Shaun Murphy was 63-19 behind against Zhao Xintong, but stole it on the black, winning the opener 74-69.

Murphy's looking fired up and responds with a little fist pump after sinking the frame-winning ball.

We've got some match going on involving Ronnie O'Sullivan and Barry Hawkins. After O'Sullivan's 128 clearance, Hawkins hits a break of 57 on his way to making it 1-1.

But on the other table we're still in the first frame, Zhao led 63-19, Murphy got it back to 63-49 before missing a yellow with the rest. It's now 69-52, with four balls left on the table.

A strong response from Barry Hawkins as he gets in on table one and makes a half-century, with him still at the table looking to make it 1-1.

On table two, Zhao holds a 63-19 point lead in the opener, with three reds still on the table.

Superb from Ronnie O'Sullivan as he makes a 128 clearance to instantly stamp his mark on the match.

What a way to start for Ronnie O'Sullivan as he rattles in the opening century of the tournament.

A break of 37 from Zhao after Murphy missed a cut red into the yellow pocket is the first action on table two, while a superb long red from O'Sullivan helps him to the first break of 50 over on table one.

China's Zhao Xintong says he made "a little mistake" in his first interview since returning from a ban for his involvement in snooker's biggest match-fixing scandal.

Zhao was one of 10 players banned in the corruption scandal but, after a suspension of a year and eight months, has returned and qualified for the the UK Championship.

He did not directly throw a match but was initially suspended for two and a half years, reduced after his early admissions and guilty plea.

He accepted charges of being a party to another player fixing two matches and betting on matches himself.

"Two years ago I made a little mistake, now I've come back," he told BBC's Jamie Broughton. "I know how important snooker is to me and now I just want to come back to the snooker table."

Zhao, 27, said it was now "very rare" that he had contact with former Masters champion Yan Bingtao, another of the players banned during the scandal, and urged other players to learn from his mistakes.

"Let them know this is a big lesson, don't make the mistake," he said. "Play snooker, it's a very good thing."

Ronnie O'Sullivan and Barry Hawkins have met 20 times, with 18 victories to O'Sullivan.

Can Hawkins start the tournament with a huge shock?

And we're up and running with our coverage on BBC One, so join Hazel Irvine and the rest of the team by pressing the 'watch live' tab at the top of this page.

As always, feel free to send us your comments and get your name in this page by sending us your snooker-related thoughts.

Easy question to start us off. Who is going to win this competition and why?

Message us using #bbcsnooker on X (formerly Twitter) to get involved.

Image source, Michael Emons

What a start to the event we have as reigning champion Ronnie O'Sullivan plays Barry Hawkins in a repeat of the 2013 World Championship final.

On the other table, we have former world champion Shaun Murphy against former UK champion Zhao Xintong of China.

Later on, two more Chinese players, Ding Junhui and Xiao Guodong go up against Robert Milkins and David Gilbert respectively.

Saturday, 23 November

13:00

Ronnie O'Sullivan (1) v Barry Hawkins

Shaun Murphy (9) v Zhao Xintong

19:00

Ding Junhui (8) v Robert Milkins

Xiao Guodong (16) v David Gilbert

Live coverage

13:15-16:30, BBC One & 16:30-17:30, BBC Two

13:00-14:30, BBC Red Button / BBC iPlayer / BBC Sport website & app

17:45-18:00, BBC Red Button / BBC iPlayer / BBC Sport website & app

20:30-23:00, BBC Red Button / BBC iPlayer / BBC Sport website & app

Highlights

00:00-02:00, BBC Two

Michael Emons
BBC Sport at York Barbican

Image source, Michael Emons

Hello and welcome to BBC Sport's coverage of the UK Snooker Championship from York Barbican.

Sometime a week on Sunday, one of our players will have their hands on the trophy, but for now we have 32 competitors, all hoping for glory.

It is a bitterly cold and wet day in York and there was lots of snow on the ground, before the heavy rain came and washed it all away.

So it's a good job we are an indoor sport and have lots of entertainment to enjoy today.

Image source, Michael Emons

BBC iPlayer

BBC TV will show live action from the UK Championship at the York Barbican every day on either BBC One or BBC Two. You can watch uninterrupted coverage of every match on BBC iPlayer, the BBC Sport website and the BBC Sport mobile app, with additional coverage on BBC Red Button.

The BBC Sport website will stream the live coverage and provide live updates and reports plus a full live text commentary of the final.

Saturday 23 November

Live coverage

13:15-16:30, BBC One & 16:30-17:30, BBC Two

13:00-14:30, BBC Red Button, BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport website & app

17:45-18:00, BBC Red Button, BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport website & app

20:30-23:00, BBC Red Button, BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport website & app

Highlights

00:00-02:00, BBC Two

Get full detailshere.

BBC Sport

Whether you choose to play competitively or socially, snooker is sure to get your brain working.

It requires skill and concentration and will improve your focus and hand-eye coordination. Anyone can play regardless of age, gender or ability and it's not an expensive sport to get into.

Snooker is essentially a simple sport, once the rules of the game have been learnt - to do just that click here., external

And a great way to start taking part in snooker is through a local snooker club.

English Partnership for Snooker and Billiards provides a club finder, external to locate your local snooker venue.

To find a club in other areas of the UK please contact the national snooker federations of Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.