Rocket's lift-off

Ronnie O'Sullivan begins his defence of the Maplin UK Championship title tomorrow against Rory McLeod at Telford's International Centre.

The Rocket takes to the table at 1pm against the world No 44 hoping to recapture his stunning form of last year.

Another highlight of the opening day sees an all-Welsh contest between in-form world No 8 Ryan Day and 2003 UK champion Matthew Stevens.

World No 4 Mark Selby, another of the favourites, has a tough opening match against two-time UK champion Mark Williams.

Five-time winner Stephen Hendry also has a potentially tricky opener against Stephen Lee whilst Mark King takes on teenager Judd Trump.