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A field of 456 Players has been melted down to these 32. It's the top 16 in the
rankings against 16 qualifiers.
There are quite a few veterans, but also six freshmen. No rookies has made it to the Crucible
this year though. Euan Henderson from Scotland at 90 is the lowest ranked player in the first
round.
The reigning champion, Stephen Hendry has
a favorable draw in the first two rounds. The quarter-final might be tougher though.
Ken Doherty has beaten
Hendry on a number of occasions and can pose
a real threat to the "unbeatable".
The new superstar, John Higgins has an
expected "easy" opener against Martin Clark. The next round could be a thriller though. There he
will probably meet a rival Scot,
Alan McManus who would like to show the
world that there are more than two Scots around to fight for the trophy.
How about Jimmy White then? Well, he couldn't have had a better draw for the first match
where he meets lowest ranked Henderson. His next match can be a lot tougher. There he can meet
Peter Ebdon.
John Parrott is a real contender this year. He's probably got much to prove after losing in the
quarter-finals for the last zillion years. Also look out for Ronnie O'Sullivan. It looks like he's
approaching top form and we all know what that means!
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