AFP - John Higgins will start his bid to retain the World Snooker Championship with a first round clash against Barry Hawkins at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre.

Higgins, who beat Shaun Murphy in last year's final, will play the opening match of the tournament on April 17.

Aside from the champion's first match, the most interesting first round ties involve two of the three Chinese players in the draw.

Liang Wenbo has been handed the daunting prospect of facing three-time winner Ronnie O'Sullivan, while 18-year-old Zhang Anda couldn't have had a much tougher tie on his Crucible debut than playing seven-time champion Stephen Hendry.

Fellow Chinese player Ding Junhui will fancy his chances more against England's Stuart Pettman.

Six-time world champion Steve Davis takes on Mark King in his 30th Crucible appearance, while Masters champion Mark Selby faces 1997 champion Ken Doherty.

1st rnd:

John Higgins (SCO) v Barry Hawkins (ENG)

Mark King (ENG) v Steve Davis (ENG)

Neil Robertson (AUS) v Fergal O'Brien (IRL)

Marco Fu (HKG) v Martin Gould (ENG)

Ali Carter (ENG) v Jamie Cope (ENG)

Joe Perry (ENG) v Michael Holt (ENG)

Ding Junhui (CHN) v Stuart Pettman (ENG)

Shaun Murphy (ENG) v Gerard Greene (NIR)

Stephen Maguire (SCO) v Stephen Lee (ENG)

Peter Ebdon (ENG) v Graeme Dott (SCO)

Mark Allen (NIR) v Tom Ford (ENG)

Ryan Day (WAL) v Mark Davis (ENG)

Mark Selby (ENG) v Ken Doherty (IRL)

Stephen Hendry (SCO) v Zhang Anda (CHN)

Mark Williams (WAL) v Marcus Campbell (SCO)

Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG) v Liang Wenbo (CHN)

The matches start at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre on April 17.