The draw for the 2025 UK Championship has been made, with the main stages getting underway at the Barbican in York on Saturday.
The qualifiers began in Wigan on Saturday and are yet to finish, with the final field confirmed late on Thursday night.
Then all eyes are on York as the world’s top 16 take on the 16 players who have come through the gruelling qualification process.
World number one Judd Trump is the defending champion this year after his victory over Barry Hawkins in last year’s final.
The Ace gets the tournament underway on Saturday afternoon with a very tasty tie against former winner Stephen Maguire.
Ronnie O’Sullivan gets his campaign underway on Tuesday afternoon and has a tricky test against Zhou Yuelong.
Last year’s world champion, Kyren Wilson, takes on the highest-ranked qualifier in the field, Elliot Slessor.
UK Championship draw and schedule
Saturday November 29
1pm
Judd Trump vs Stephen Maguire
Si Jiahui vs Hossein Vafaei/Ryan Day
7pm
John Higgins vs Ben Woollaston
Shaun Murphy vs Lyu Haotian
Sunday November 30
1pm
Wu Yize vs Michael Holt
Neil Robertson vs He Guoqiang/Julien Leclercq
7pm
Mark Williams vs Dave Gilbert
Xiao Guodong vs Pang Junxu/Noppon Saengkham
Monday December 1
1pm
Ding Junhui vs Tom Ford/Xu Si
Zhao Xintong vs Long Zehuang/Louis Heathcote
7pm
Mark Allen vs Scott Donaldson
Gary Wilson vs Zhang Anda/Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
Tuesday December 2
1pm
Mark Selby vs Lei Peifan/Jimmy Robertson
Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Zhou Yuelong
7pm
Kyren Wilson vs Elliot Slessor
Barry Hawkins vs David Lilley/Artemijs Zizins
The final qualifiers begin at 7pm on Thursday, when the remaining either/or ties will be decided.
Both Stephen Hendry and Ken Doherty have tipped up the same winner before the tournament gets underway and that man is Mark Selby.
The Jester from Leicester is in the same opening session as his old rival O’Sullivan on Tuesday afternoon and takes on either Scottish Open champion Lei Peifan or Jimmy Robertson.
Two of the form horses this season so far have been Shaun Murphy and Neil Robertson, with both lifting a title and reaching another final.
Murphy faces world number 48 Lyu Haotian, while the Thunder from Down Under will take on either Chinese talent He Guoqiang or the Belgian Beast Julien Leclercq.
There have been 11 professional tournaments so far this season which have produced 11 different winners, showing the remarkable level of competition and lack of a dominant force.
That run could continue in York, with the likes of former champions Trump, O’Sullivan, Ding Junhui and John Higgins all still looking for their first piece of silverware of the campaign.
UK Championship prize money
Winner: £250,000
Runner-up: £100,000
Semi-finalists: £50,000
Quarter-finalists: £25,000
Last 16: £15,000
Last 32: £10,000
Last 48: £7,500
Last 80: £5,000
Last 112: £2,500
Highest break: £15,000
There are a number of recognisable names missing from the draw in York after falling in qualifying.
Recent Northern Ireland Open champion Jack Lisowski was beaten by Louis Heathcote, while world number 17 Chris Wakelin lost early to Mitchell Mann.
Ali Carter lost out to Latvian teenager Artemijs Zizins, while former world champion Luca Brecel was beaten by Ian Burns.