Champion Wilson handed tough first round clash against Scottish Open winner Peifan
Kettering's Kyren Wilson will begin the defence of his Halo World Championship title with a first round clash with China's Lei Peifan at the Crucible Theatre on Saturday (April 19).
With qualifying coming to a conclusion on Wednesday night, the draw for the first round of the 2025 championship was made live on BBC Radio 5 Live on Thursday morning by presenters Rick Edwards and Rachel Burden.
The 16 seeded players were drawn out at random against the 16 qualifiers.
And Wilson, who practises out of Barratts Club in Northampton, was handed a tricky-looking tie against world number 39 Peifan, who had to come through qualifying clashes with David Lilley (10-6) and Gao Yang (10-9) to book his place in the main draw.
Peifan fought back from 7-4 and 9-8 down to claim a thrilling victory against Yang.
The 21-year-old, who won his first ranking tournament in December when he won the Scottish Open, is a dangerous first opponent for top seed Wilson.
The pair previously played each other in the World Open in China in February, with Wilson winning their first round encounter 5-1.
The match is scheduled for 10am on Saturday and will open up the tournament in Sheffield.
If Wilson comes through his opening game, he faces a second round date with either Zhao Xintong or Jak Jones, the man he beat in the final a little under 12 months ago.
Elsewhere, seven-time world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan was drawn against old rival Ali Carter, while world number one Judd Trump faces China's Zhou Yuelong.
Wilson's clash with Peifan starts at 10am on Saturday, and will be shown live on BBC Two and on the red button, with the match being played to a conclusion on the same evening from 7pm.
The evening session will be broadcast live on BBC Four and also on the red button.
Full first round draw: Kyren Wilson (1) v Lei Peifan; Jak Jones (16) v Zhao Xintong; Neil Robertson (9) v Chris Wakelin; Mark Allen (8) v Fan Zhengyi; Ronnie O'Sullivan (5) v Ali Carter; Zhang Anda (12) v Pang Junxu; Si Jiahui (13) v David Gilbert; Mark Selby (4) v Ben Woollaston; John Higgins (3) v Joe O'Connor; Xiao Guodong (14) v Matthew Selt; Barry Hawkins (11) v Hossein Vafaei; Mark Williams (6) v Wu Yize; Luca Brecel (7) v Ryan Day; Ding Junhui (10) v Zak Surety; Shaun Murphy (15) v Daniel Wells; Judd Trump (2) v Zhou Yuelong