‘‘I knew Jimmy would be feeling it because the pressure I was under was unbelievable,’’ said Judge who meets 1991 champion John Parrott.

‘‘It’s fantastic to finally get to Sheffield after the near misses I’ve had in the past.’’

Northern Ireland’s Patrick Wallace, Scotland’s Marcus Campbell and Sean Storey from Grimsby are also making their Crucible debuts.

Wallace, an accountancy graduate from Queen’s University in Belfast, got his sums right as he upset Joe Perry 10-4 while Campbell beat fellow Scot and China Open semi-finalist Drew Henry 10-5.

Storey, the world number 99, defeated Terry Murphy 10-9 to qualify and said:

"‘The way I’ve been playing this season, I didn’t think I’d got a prayer.

‘‘Snooker wise this has been the worst two years of my life and so this is massive.’’

Andy Hicks is delighted to be back at The Crucible for this year’s Embassy World Championships.

The Tavistock potter is returning at the expense of golden oldie Steve Davis. Ironically Hicks defeated Davis during his run to the semi-finals in 1995.

‘‘Make no mistake, Steve still plays a very good game but the top players are there to be beaten,’’ said the world number 36.

‘‘I have had a difficult time over the past few years so it’s nice to get back to The Crucible again. Every professional will tell you it’s the place to play.

‘‘Unfortunately, only 16 players can qualify and I’m just happy to be one of them this year.’’

Belgium’s hopes of having a representative at The Crucible for the first time were dashed by extrovert Australian Quinten Hann, who beat Patrick Delsemme 10-3.

Compatriot Bjorn Haneveer lost 10-8 from 8-6 up against Graeme Dott on Saturday and Delsemme was always up against it after losing the first five frames.

Hann gave current world champion Mark Williams a scare on his only previous appearance at Sheffield in 1998, coming back from 9-4 down to draw level at 9-9 only to lose the deciding frame from 50 ahead.

‘‘I’m always up for the world championship,’’ said the 23-year-old from Melbourne. ‘‘I have been a pro for six years and to only make The Crucible once before is pretty poor.

‘‘I believe I have a chance of winning it this year. I have beaten all the best players before it’s just a matter of doing it consistently now.’’

Thailand’s James Wattana, a world championship semi-finalist in both 1993 and 1997, made amends for missing out on a trip to Sheffield last year by beating Jonathan Birch from Middlesbrough 10-5.

And Malta’s Tony Drago, a quarter-finalist in 1988, will get the chance to repeat the feat after beating Preston’s Ian McCulloch 10-9 on the final black.