WORLD number one Judd Trump has to wait until Tuesday afternoon to begin his quest for a second World Snooker title against Liam Highfield at the Crucible.
Second seed Trump won the world title two years ago, beating John Higgins 18-9 in the Final, to fulfil years of promise, the first spark of which came back in 2011 when he was beaten 18-15 in the Final by Higgins.
Last year, though, the tournament - which was delayed until August by the coronavirus pandemic - was won by the familiar face of Ronnie O'Sullivan.
The Rocket clocked up his sixth world title to rank alongside Ray Reardon and Steve Davis, and sit just one behind all-time record holder Stephen Hendry.
Of course, Trump - at the age of 31 - has plenty of time yet to win a few more Crucible crowns himself, and he heads into the tournament having won 11 ranking events in the 23 months since his world title.
Unsurprisingly then, the Bristolian starts off as favourite with the bookmakers - and he has expressed his delight at the gradual return of crowds to the Crucible.
Matches at the Sheffield venue will be one-third full as part of a government pilot on the roadmap out of the lockdown in England.
Meanwhile, there are plans for a capacity crowd to be able to attend the Final on May Bank Holiday weekend.
"You miss the coughing and the mobile phones going off," Trump said following the draw on Thursday.
"When you are losing and you get a frame or two behind, it is so much easier to give up because you feel nobody is there to see it.
"When you've got a crowd you sometimes take a toilet break just to get the roar of the fans and get them calling your name to get you back in the game.
"I need the fans there just to bring out the best in me. Just adding more nerves and excitement helps my concentration."
Defending champion, and previously a perennial favourite for the title, number one seed O'Sullivan is at the top of the draw in the opposite half to Trump.
O'Sullivan has already had enough in his locker to deal with snooker journeyman Mark Joyce who, after qualifying at the 18th attempt, was one of only two debutants this year alongside Sam Craigie.
Geordie lad Craigie faces another of the famous Class of 92 in Mark Williams while the third of that remarkable cohort, Higgins, takes on Tian Pengfei, one of five Chinese players in the draw.
Higgins and Williams could meet in the Last 16 with the winner potentially going onto meet O'Sullivan in the semi finals.
However, three-time winner Mark Selby is in the same quarter of the draw as the Wizard from Wishaw and the Welsh Potting Machine, and so will no doubt have plenty to say about that.
Among the qualifiers, 2015 champion Stuart Bingham will fancy his chances against Ding Junhui who has never won the biggest prize in snooker, and twice runner-up Ali Carter has a good chance against the inconsistent Jack Lisowski.
For sure, there have been a number of big shocks over the years - and there are always a few seeds who are defeated unexpectedly.
But a strong pedigree at the Crucible generally counts for something as players are required to cope with matches of multiple sessions in a far longer format than in other tournaments across the season.
On that basis, the hugely underrated Barry Hawkins can be expected to have another good run in Sheffield having reached at least the last four stage on five occasions out of six between 2013 and 2018.
The Hawk also heads to the Crucible in decent form with three semi final appearances in ranking events.
However, the last four is clearly a stage beyond which Hawkins struggles to progress, something with which a bullish Trump has no such trouble.
"I feel my game is there for another win," said Trump. "It is such a long time, 17 days, that you can't peak for every single game.
"You've got to be mentally prepared to go through hell to win the tournament."
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