Once again, Sheffield’s crucible theatre will welcome the world’s best to it’s tables for the Snooker World Championships this weekend.

Amongst the 32 competing for the title are six Welshmen hoping to emulate some of their national heroes of the past.

Wales have already had three world champions in the forms of Ray Reardon, Terry Griffiths and current great Mark Williams.

The 70s in Welsh sport are often remembered for the sideburns of J.P.R. Williams or the dazzling sidesteps of Phill Bennett and Gerald Davies, however, in Snooker, Wales were enjoying a period of World domination.

Reardon won the championships six times between 1970 and 1978 before Griffiths would win his own title in 1979.

It was a period when Wales were right at the top of the game, with Gary Owen a runner-up in 1969, while Doug Mountjoy and Reardon were beaten finalists in 81 and 82 respectively.

Like the national rugby team, Wales’ fortunes waned in the 90’s but were reinvigorated by the arrival of Williams and Matthew Stevens on the world stage at the turn of the century.

Williams was a beaten finalist in 1999 while the pair faced off in a famous all-Welsh final in 2000, with Williams the victor before going on to clinch another title in 2003.

‘The Welsh Potting Machine’ won the latest of his three World crowns in 2018 and comes into the tournament this year in good form having clinched victory at the World Tour in Manchester in early April.

Williams is ranked sixth for the tournament and faces China’s Si Jiahui on Monday in the first round.

DragonBet have put odds of 4/9 for Williams to win the first round while he’s at 14/1 to go all the way and clinch a fourth title.

Jak Jones is the first Welshman to play and faces Zhang Anda on Saturday with DragonBet offering odds of 6/4 for him to make the round of 16.

He is at 125/1 to lift the trophy along with Ryan Day and Jamie Jones who face 2013 finalist Barry Hawkins and four-time World Champion John Higgins respectively.

Former World Championships quarter finalist Dominic Dale, 52, has reached the Crucible for the first time in a decade, in doing so becoming the oldest qualifier since Steve Davis in 2010.

He faces former finalist Kyren Wilson and is a rank outsider at 300/1 to become the oldest champion in history.

Finally, Jackson Page faces arguably the toughest draw of all as he faces current world number one Ronnie O’Sullivan in the first round.

In an exclusive interview with Sportin Wales earlier this month, Page said he’d found it difficult to gather momentum after being drawn against the likes of O’Sullivan and other top players in the early rounds of events.

However, 22-year-old Page reached his maiden rankings quarter-final and semi-final at last month’s World Tour Open in China beating Higgins and Mark Selby on route.

Dragon Bet have put him at 9/2 to beat seven-time champion O’Sullivan and at 200/1 to become the youngest winner since Stephen Hendry in 1990.