UK Championship: Match schedule, BBC coverage and format

Snooker great Ronnie O'Sullivan starts his bid for a record-extending ninth UK Championship title at York Barbican on Saturday.

O'Sullivan, who celebrates his 49th birthday four days after this year's final on 1 December, is the defending champion and top seed for the first of this season's Triple Crown events.

However, the Rocket has only won one title since beating Ding Junhui 10-7 in the final last year and has yet to reach a final this season, losing in the first round of last week's Champion of Champions.

Second seed Kyren Wilson, winner of last month's Northern Ireland Open, will seek to add the UK crown to the world title he won in May.

Third seed Judd Trump, the UK champion in 2011, is the in-form player this season having already won three titles, while fourth seed Mark Allen will aim to reclaim the trophy he won in 2022.

Two-time winner Mark Williams, who claimed the Champion of Champions trophy on Sunday, will hope to win the UK title for the first time since 2002.

Ding Junhui is another recent tournament winner having won the International Championship to claim his first ranking title since lifting his third UK title in 2019.

Two-time winner Mark Selby will also fancy his chances of adding the title to his collection.

The 32-strong field will consist of the world’s top 16 players and 16 qualifiers.

BBC TV will show live action from every round and you can watch uninterrupted coverage of every match on BBC iPlayer, the BBC Sport website and the BBC Sport mobile app, with additional coverage on BBC Red Button.

There will also be updates on BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds.

TV coverage will be presented by Hazel Irvine and Seema Jaswal, with expert analysis from snooker legends Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry, John Parrott, John Virgo and Ken Doherty.

Format

The world's top 16 automatically qualify while the other 16 players in the main draw will be made up of players who come through this week's qualifying tournament at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester.

Among those seeking to secure their places in York are two former champions - three-time winner Neil Robertson and 2021 champion Zhao Xintong, who has returned to the sport after being banned for his involvement in a match-fixing scandal.

World Championship runner-up Jak Jones and women's world number one Bai Yulu are also hoping to qualify.

All matches are best of 11 frames except for the final on 1 December, which is played over 19 frames and two sessions.

What's the prize money?

Out of a total prize fund of £1,205,000, the winner will receive £250,000.

The runner-up earns £100,000 with the semi-finalists collecting £50,000 each.

For reaching the first round players get £10,000, while it is £15,000 for the second round and £25,000 for a quarter-final place.

There is also a prize of £15,000 for the highest break.

Match schedule & BBC coverage

All times are GMT. Coverage times are subject to late changes. The BBC is not responsible for any changes that may be made. Seedings in brackets.

First round

Saturday, 23 November

13:00

Ronnie O'Sullivan (1) v Qualifier

Shaun Murphy (9) v Qualifier

19:00

Ding Junhui (8) v Qualifier

Xiao Guodong (16) v Qualifier

Live coverage

13:15-16:30, BBC One & 16:30-17:30, BBC Two

13:00-14:30, BBC Red Button / BBC iPlayer / BBC Sport website & app

17:45-18:00, BBC Red Button / BBC iPlayer / BBC Sport website & app

20:30-23:00, BBC Red Button / BBC iPlayer / BBC Sport website & app

Highlights

00:00-02:00, BBC Two

Sunday, 24 November

13:00

Mark Allen (4) v Qualifier

Ali Carter (12) v Qualifier

19:00

Si Jiahui (13) v Qualifier

Mark Selby (5) v Qualifier

Live coverage

12:50-17:10, BBC Two

13:00-18:00, BBC Red Button / BBC iPlayer / BBC Sport website & app

20:00-23:00, BBC Red Button / BBC iPlayer / BBC Sport website & app

Highlights

00:05-02:05, BBC Two

Monday, 25 November

1300

Chris Wakelin (15) v Qualifier

Kyren Wilson (2) v Qualifier

1900

Luca Brecel (7) v Qualifier

Gary Wilson (10) v Qualifier

Live coverage

13:00-17:15, BBC Two

13:00-18:00, BBC Red Button / BBC iPlayer / BBC Sport website & app

19:00-23:00, BBC Red Button / BBC iPlayer / BBC Sport website & app

Highlights

00:05-02:05, BBC Two

Tuesday, 26 November

1300

John Higgins (14) v Qualifier

Judd Trump (3) v Qualifier

1900

Mark Williams (6) v Qualifier

Zhang Anda (11) v Qualifier

Live coverage

13:00-17:15, BBC Two

13:00-18:00, BBC Red Button / BBC iPlayer / BBC Sport website & app

19:00-23:00, BBC Red Button / BBC iPlayer / BBC Sport website & app

Highlights

23:40-01:40, BBC Two

Second round

Wednesday, 27 November

Live coverage

13:00-17:15, BBC Two

13:00-18:00, BBC Red Button / BBC iPlayer / BBC Sport website & app

19:00-23:00, BBC Red Button / BBC iPlayer / BBC Sport website & app

Highlights

00:05-02:05, BBC Two

Thursday, 28 November

Live coverage

13:00-17:15, BBC Two

13:00-18:00, BBC Red Button / BBC iPlayer / BBC Sport website & app

19:00-20:00, BBC Two

19:00-23:00, BBC Red Button / BBC iPlayer / BBC Sport website & app

Highlights

00:05-02:05, BBC Two

Quarter-finals

Friday, 29 November

Live coverage

13:00-17:15, BBC Two

13:00-18:00, BBC Red Button / BBC iPlayer / BBC Sport website & app

19:00-19:30, BBC Two

19:00-23:00, BBC Red Button / BBC iPlayer / BBC Sport website & app

Semi-finals

Saturday, 30 November

Live coverage

13:00-18:00, BBC Red Button / BBC iPlayer / BBC Sport website & app

13:15-16:30, BBC One / BBC iPlayer / BBC Sport website & app

16:30-17:00, BBC Two / BBC iPlayer / BBC Sport website & app

19:00-22:00, BBC Two / BBC iPlayer / BBC Sport website & app

19:00-23:00, BBC Red Button / BBC iPlayer / BBC Sport website & app

Final

Sunday, 1 December

Live coverage

Session one

13:00-14:15 BBC One / BBC iPlayer / BBC Sport website & app

14:15-16:00 BBC Two / BBC iPlayer / BBC Sport website & app

Session two

19:00-22:00, BBC Two / BBC iPlayer / BBC Sport website & app