In grave danger of losing his treasured place in the game's top 16, Dott has gone back to the drawing board this year and started to grind out results in trademark fashion.

The 'Pocket Rocket' beat Matthew Stevens at Wembley before narrowly losing to Stephen Lee. At The Malta Open, he went as far as the semis, beating world champion Shaun Murphy along the way before losing 6-3 to eventual winner Ken Doherty.

Encouragingly, Dott also reached the quarter-finals in Wales but once again lost out to Lee, who went on to capture the trophy. In the last event in China, he reached the last 16 before falling to local hero, Ding Junhui.

The 2004 world championship runner-up opens up in Sheffield against John Parrott, a man he beat 5-2 in Malta.

If he beats the 1991 champion, the 28-year-old will almost certainly face Stephen Hendry, whom he has never beaten. Don’t expect things to change on the biggest stage of all.

Prediction: Second-round exit