体坛英语新闻：China's Ding to play Irish amateur Sutton at UK Championship first round

LONDON, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) -- Two-time champion Ding Junhui of China will open his 2014 UK Championship campaign against Irish amateur John Sutton on Wednesday, the second day's competition, at the York Barbican Center.

Ding, who won the tournament in 2005 and 2009, took five ranking tournaments titles last season but has not kept good form this term, failing to qualify for the main draw for the lucrative International Championships.

The UK Championship will run from November 25 to December 7 with 128 players, including 13 Chinese, battling for the coveted trophy and a top prize of 150,000 pounds.

The event will be televised by the BBC and international broadcasters in over 77 countries and regions. An estimated 100 million viewers around the world will watch the action from York.

Four-time champion Ronnie O'Sullivan is the hot favorite to win the title.