KENT snooker star Gerard Greene will play reigning champion Peter Ebdon in the first round of this year’s Embassy World Championship.

Greene, who reached The Crucible for only the second time after a 10-3 win over Anthony Hamilton in the final qualifier in Torquay earlier this week, will take on Ebdon in Sheffield on Saturday, April 19.

Ebdon’s extraordinary triumph in the 2002 Embassy World Championship was the fulfilment of a lifelong ambition.

A 33-1 outsider before the tournament, Ebdon clinched victory with an 18-17 defeat of seven-times champion Stephen Hendry in one of the most exciting finals seen at the Crucible.

However Greene, from Rainham, is enjoying the form of his life and will relish the chance of glory against the world ranked number three.

So far this season he has reached the quarter-finals of the LG Cup and the last 16 of the recent European Open.