THE FUSE

World number one Judd Trump will take on Stephen Maguire when he begins his defence of his UK Championship title on Saturday.

Trump is yet to pick up any silverware in 2025 and faces a tricky last-32 contest against Maguire, who was the UK champion in 2004 and also reached the final in 2007 and 2019.

Record eight-time winner Ronnie O'Sullivan gets his campaign under way on Tuesday against China's Zhou Yuelong.

'The Rocket', who turns 50 on the day of the quarter-finals, has won all seven of his previous meetings with the world number 29, who reached the final of the English Open earlier this season.

The first Triple Crown event of the season, which will be shown live on the BBC, takes place at York Barbican from 29 November to 7 December and offers a top prize of £250,000.

Current world champion Zhao Xintong will meet Long Zehuang or Louis Heathcote on Monday, while Kyren Wilson, who triumphed at the Crucible in 2024, plays Elliot Slessor - the highest-ranked qualifier in the field.

Mark Allen plays Scott Donaldson, who produced a remarkable fightback from 5-0 down to defeat Stuart Bingham in qualifying, while John Higgins has been drawn against Ben Woollaston.

Meanwhile, Mark Selby will face either Lei Peifan or Jimmy Robertson and Shaun Murphy will meet Lyu Haotian.

UK Championship last-32 draw:

Judd Trump v Stephen Maguire

Si Jiahui v Hossein Vafaei or Ryan Day

Ding Junhui v Tom Ford or Xu Si

Mark Allen v Scott Donaldson

Mark Williams v David Gilbert

Xiao Guodong v Pang Junxu or Noppon Saengkham

Wu Yize v Michael Holt

Neil Robertson v He Guoqiang or Julien Leclercq

Kyren Wilson v Elliot Slessor

Barry Hawkins v David Lilley or Artemijs Zizins

Mark Selby v Lei Peifan or Jimmy Robertson

Ronnie O'Sullivan v Zhou Yuelong

John Higgins v Ben Woollaston

Shaun Murphy v Lyu Haotian

Gary Wilson v Zhang Anda or Thepchaiya Un-Nooh

Zhao Xintong v Long Zehuang or Louis Heathcote