World number one Judd Trump will take on Stephen Maguire when he begins his defence of his UK Championship title on Saturday.
Trump is yet to pick up any silverware in 2025 and faces a tricky last-32 contest against Maguire, who was the UK champion in 2004 and also reached the final in 2007 and 2019.
Record eight-time winner Ronnie O’Sullivan gets his campaign under way on Tuesday against China’s Zhou Yuelong.
‘The Rocket’, who turns 50 on the day of the quarter-finals, has won all seven of his previous meetings with the world number 29, who reached the final of the English Open earlier this season.
The first Triple Crown event of the season, which will be shown live on the BBC, takes place at York Barbican from 29 November to 7 December and offers a top prize of £250,000.
Current world champion Zhao Xintong will meet Long Zehuang on Monday, while Kyren Wilson, who triumphed at the Crucible in 2024, plays Elliot Slessor – the highest-ranked qualifier in the field.
Mark Allen plays Scott Donaldson, who produced a remarkable fightback from 5-0 down to defeat Stuart Bingham in qualifying, while John Higgins has been drawn against Ben Woollaston.
Meanwhile, Mark Selby will face Lei Peifan and Shaun Murphy will meet Lyu Haotian.
UK Championship last-32 draw:
Judd Trump v Stephen Maguire
Si Jiahui v Ryan Day
Ding Junhui v Xu Si
Mark Allen v Scott Donaldson
Mark Williams v David Gilbert
Xiao Guodong v Pang Junxu
Wu Yize v Michael Holt
Neil Robertson v Julien Leclercq
Kyren Wilson v Elliot Slessor
Barry Hawkins v David Lilley
Mark Selby v Lei Peifan
Ronnie O’Sullivan v Zhou Yuelong
John Higgins v Ben Woollaston
Shaun Murphy v Lyu Haotian
Gary Wilson v Zhang Anda
Zhao Xintong v Long Zehuang