JOHN Higgins has been handed an extraordinary draw in the first round of the World Snooker Championship.

He will be taking on Bradford-born David Grace from 2:30pm tomorrow, who is making just his second-ever appearance in the first round, the last one being seven years ago.

Grace had to get through three qualifying rounds to make it to the main draw at The Crucible, whereas Higgins had an automatic spot at the tournament as one of the world’s top 16.

In a bizarre twist of fate, Grace was the MC for the night when Higgins took part in an exhibition at the Saltaire Bar in Shipley last month.

He probably did not expect to be seeing the Scot again so soon, but can he now do what the 10 amateur players on the night failed to do, take down Higgins?

When Higgins spoke to the T&A at the Shipley event about the upcoming World Championship, 25 years after winning the first of his four titles, he said: “It’s a great achievement for myself, Ronnie (O’Sullivan) and Mark (Williams) to still be among the contenders.

“I look at Ronnie, who’s the defending champion and the best to probably ever hold a cue, and Mark, who’s been playing incredible stuff for the last few years.

“I don’t think I’ve hit the ball any better in the last few years either than I am now.

“I know I’m not winning the big events, but you’re up against unbelievable champions like Judd Trump, Mark Selby and Neil Robertson.

“So I’m still delighted to be playing at a good level.”

Asked if he can win a fifth world title in 2023, Higgins told us: “I’ll always back myself.

“It’s difficult, because you are playing against those unbelievable champions, but I always back myself.

“If I can bring some of my best game to the table, I’m tough to beat.”