Stevens, a former UK Championship and Masters champion, has a strong history at the World Championship, reaching two finals and three semi-finals in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He notably lost the 2000 final 18-16 to Mark Williams. However, his career has seen fewer deep runs in tournaments over the last decade, and he is settled in the middle rankings.
This season, he showed flashes of form by beating Judd Trump at the Xi’an Grand Prix, but consistency remains a key issue. According to Metro - Main, Stevens described consistency as his main challenge. He also acknowledged practicing less as he gets older, with Metro - Main reporting he estimated playing only about three hours of snooker in the last six months.
Looking ahead to the World Championship, Stevens holds a realistic outlook on his chances. According to Metro - Main, he described having no chance of winning, but added that causing an upset or two could lead to unexpected outcomes. His first-round opponent and match dates at the Crucible have not been announced, and it is unclear how he plans to address his consistency issues or what bookmakers' odds are for his title bid.