Action from day 1 of the 2017 Betfred World Snooker Championships

Day one of the 2017 championship seemed to rattle through so quickly - Mark Selby and Stephen Maguire emerged as 10-2 winners over Fergal O'Brien and Anthony McGill respectively and so Dennis Taylor came out around 8:30pm to entertain the crowds with some trick shots.

 Defending Champion Mark Selby walks out to start the matches on day 1.

 Fergal O'Brien in his match against Mark Selby.

 Mark Selby at the table.

 Stephen Maguire in his first round match against Anthony McGill

 Anthony McGill breaks off

 Mark Selby breaks off at the start of the evening session 8-1 ahead

 Referee Jan Verhaas checks the re-spotting of the white ball after a foul

World Snooker Championship 40th Anniversary show - the Crucible, Sheffield

To mark the 40th anniversary of the World Snooker Championships being held at the Crucible in Sheffield there was a gathering of players past and present for a BBC 'special' on the eve of the 2017 event.

Shaun Murphy, Ronnie O'Sullivan, John Higgins, John Parrott, Mark Selby, Joe Johnson

 Dennis Taylor enjoying a retake of his 1985 black ball win

 Cliff Thorburn has a couple of practices on the yellow ball that he faced when compiling the first ever televised 147 break at the Championships in 1983.

 He lines up for his 'real' (third) go...

 In it goes...

 ...to the delight of the crowd...

 ...and to Cliff himself.

 Councillor Julie Dore, leader of Sheffield City Council, and Barry Hearn, head of World Snooker, sign the agreement which will keep the World Championships in Sheffield until 2027.

 Ray Reardon embraces pupil Ronnie O'Sullivan

A gathering of past champions and players from this year's tournament