James Cahill has been drawn against five-time champion Ronnie O'Sullivan in the first round of the World Championship as he becomes the first amateur to play at the Crucible.
The 23-year-old came through three qualifying rounds to reach the tournament in Sheffield, where he has landed a meeting with modern great O'Sullivan.
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Top-ranked star O'Sullivan has been dumped out in the second round in two of the past three years and World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn warned he may not have it all his own way against Cahill.
"The quality coming through on a global scale is incredible," Hearn said. "The kid James Cahill can play. If Ronnie thinks he has an easy game, he has got another thing coming."
Wow guys, hasn’t really sunk in yet.. just want to say a massive thank you to everyone who has supported me!! Crucible here we come #teamcahill pic.twitter.com/f9QFkHHfCn
— James Cahill (@JamesCahill147) April 17, 2019
Elsewhere, defending champion Mark Williams faces Martin Gould in his opener.
The official @Betfred World Championship draw! #ilovesnooker pic.twitter.com/eEPe74UDqt
— World Snooker (@WorldSnooker) April 18, 2019
