Ronnie O'Sullivan, Jimmy White, Stephen Hendry and Luca Brecel discover English Open snooker opponents

ByEurosport

Published 31/08/2023 at 10:38 GMT

Stephen Hendry will meet Fergal O'Brien in the qualifying round of the English Open in Leicester, while Jimmy White is set to take on Joe O'Connor for a spot in the last 64. Qualifying takes place between September 6-8 with the tournament staged at the Brentwood Centre in Essex from October 2-8 live on Eurosport and discovery+. Mark Selby is the defending champion.

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The English Open qualifying draw has thrown up tough matches for old rivals Stephen Hendry and Jimmy White, with Leicester's Morningside Arena set to host the opening round of the ranking event from September 6-8.

Seven-time world champion Hendry will meet the experienced figure of Irishman Fergal O'Brien while six-time Crucible finalist White faces last year's Scottish Open finalist Joe O'Connor for a last 64 place.

Hendry and O'Brien first met in the last 64 of the 1993 UK Championship, with Hendry completing a 9-7 win, and their last meeting was in the group stage of the 2006 Grand Prix, won 3-2 by O'Brien.

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Elsewhere in qualifying, World Championship semi-finalist Si Jiahui will take on Alexander Ursenbacher.

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Matches involving the world's top 16 have been held over to the finals venue in Brentwood as Mark Selby defends the title he claimed last season courtesy of a 9-6 final win over Luca Brecel.

Selby meets Xing Zihao in his tournament opener with world No. 1 Ronnie O'Sullivan handed a encounter with Welshman Andrew Pagett, who earned a new two-year tour card at Q School in May.

World champion Brecel will face tour rookie Stan Moody, the world junior champion, while there is an intriguing match between John Higgins and Marco Fu, who made a 147 in the final frame of a 6-5 win over Higgins in last year's Hong Kong Masters semi-final.

New European Masters champion Barry Hawkins will meet Anthony Hamilton with Jack Lisowski taking on two-time world finalist Matthew Stevens.

The English Open is part of the Home Nations Series and will be broadcast on Eurosport and discovery+ from October 2-8 at the Brentwood Centre in Essex.

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FULL DRAW HERE

England Open matches (world's top 16)

Mark Selby v Xing Zihao
Ryan Day v Ashley Hugill
John Higgins v Marco Fu
Kyren Wilson v Oliver Lines
Judd Trump v Sean O’Sullivan
Robert Milkins v Robbie Williams
Barry Hawkins v Anthony Hamilton
Mark Allen v Mostafa Dorgham
Ronnie O’Sullivan v Andrew Pagett
Jack Lisowski v Matthew Stevens
Ali Carter v Jamie Clarke
Neil Robertson v Sanderson Lam
Shaun Murphy v Liu Hongyu
Mark Williams v Ian Burns
Ding Junhui v Ma Hailong
Luca Brecel v Stan Moody

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Stream the European Masters and other top snooker action live on discovery+, the Eurosport app and at eurosport.com

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