Un-Nooh, who famously missed a relatively simple black to score a 147 break at the UK Championship in 2015, follows compatriots James Wattana, Tai Pichit, Noppon Saengkham and Dechawat Poomjaeng to become the fifth Thai to play at the Crucible. The 27-year-old plays Masters champion Mark Allen in the first round - a reward for 'practising for a silly amount of hours'. Swindon-born, Stoke-on-Trent-based Highfield said: 'It was a scramble for the line at the end and it was just about who was shaking the least because we just wanted to get there.' Highfield is 64th on the rankings list and made it through an increasingly nervy third qualifying round against Daniel Wells. And unlike other years it's still not over.' Liam Highfield's best performance in a ranking event came at the Indian Open this season when he reached the quarter-finals The world number 55, who will play world number four Judd Trump in the first round, added: 'I am privileged to do what I do. 'Everyone pulled together to give me that opportunity. Asda gave me time off and let me work my hours around tournaments and they had fundraisers for me to help pay my tour expenses. 'Four years ago I was still driving a van around Warwickshire and I loved that job,' said Wakelin, 26. Wakelin thrashed China's Tian Pengfei in the final qualifying round and the former supermarket delivery driver says reaching round one shows simple hard work pays off. Gut-wrenching as the torment of negotiating qualifying can be, it has been worth it for the debutants.Įngland's Chris Wakelin and Liam Highfield are revelling in the prospect of a first appearance, while Thailand's Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and China's Lyu Haotian will also be there for the first time. The first-timers at snooker's actual Theatre Chris Wakelin has risen to 55th in the world rankings after his best season to date This year's tournament features four Crucible virgins, a strong Welsh contingent, the fifth Thai qualifier in the venue's illustrious history, as well a former champion and a two-time runner-up who are both eager to revisit past glories.īBC Sport takes a closer look at some new and a few not-so-new faces among the 16 who have upgraded from Sheffield's English Institute of Sport to the same city's more glamorous Crucible surroundings to reach this year's event. World Championship schedule & BBC coverage times.O'Sullivan to face Maguire - World Championship draw.It was worth the pain and mental anguish. The above references cropped up time and time again when the 16 players who made it through to the sport's showpiece event described how it felt to negotiate the three qualifying rounds.

Survivors the quest darts