EBBW Vale's Jackson Page will make his World Championship debut at the Crucible.
The 20-year-old beat England's David Grace in the final qualifying round in Sheffield to seal a place in the main draw.
Page will go up against ninth seed Barry Hawkins on Saturday afternoon with the best of 19 frames clash finishing on Sunday.
His prize for an upset is potentially a meeting with his mentor Mark Williams as the Cwm potter faces fellow Welshman Michael White in round one.
"I'm going there to try and win the event and not just to make up the numbers," Page said to BBC Radio 5 Live. "Hopefully I'll do some damage."
Three other Welshmen have qualified with Jamie Jones facing defending Mark Selby, two-time runner-up Matthew Stevens is up against 14th seed Jack Lisowski and Jamie Clarke faces China's Zhao Xintong.
Selby collected his fourth world title last year by beating Shaun Murphy in the final but the Leicester potter has failed to lift a trophy this season and has opened up about his mental health struggles.
He will begin the defence of his crown in Sheffield on Saturday morning.
Ronnie O'Sullivan, currently top of the rankings, will start his quest to equal Stephen Hendry's record of seven world titles by facing qualifier David Gilbert, a semi-finalist at the Crucible three years ago.
Murphy has been handed an unenviable first-round match against former UK Championship winner Stephen Maguire while Hossein Vafaei, the first Iranian to qualify for the Crucible, takes on Judd Trump.
Neil Robertson won the Masters in January and has been tipped by many to get his hands on a second world title this year, and the Australian, champion in 2010, faces Crucible debutant Ashley Hugill.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here