{"id":6754,"date":"2026-04-14T20:53:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T20:53:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news678.top\/?p=6754"},"modified":"2026-04-14T20:53:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T20:53:07","slug":"three-secure-crucible-debuts-as-first-eight-qualifiers-reach-world-snooker-championship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news678.top\/?p=6754","title":{"rendered":"Three secure Crucible debuts as first eight qualifiers reach World Snooker Championship"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Liam Pullen will make his Crucible debut this month (Picture: Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The first eight qualifiers have booked their spots at the Crucible after coming through World Snooker Championship qualifying in Sheffield.<\/p>\n

The world\u2019s top 16 head straight to the Crucible, but the rest of the professional tour battle it out at the English Institute of Sport to join them.<\/p>\n

The qualifiers began back on April 6 and come to a conclusion on Wednesday, with the draw for the first round proper taking place on Thursday morning.<\/p>\n

There will be at least three debutants in the Crucible draw after their were wins for young stars Stan Moody, Liam Pullen and Antoni Kowalski.<\/p>\n

Moody, 19, becomes the first British teenager since Judd Trump in 2007 to make his Crucible debut and did so thanks to a century in the deciding frame of a 10-9 win over Jiang Jun.<\/p>\n

He did so despite visiting hospital on Monday due to tonsilitis and being recommended not to play by the medics.<\/p>\n

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The Yorkshire teenager told WST: \u2018They said, \u201cWe know you\u2019re going to say no, but we want you to stay in.\u201d I said, \u201cNo I\u2019ve got a match to play tomorrow.\u201d I\u2019m glad I did it.<\/p>\n

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Top British prospect Stan Moody is in the draw for the first round at the Crucible (Picture: Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018I\u2019m normally good under pressure but I\u2019ve never felt pressure like it in my life. I\u2019m so happy.\u2019<\/p>\n

20-year-old Pullen came from the first round of qualifying, beating Alfie Burden, Amir Sarkhosh and Thepchaiya Un-Nooh before ousting Noppon Saengkham 10-8 on Judgement Day.<\/p>\n

\u2018I\u2019m very proud, to be fair,\u2019 said the York talent. \u2018But I\u2019m still in the same tournament, I\u2019m going to go to the Crucible and try my best.\u2019<\/p>\n

Poland\u2019s Antoni Kowalski became the first player from his country to secure a Crucible debut thanks to a 10-8 win over Jamie Jones.<\/p>\n

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Antoni Kowalski will be the first Polish player to compete at the Crucible (Picture: Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The victory also kept his place on the professional tour thanks to his improved place in the rankings, making it a sensational evening for the 22-year-old.<\/p>\n

A tearful Kowalski said: \u2018The best explanation will be that I never cry, that\u2019s the perfect explanation of how much this means to me. I\u2019m over the moon.\u2019<\/p>\n

The first qualifier to get his name in the hat on Tuesday night was Hossein Vafaei, who beat one of his practice partners, Gao Yang.<\/p>\n

The Prince of Persia will play at the Crucible for the fifth season on the spin, but knows he will have to improve his performance against a seed.<\/p>\n

\u2018It wasn\u2019t a great match,\u2019 Vafaei told WST. \u2018My opponent is young, hungry, great future. He\u2019s my practice partner in the academy, he\u2019s such a great talent. We both didn\u2019t play that well. The experience won. Unlucky to Gao Yang.\u2019<\/p>\n

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Hossein Vafaei will be a dangerous first round opponent for seeds (Picture: Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The only Iranian ever to play at the Crucible, clearly he has a lot on his mind with the ongoing conflict in his home country.<\/p>\n

\u2018I\u2019m fighting as well for my country, for my family and I try my best,\u2019 he said. \u2018Everything that happens, happens. I\u2019m going to give it my all.\u2019<\/p>\n

China\u2019s Zhou Yuelong was next to reach the Crucible thanks to a 10-4 victory over Michael Holt, booking a fourth trip to the iconic theatre.<\/p>\n

The 28-year-old has been to four ranking finals, the latest at this season\u2019s English Open, but is yet to get his hands on silverware.<\/p>\n

Then came experienced campaigners Matthew Stevens and Dave Gilbert, who downed Stuart Bingham and Aaron Hill respectively.<\/p>\n

China\u2019s Pang Junxu has booked a fourth straight trip to the Crucible thanks to a 10-8 victory over Jackson Page, knocking in three centuries along the way.<\/p>\n

The next eight qualifiers will be decided on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Jak Jones vs Luca Brecel
Lei Peifan vs Ryan Day
Xu Si vs Gary Wilson
Zak Surety vs Zhang Anda
Ali Carter vs Anthony McGill
Liam Highfield vs Oliver Lines
Fan Zhengyi vs Ben Mertens
He Guoqiang vs Jack Lisowski<\/p>\n

More to follow\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Arrow<\/title>\n<\/svg>MORE: John Higgins predicts when Class of 92 legends will finally stop winning<\/span><\/p>\n

Arrow<\/title>\n<\/svg>MORE: World Snooker Championship qualifiers draw, schedule and how to watch<\/span><\/p>\n

Arrow<\/title>\n<\/svg>MORE: Stephen Hendry rates \u2018frightening\u2019 Zhao Xintong\u2019s chances of breaking Crucible curse<\/span><\/p>\n
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The Table<\/h4>\n

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Three secure Crucible debuts as first eight qualifiers reach World Snooker Championship
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#secure #Crucible #debuts #qualifiers #reach #World #Snooker #Championship<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Liam Pullen will make his Crucible debut this month (Picture: Getty Images) The first eight…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6755,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[1766,4632,1713,6270,411,4232,1765,920],"class_list":["post-6754","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-championship","tag-crucible","tag-debuts","tag-qualifiers","tag-reach","tag-secure","tag-snooker","tag-world"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/news678.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2240389152_1776198531.jpg",1200,630,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/news678.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2240389152_1776198531-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/news678.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2240389152_1776198531-300x158.jpg",300,158,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/news678.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2240389152_1776198531-768x403.jpg",640,336,true],"large":["https:\/\/news678.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2240389152_1776198531-1024x538.jpg",640,336,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/news678.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2240389152_1776198531.jpg",1200,630,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/news678.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2240389152_1776198531.jpg",1200,630,false],"covernews-featured":["https:\/\/news678.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2240389152_1776198531-1024x538.jpg",1024,538,true],"covernews-medium":["https:\/\/news678.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2240389152_1776198531-540x340.jpg",540,340,true]},"author_info":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/news678.top\/?author=1"},"category_info":"Sports<\/a>","tag_info":"Sports","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news678.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6754","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news678.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news678.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news678.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news678.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6754"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/news678.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6754\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news678.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6755"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news678.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6754"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news678.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6754"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news678.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}