UK Championship 2024 draw: Reigning champion Ronnie O'Sullivan faces Barry Hawkins, Judd Trump could meet Neil Robertson

Defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan will face Barry Hawkins in the UK Championship, with the main event set to begin at the Barbican in York on Saturday - live on Eurosport and discovery+.

The 'Rocket' has been handed a tricky first test as he looks to reach his first final of the season, following disappointment at the Xi'an Grand Prix and Shanghai Masters.

O'Sullivan has a record 23 Triple Crown titles to his name and beat Ding Junhui in last year's UK Championship final.

Hawkins, meanwhile, will hope to pull off an upset in a repeat of the 2013 World Championship final. The two last met in January at The Masters, where O'Sullivan took a 6-3 win.

O'Sullivan is, as ever, amongst the favourites to win the UK Championship. But his unusually poor recent form has opened the door for others to compete for silverware.

Judd Trump, who will fancy his chances of a second UK title, has been drawn against either Neil Robertson or Matthew Stevens. They face each other in qualifying on Thursday night.

Should Robertson come through, he would meet Trump in a repeat of the 2020 final, a mouthwatering tie early on in what promises to be a memorable tournament.

Elsewhere, reigning world champion Kyren Wilson - yet to win the UK Championship - will play Stephen Maguire. And Mark Selby will meet Jack Lisowski in another eye-catching match.

The snooker world will be fully focused on O'Sullivan and Hawkins come Saturday afternoon, though, with the eight-time UK winner's match first on the card at the Barbican.

Ronnie O'Sullivan v Barry Hawkins
Xiao Guodong v David Gilbert or Julien Leclercq
Shaun Murphy v Zhai Xintong
Ding Junhui v Robert Milkins or Xu Si
Mark Selby v Jack Lisowski
Ali Carter v Ryan Day
Si Jiahui v Wu Yize
Mark Allen v Jackson Page
Judd Trump v Neil Robertson or Matthew Stevens
John Higgins v He Guoqiang or Stan Moody
Zhang Anda v Ben Woollaston or Lei Peifan
Mark Williams v Stuart Bingham
Luca Brecel v Jak Jones
Gary Wilson v Liu Hongyu or Michael Holt
Chris Wakelin v Matthew Selt
Kyren Wilson v Stephen Maguire

---

Stream top snooker action, including the UK Championship, on discovery+