'Back me and I'll go close'

Shropshire's Adrian Gunnell is calling on county snooker fans to cheer him to victory over Chinese sensation Ding Junhui.Check out our Maplin UK Championship behind the scenes video

Gunnell takes on Ding in what is his first major tournament match on home soil when the Maplin UK Championship gets under way at Telford International Centre tomorrow.

The Oakengates cueman made it to the final stages of the Championship thanks to two superb wins in the qualifying rounds last week, beating David Roe 9-4 and Matthew Stevens 9-7.

He will now face the teenage superstar, who won the UK title two years ago, in the first round proper.

The first session of the match will be played tomorrow afternoon, with the concluding session on Sunday at 1pm.

"I played Ding in the China Open in Beijing earlier this year and he beat me 5-3," said 35-year-old Gunnell, whose run in the tournament could boost him into the top 32 of the provisional world rankings.

"It was tough playing him there because he has massive support and I knew most of the crowd were willing me to miss.

"It will be different this time as I will have the crowd behind me.

"I hope as many people as possible will come to support me and it would be great if there was a full house for the match. It's over a weekend so that should allow fans to come along.

"Ding is a brilliant player but he is young and perhaps a bit brittle and naive. If the crowd can help me put pressure on him then I might have a chance."

Anyone wanting to see Gunnell in action over the weekend will have to be there in person - with the BBC overlooking his match for live coverage.

The cameras will instead be turned on defending champion Peter Ebdon's meeting with Ian McCulloch and former world champion Shaun Murphy's clash with Paul Davies tomorrow.

That means Gunnell's match will start on an outside table without cameras - and will also finish there on Sunday afternoon.

Ebdon lost to McCulloch in the World Championships at the Crucible in 2004 and is taking nothing for granted this time. "Ian is a very tough player," said the Dubai-based potter.

"We both have similar styles, we are both gritty and determined. "It would be a dream come true to retain the title but I have to take it one match at a time and I'll be a lot happier if I can get the first game out of the way.

"I think the same is true for all the top players as the standard is so high these days."

l Tickets are still available from 01952 561700 or visit www.ticuk.com

l For video coverage of setting up at Telford International Centre log on to shropshirestar.com/snooker.