Barry Hawkins has admitted he is 'clinging on for dear life' in snooker as he prepares to play at the 2026 World Championship.
Hawkins, who reached the final of the tournament in 2013 before losing 18-12 to Ronnie O'Sullivan, is one of the 16 seeds for this year's competition.
The 46-year-old has been a ranking event winner in the 2025/26 season, having lifted the Welsh Open trophy in March.
That was his first title in three years, though Hawkins was runner-up to Judd Trump at the 2024 UK Championship.
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Should he progress through his first round match against an as yet unknown qualifier, Hawkins is positioned in the bottom half of the World Championship draw and could face three-time champion Mark Williams, and then 2024 winner Kyren Wilson, in the next two rounds.
While there will naturally be players that everyone will want to avoid - such as Zhao Xintong, Judd Trump and O'Sullivan - the field is the most open it has been in many years this time around.
Zhao is the only multiple-time ranking event winner in what has been an extraordinary season.
Jack Lisowski, Stephen Maguire and Thepchaiya Un-Nooh have all won events from outside of the top 16 of the rankings.
And Hawkins says that the current top 16 is now perhaps at greater risk than ever of dropping down those rankings.
Speaking to SPORTbible (via 247Bet) ahead of the World Championship, he explained: "The standard is unbelievable now, especially further down the rankings.
"There must be between 32 and 48 players who could probably be in the top 16. That's how good the standard is now.
"Everyone's been banging in centuries. The scoring's never been so high.
"Obviously, you get the odd match where no-one plays well, but that's bound to happen every so often.
"Overall, there are no shocks anymore, and nothing surprises me any more if someone comes from nowhere and wins a tournament.
"No-one seems to be scared of playing anybody. Nobody seems to be scared of the TV lights. Everyone's working hard, and everyone's treating it professionally.
"So yeah, it's no surprise when you see people spring up from nowhere and win a tournament. It's frightening, really. And I'm just clinging on for dear life."
Should Hawkins manage to replicate his 2013 run and reach the final at the Crucible, he does at least know exactly what to expect.
O'Sullivan is on the opposite side of the draw in Sheffield, but 'The Hawk' says he's got used to playing against the seven-time world champion over many years of competition.
Read more: Mark Williams makes bold Ronnie O'Sullivan claim after watching Tour Championship final
"I've played him so many times now, so I'm a bit more used to it. I don't really build it up as much, but you can't help it, really, because he's the best player we've ever seen.
"It's all the headlines he creates, and all the stuff he's achieved in the past. It's always going to be a big occasion when you play him. So you've got to deal with that side of it as well as the standard he plays.
"There are a lot of things you've got to deal with when you play Ronnie. But as I've got older, I think I've learned to deal with it a little bit better, and probably don't look at it in quite the same way as I once did. Although I still feel the pressure, obviously."
Topics: Ronnie OSullivan, Snooker, World Snooker Championship
Ryan Smart