IT'S that time again Snooker fans - how quickly a year goes.
World Championship snooker begins in earnest from Wednesday this week and the draw has been done for the qualifiers at Ponds Forge International Sports Centre in Sheffield.
The top 16 have been now finally seeded as follows. These 16 players will automatically be seeded for the Crucible, and are:
1) Mark Selby
2) Judd Trump
3) Stuart Bingham
4) Ding Junhui
5) Shaun Murphy
6) John Higgins
7) Barry Hawkins
8) Marco Fu
9) Neil Robertson
10) Ali Carter
11) Mark Allen
12) Ronnie O'Sullivan
13) Liang Wenbo
14) Kyren Wilson
15) Anthony McGill
16) Ryan Day
It's all change from last year's BetFred World Championship when players such as Liang Wenbo, Kyren Wilson, Ryan Day, Ali Carter and Anthony McGill were part of the 16 man qualifiers who won three best of 19s to get to the Crucible.
Ding was a qualifier knocked out after the China Open, and it comes this year as Mark Selby scooped his fourth ranking title this season and second China Open title.
Selby, 33, has done with the China Open what he has done with the World Championships by dominating it within the last three years.
Click here for Judd Trump's 147...
World Championship: 2014, 2016
China Open, 2015, 2017...
Notice a pattern?
Home of Snooker at The Crucible
In last year's Crucible contest, Joe Perry and Mark Williams, who made a valiant attempt in the China Open final to fight his way back into the top 16, will now have to play those tough three best of 19s to get back to the Home of World Championship last 32 snooker at the Crucible, in its 40th anniversary.
In the last 32 last year, 7 of the qualifiers knocked out seeds in the first round at the Crucible, and these included Kyren Wilson, Michael Holt, Ding Junhui, Anthony McGill, Alan McManus and Ali Carter and Zhang Anda.
China's number two Liang Wenbo was a qualifier last year, but is now a top 16 seed.
The seeds will have it tough this year if the likes of Williams, Perry, Martin Gould, amongst others manage to get to the Crucible stage.
This time around last year, Martin Gould was a top 16 seed and played of all people Ding Junhui in the first round, and was scalped by Ding, who made it all the way to the final as a qualifier. McManus was the other qualifier who made it all the way to the semi-finals and lost out to Ding.
In the first round of the draw this year, Martin Gould plays the former Thailand number one James Wattana.
Nigel Bond plays the invited female Hong Kong snooker ace and World ladies Champion Ng On Yee.
Reanne Evans, whom two years ago played Ken Doherty at Ponds Forge meets Finland's Robin Hull.
World Seniors Champion Peter Lines takes on the now Thai number one Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, who, amazingly missed out on a 147 in qualifiers last season, but made up for it this time by making a maxi in the Paul Hunter Classic.
