The start of 17 days' coverage from Sheffield's Crucible Theatre of the 2003 world championship. Champion Peter Ebdon faces Gerard Greene this morning with the weight of history against him, as no first-time winner has ever retained the title. On the other table, BBC co-presenter John Parrott makes his 20th consecutive appearance, taking on Australian Quinten Hann.
Introduced by Hazel Irvine, Ray Stubbs and Steve Davis.
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Danny Kelly on snooker's decline: p13