Ronnie O’Sullivan is aiming to defend his UK Championship title in York (Image: Getty)
has been handed a tricky draw ahead of his title defence beginning in York this weekend.
With qualifying concluding today (Thursday), the draw has already been made to determine which of the 16 qualifiers will face each of the world’s top 16 players. O’Sullivan, who sits fifth in the pecking order, will kick off the tournament on Saturday afternoon against former world No. 4 Barry Hawkins.
The Hawk has dropped down to 20th in the World Snooker Tour’s order of merit but he is still a player with serious pedigree. And his opening match at the Barbican is a repeat of the 2013 final, which O’Sullivan won 18-12.
Hawkins’ best years were between 2013 and 2018, when he reached at least the quarter-finals of the World Snooker Championship six times in a row, and at least the semi-finals in five of those years.
Though O’Sullivan will have to be wary about the threat his opponent poses, he has won their last four-head-to-head meetings since Hawkins got one over on him at the Championship League in 2021.
Judd Trump has also discovered his first opponent, with the world No. 1 drawn against either Neil Robertson or Matthew Stevens. Reigning world champion Kyren Wilson will play Stephen Maguire, Mark Selby is set to face Jack Lisowski, and completing the pick of the opening ties is the all-Chinese showdown between Wu Yize and Si Jiahui.
Barry Hawkins will be Ronnie O’Sullivan’s first opponent at the UK Championship (Image: Getty)
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Though he no longer tops the rankings, O’Sullivan remains the big draw as he and his rivals head to York. And as the defending champion, it is his head they are coming for.
Results have not been particularly inspiring for O’Sullivan of late, with early exits at the International Championship and the Champion of Champions. But he is sure to get good backing when he and Hawkins take to the table.
“I get very good support wherever I go all over the world,” said the Rocket earlier this month. “I think that’s just because I’ve been playing the game for so long now, 32 years.
“I’ve won a lot of big titles, I think that’s what people like, to win the big tournaments, holding all the records. As well as my style of play, I’ve managed to entertain the fans and had the titles to back it up as well.
“Anyone who thought I wasn’t a winner, I’ve got them in my camp and people that just want to see really good snooker I’ve got them in my camp as well. So if you asked 100 snooker fans who they’d want to watch probably the majority of them would say me, because I pretty much tick every box there is to tick as a sportsman.”