spot at the Crucible.
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Video credit: TNT Sports
Six-time Crucible finalist Jimmy White has been drawn against China’s Gao Yang in the opening round of World Snooker Championship qualifying at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield.
White, a Masters and UK Championship winner, will take on 21-year-old Yang in the first round of a gruelling qualification process that also features major winners Marco Fu, Matthew Stevens, Robert Milkins and 1997 world champion Ken Doherty.
Only the world’s top 16 have a Crucible spot reserved, with the qualifying tournament featuring 128 professional and invited amateur competitors going toe-to-toe for the final 16 places.
You can watch every day of the World Championship live on TNT Sports, with the tournament available both live and on-demand on HBO Max.
Other notable match-ups in the first qualification round include three-time World Women's Champion Onyee Ng taking on Michal Szubarczyk, 1997 Crucible champion Doherty facing Patrick Whelan, and Liam Pullen up against Shoot Out champion Alfie Burden.
The first round of qualifying involves players ranked 81 to 112, up against those ranked 113 to 144. In round two, those 32 winners will face players ranked 49 to 80.
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Round three sees the next 32 winners taking on players ranked 17 to 48, before a fourth round in which the last 32 winners play each other.
The likes of Jack Lisowski, Stuart Bingham, Ali Carter, Luca Brecel, Stephen Maguire, Gary Wilson and Jak Jones are all set to feature deeper into the qualification process.
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With Thepchaiya Un-Nooh playing in this week’s Tour Championship, and still able to climb from his current provisional seeding of 21 into the world’s top 16 before the April 5 cut off, players ranked 17 to 21 will be confirmed in the draw once the final seeding list is known.
The qualifying event for snooker's showpiece event runs from Monday, April 6 to Wednesday, April 15. The final round is known as Judgement Day, with a place at the Crucible at stake.
Watch and stream the 2025/26 snooker season, including the 50th World Championship, live on TNT Sports and HBO Max
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