Draw made for the UK Snooker Championship 2024: Champion O'Sullivan to face Hawkins in opener

Snooker’s second most prestigious ranking title - and one-third of the fabled Triple Crown Series alongside the Masters and World Championship - the 2024 UK Championship will take place at the Barbican Centre between November 23 to December.

With a total prize fund of over £1.2 million and a top prize of £250,000, 32 cueists are set to compete at the main venue in Yorkshire. This field is made up of the world’s top 16 ranked players who are the seeds and the 16 qualifiers who made it through the preliminary phase in Leicester over the past several days.

Following a live draw which was conducted online during the World Snooker Tour’s coverage of the final day of qualifying at the Mattioli Arena, the seeds - who were already locked in their positions on the drawsheet - have been randomly drawn against the successful qualifiers.

Ronnie O’Sullivan will begin his pursuit of a record-extending ninth UK title against Barry Hawkins during the tournament’s opening session on Saturday afternoon in a mini-rerun of their World Championship final encounter from 2013.

Reigning World Champion Kyren Wilson is aiming to become just the seventh player in professional snooker history to win both the World and UK titles within the same calendar year. ‘The Warrior’ meets Stephen Maguire - UK Champion two decades ago - first up on Monday afternoon.

It is 13 years since Judd Trump won his UK Championship crown, and the world number one starts his tilt for a second title with a blockbuster tie against Neil Robertson. These two met in the epic 2020 final behind-closed-doors which Robertson shaded on the final pink in the deciding frame.

Mark Allen lifted this trophy two years ago and the Northern Irishman will be defending all the prize money he won on that occasion on his world ranking. Jackson Page will be the former world number one’s opening assignment at the Barbican.

Mark Selby faces Jack Lisowski in another mouth-watering prospect, and there is an all-World Champion clash between recent Champion of Champions Mark Williams and Stuart Bingham.

2021 UK Champion Zhao Xintong will make a sensational return to the scene of his greatest triumph - just weeks after returning from his ban - and face Shaun Murphy.

There are two all-Chinese ties with Si Jiahui and Wu Yize - two of snooker’s most exciting young prospects - sharing the baize together.

Match schedule for round one at the 2024 UK Snooker Championship:

Saturday 23rd November

Afternoon Session (13:00GMT start)

• Ronnie O'Sullivan v Barry Hawkins
• Shaun Murphy v Zhao Xintong

Evening Session (19:00GMT start)

• Ding Junhui v Rob Milkins
• Xiao Guodong v David Gilbert

Sunday 24th November

Afternoon Session (13:00GMT start)

• Mark Allen v Jackson Page
• Ali Carter v Ryan Day

Evening Session (19:00GMT start)

• Mark Selby v Jack Lisowski
• Si Jiahui v Wu Yize

Monday 25th November

Afternoon Session (13:00GMT start)

• Kyren Wilson v Stephen Maguire
• Chris Wakelin v Matthew Selt

Evening Session (19:00GMT start)

• Luca Brecel v Jak Jones
• Gary Wilson v Michael Holt

Tuesday 26th November

Afternoon Session (13:00GMT start)

• Judd Trump v Neil Robertson
• John Higgins v He Guoqiang

Evening Session (19:00GMT start)

• Mark Williams v Stuart Bingham
• Zhang Anda v Lei Peifan

For full details on the 2024 UK Championship, including the draw, results, prize money breakdown, format and how to watch, please visit our tournament information centre here.