Murphy clash is reward for Jones at Crucible

WELSHMAN Jamie Jones has been rewarded for his 10-0 qualifying win against China’s Liang Wenbo with a first-round World Snooker Championship encounter against 2005 world champion Shaun Murphy.

Jones produced snooker of the highest order to beat Liang, with runs of 54, 78, 63, 57. 79. 74, 58 and 58 at one stage.

He will be joined at The Crucible in Sheffield by three fellow countrymen, who all received tough draws.

Two-time champion Mark Williams will face Jimmy Robertson.

Mattew Stevens, twice a runner-up faces Kyren Wilson, while Ryan Day – who was won in Latvia and Gibraltar this season – plays Anthony McGill.

Five-time winner and favourite Ronnie O’Sullivan faces a difficult first round match against Stephen Maguire, while defending champion Mark Selby, chasing a fourth title in five years, plays Joe Perry.

The event starts tomorrow and goes on until May 6/7.

Full draw: Mark Selby v Joe Perry, Mark Allen v Liam Highfield, Kyren Wilson v Matthew Stevens, Shaun Murphy v Jamie Jones, John Higgins v Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, Stuart Bingham v Jack Lisowski, Luca Brecel v Ricky Walden, Judd Trump v Chris Wakelin, Ding Junhui v Xiao Guodong, Anthony McGill v Ryan Day, Marco Fu v Lyu Haotian, Barry Hawkins v Stuart Carrington, Mark Williams v Jimmy Robertson, Neil Robertson v Robert Milkins, Ali Carter v Graeme Dott, Ronnie O’Sullivan v Stephen Maguire.