Tough draw for Murphy

The draw for the new tournament, which runs from March 16 to 20, was performed at the venue by local star Ken Doherty and WPBSA Chairman Jason Ferguson.

The top eight in the Order of Merit are seeded through to the last 16, with the other 16 players drawn at random in the first round.

Former World and UK Champion Murphy has been handed a tricky opening tie against either Walden, who is now ranked among the world's top 16 for the first time in his career, or Chinese ace Liang.

Twice World Champion Mark Williams, who came within a frame of winning his third UK Championship title last Sunday, will take on Anthony Hamilton or Tom Ford in his first match. Masters champion Mark Selby will be up against Andrew Higginson or rising star Jack Lisowski.

Other first round ties include former UK Champion Stephen Maguire against Stuart Bingham, and Hitman Michael Holt against Hong Kong's top cueist Marco Fu.

Ricky Walden v Liang Wenbo (Winner to play Shaun Murphy)

Mark Davis v Joe Jogia (Winner to play Stephen Lee)

Matthew Stevens v Gerard Greene (Winner to play Dominic Dale)

Stuart Bingham v Stephen Maguire (Winner to play Marcus Campbell)

Marco Fu v Michael Holt (Winner to play Barry Pinches)

Jamie Jones v Martin Gould (Winner to play Judd Trump)

Anthony Hamilton v Tom Ford (Winner to play Mark Williams)

Andrew Higginson v Jack Lisowski (Winner to play Mark Selby)