WST has now published the draw and format for the final stages of the 2022 UK Championship
Final Stages Draw – Cazoo UK Championship
First round match fixtures are now confirmed for the top 16 seeds competing in next month’s Cazoo UK Championship in York, including Ronnie O’Sullivan, Judd Trump, John Higgins, Neil Robertson, Mark Selby and defending champion Zhao Xintong.
The tournament has been staged at the York Barbican since 2011, and this year’s event runs from November 12 to 20. There’s a new format this year, with all of the top 16 seeded through to the last 32 for the televised phase, and only two tables in the arena throughout.
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First round matches are:
Saturday November 12, 1pm
Zhao Xintong v qualifier
Mark Allen v qualifierSaturday November 12, 7pm
Kyren Wilson v qualifier
Ryan Day v qualifierSunday November 13, 1pm
Neil Robertson v qualifier
Luca Brecel v qualifierSunday November 13, 7pm
John Higgins v qualifier
Barry Hawkins v qualifierMonday November 14, 1pm
Ronnie O’Sullivan v qualifier
Yan Bingtao v qualifierMonday November 14, 7pm
Mark Williams v qualifier
Stuart Bingham v qualifierTuesday November 15, 1pm
Judd Trump v qualifier
Jack Lisowski v qualifierTuesday November 15, 7pm
Mark Selby v qualifier
Shaun Murphy v qualifierThe top 16 will be drawn at random against the 16 players who come through the qualifying rounds, which will run from November 5 to 10 in Sheffield.
The Cazoo UK Championship is one of snooker’s Triple Crown events with a history dating back to 1977. It will be televised by BBC, Eurosport, CCTV5, Matchroom.Live and a range of other broadcasters worldwide. Prize money this year has been increased from £1,009,000 to £1,205,000, with the first prize up from £200,000 to £250,000.
China’s Zhao Xintong is the current champion having beaten Belgium’s Luca Brecel in the 2021 final.
The Barbican is a great venue but it was not really suitable to host 128 players. When I was there, in early rounds, there were no changing rooms for the players and the practice table was in a room where guests and pundits were relaxing and working as well. That was far from ideal.
With four tables in the arena during the early rounds, some players complained about lack of space around the two tables situated at the sides.
There were also four tables in the “Sports hall”. The setup was far from ideal as fans entering and leaving the room were bound to distract the players because spectators were sat very close to the tables. WST had to put a policy into place to “regulate” the “traffic”. But even so, it was not great. People waiting to enter could easily be heard from inside the arena and sometimes a spectator just HAD to get out. Also players whose matches were played in the sports hall often had the feeling to be “outcasts”.
Also, as it was close(r) to Christmas, accommodations were very expensive.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 
If they felt like outcasts playing in the Sports Hall, then I wonder how they will feel having to get through 4 rounds of qualifiers away from the attention? At least the Ponds Forge venue is decent. This year’s UK Championship will feel more like an elite event, rather than a bustling one as it was in previous years. It’s a shame that there aren’t any events now where the whole tour are present. In most respects the UK Championship is more important than anything except the World Championship: victory ensures places in the Cazoo Series events and a top-10 ranking for 2 years. The Masters doesn’t give any such benefits, but at least is playing in the best venue.
I think it’s very different. As you say Ponds Forge is a decent venue and hopefully there will be a lot of spectators. The problem with the sports hall is that is was cramped, with noise filtering in from the main areas, where others were competing in the spotlights at the exact same time. Here, at least, they will all play in the same conditions, hopefully good conditions.