John Higgins launches his bid for a fifth World Championship title with a tricky clash against Martin Gould in the opening round at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield on Monday.

The four-time winner is making his 23rd appearance at the Crucible, where only six players have played more times in the final stages of snooker’s blue-riband event.

He arrives with three trophies under his belt this season having captured the China Championship, Champion of Champions and Championship League, although you have to go back to November 2015 for the last time he tasted victory in a ranking event.

The Scotsman was just two frames away from reaching the semi-finals 12 months ago – narrowly losing 13-11 to an inspired Alan McManus – but that was his first run beyond the second round in Sheffield since winning his fourth title in 2011.

Nevertheless, having been there and done it all, he knows what it takes to go on a deep run on the biggest stage and, if history is anything to go by, his showdown with Gould promises to be a close and entertaining affair.

Their most memorable contest came in the 2015 Australian Open final, where Higgins prevailed a 9-8 winner, while there has never been more than two frames to separate them across their three meetings.

World number 18 Gould, who is the highest-ranked player in the tournament from outside the top 16, will have been one of the men to avoid in the first-round draw.

The Pinner Potter came through three qualifiers to book his eighth appearance here – beating James Wattana, John Astley and Yu Delu to prevail at Ponds Forge.

However, despite only missing one of the last nine years at the Crucible, you have to go back to 2011 for the last time he overcame the opening hurdle.

The match will be contested over the best of 19 frames, with the winner advancing to the second round of the 2017 World Championship.

Play at the Crucible Theatre gets underway with the first nine frames at 2.30pm BST on Monday, before they play to a conclusion with a maximum of 10 at 10am on Tuesday.