Snooker World Championship: O'Sullivan to face Campbell in first round

Ronnie O'Sullivan will begin the defence of his world title against world number 27 Marcus Campbell. Despite being the reigning world champion, O'Sullivan is ranked 28th in the world, due to his sabbatical from the game after winning the title last year. The four-time world champion pulled out of the season in November but announced in February he would take up an invitation to return at the Crucible for another shot at the world title. His quest will begin on April 20, when he will have the first session of the match against Marcus Campbell. The draw scheduled a repeat of the 2006 final between Graeme Dott and Peter Ebdon, the 2002 winner who had to fight his way through the qualifiers this time. Newcomer Jack Lisowski, one of six debutants in this year's edition, takes on Barry Hawkins while two-time semi-finalist Alan McManus is will face Ding Junhui on his first appearance in the tournament since 2006. World number 1 Mark Selby will face newcomer Matthew Selt while John Higgins, looking for his fifth title, is drawn against Mark Davis. Snooker legend Jimmy White was looking to play in the competition for the first time since 2006 but he was stopped in the last round of qualifying by Robert Milkins, who will face 2010 champion Neil Robertson. Former world number one Judd Trump didn't have a very lucky draw as he will face Dominic Dale, a very strong opponent. Shaun Murphy, world champion in 2005, has reached three semi-finals this season and he will start against Martin Gould, while world number six Mark Allen will face Mark King. The tournament gets under way this Saturday, with the final to be played on May 5 and 6. Despite his time off from the game Ronnie O'Sullivan is still the favourite to win the tournament according to the bookies, here are some of the outright win odds at Bet365: Ronnie O'Sullivan - 6/1 Neil Robertson - 6/1 Mark Selby - 13/2 Judd Trump - 13/2 Ding Junhui - 10/1 John Higgins - 11/1