Barry Hawkins clinched a place in next month’s World Snooker Championships after successfully progressing from a tricky qualifier on Monday.

Hawkins (pictured), the highest ranked player in the qualifiers at number 17, beat Ian McCulloch 10-7 in a close fought match to earn a fifth successive place in the game’s most prestigious tournament.

The Dartford cueman was 6-3 up after the first session and that paved the way to sealing a place at the Crucible for the championship which takes place on April 17. His top breaks in the match were 66 and 109.

Hawkins will be hoping for a favourable first round draw after his previous four visits ended in defeat at the first hurdle. That draw takes place on Thursday morning.

He said: "I just want to get through that first round, because after that anything can happen."

As one of the 16 qualifiers Hawkins will face a top ranked player in the seeded draw and will want to avoid a first round pairing against the likes of Ronnie O’Sullivan and Stephen Maguire.

Before his trip to Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre he is involved in the China Open. That tournament starts on March 29 in Beijing.