Shane van Boing will begin the defense of his world title in pool against the Japanese Masato Yoshioka in Kielce.

The American will want to defend himself in the footsteps of Earl Strickland, becoming only the second player in history to defend the title.

A total of 46 countries will be represented in a field of 128 players, which will narrow down to the final 64 for the first two days of play before the final, where one player will take home the $60,000 top prize and the crown.

Notable first-round matchups include 2015 world champion Ko Pin-yi taking on Philippines’ James Aranas, while 2022 semi-finalist Abdullah Al-Yousef takes on tough prospect Yohan Chua.

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Van Boening gave his reaction after winning the snooker world championship last year

Alex Pagulayan – the 2004 world champion – was unseeded and will face Michael Schneider.

World Cup winner David Alcaide teams up with Billy Thorpe and Shane Walford to compete for a spot on Team USA at the 2023 Mosconi Cup and will face Germany’s Pia Feller.

Francisco Sanchez Ruiz had a memorable year last year and will start his campaign against Su Shu from Iran.

All double-elimination matches run to nine, and all competitors’ last 64 matches run to 11, except for the finals which is a run to 13.

When is the World Pool Championship on Sky?

Wednesday, February 1: Sky Sports Mix (11am), Sky Sports Arena HD (11am), Sky Sports Mix (5pm), Sky Sports Arena HD (5pm)

Thursday, February 2: Sky Sports Arena HD (11 a.m.), Sky Sports Mix (5:30 p.m.)

Friday, February 3: Sky Sports Mix (11am), Sky Sports Arena HD (11am), Sky Sports Mix (5pm)

Saturday February 4: Sky Sports Mix (11am), Sky Sports Arena HD (11am), Sky Sports Mix (5.30pm), Sky Sports Arena HD (5.30pm)

Sunday February 5: Sky Sports Mix (11am), Sky Sports Arena HD (11am), Sky Sports Mix (5.30pm)