WST has now published the draws and formats for the 2023 UK Championship, both qualifiers and main event:

Allen To Start Defence On Opening Day In York

The draw for the MrQ UK Championship in York has been made, with Mark Allen to begin the defence of his title on the opening afternoon on Saturday November 25.

The tournament runs from November 25 to December 3 at the York Barbican. The schedule for top 16 seeds has now been announced:

Saturday November 25
1pm
Mark Allen v qualifier
Mark Williams v qualifier

7pm
Kyren Wilson v qualifier
Tom Ford v qualifier

Sunday November 26
1pm
Luca Brecel v qualifier
Zhang Anda v qualifier

7pm
Shaun Murphy v qualifier
Ali Carter v qualifier

Monday November 27
1pm
Judd Trump v qualifier
Barry Hawkins v qualifier

7pm
Mark Selby v qualifier
Jack Lisowski v qualifier

Tuesday November 28
1pm
Ronnie O’Sullivan v qualifier
John Higgins v qualifier

7pm
Neil Robertson v qualifier
Robert Milkins v qualifier

CLICK HERE FOR THE FINAL STAGES DRAW

CLICK HERE FOR THE FINAL STAGES FORMAT

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Northern Ireland’s Allen beat Ding Junhui 10-7 in the final at the Barbican last year to win the title for the first time. This year’s event promises to be a classic, with many all-time greats in the field as well as in-form Zhang Anda and Tom Ford who have leapt into the top 16 for the first time.

The 16 seeds will be joined by 16 players who come through the qualifying rounds in Leicester, which run from November 18 to 23. Star names among the 128 players heading for the qualifiers include three-time UK Champion Ding, Stephen Maguire, Stuart Bingham, Hossein Vafaei, Ryan Day, Si Jiahui, Jimmy White and Ken Doherty.

CLICK HERE FOR THE QUALIFIERS DRAW

CLICK HERE FOR THE QUALIFIERS FORMAT

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Or watch the drama unfold during all six days of the qualifying rounds, from November 18th to 23rd, live on discovery+ or the Eurosport App (depending on your location), as well as the last four days on WST’s Facebook and YouTube channels.

The last two days of the qualifying event, on November 22nd and 23rd, will be ‘Judgement Day’ as players battle for coveted places in the final stages. The random draw for the final stages will be made on Thursday 23^rd.

First of all, I’m glad to see Ronnie’s name in the draw. I wasn’t sure he would enter it but of course this is one of the “triple crown” events in a city he likes and that surely helps.

Next, this is a format I like. The lowest ranked players are not immediately facing a top player and get more winnable matches to start with. Of course, they have to win more matches to get to the venue, but they have the opportunity to get some useful experience, ranking points and money before facing the big boys. Also, it’s longer matches, which allows more time to settle.