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Amateur Cahill secures dream draw to face 'The Rocket' at the Crucible

Ronnie O'Sullivan will face amateur James Cahill in his opening match
Ronnie O'Sullivan will face amateur James Cahill in his opening match

Amateur James Cahill has been handed a dream Crucible draw after he was paired against Ronnie O'Sullivan at the World Snooker Championships.

The 23-year-old came through qualifying with a 10-6 win over Michael Judge to book his place in Sheffield.

His reward is a first-round clash against 'The Rocket', the five-time winner, world number one and almost unbackable favourite.

"This is what dreams are made of," said World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn as he made the draw.

Thirty-two players will compete for a record prize of £500,000, with defending champion Mark Williams up against Martin Gould.

There are seven debutants this year, Cypriot Michael Georgiou amongst them, and he will face the in-form Neil Robertson.

Other tasty-looking ties include Jack Lisowski against bullish qualifier Ali Carter and Judd Trump against Thepchaiya Un-Nooh.

Three-time winner Mark Selby takes on Zhao Xintong. 

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