SNOOKER greats Stephen Hendry and Mark Williams are on a York collision course.

They are heading for a big showdown in the last 16 of the Travis Perkins UK Snooker Championship at the Barbican Centre if they both win their opening matches next week.

Five-times UK champion Hendry and Williams, who won the title in York in 2002, are close friends off the table but fierce rivals on it and would both relish a battle on the baize.

The match is set to start at 1.30pm on Monday, December 12 and concludes the following afternoon.

Hendry's opening match is in the second round against fellow Scot Drew Henry or Thailander James Wattana on Saturday, December 10 and the following day. Williams opens against Nottingham's Michael 'The Hitman' Holt or Ricky Walden, who won the Swiss Open title this week, on Wednesday and Thursday.

Williams, who has slumped from being world number one three years ago to stand a lowly 22nd in the ranking list this year, is badly in need of a boost.

Since winning the UK title in York in 2002 he has been knocked out at the first attempt in the past two years, losing 9-7 to Irishman Fergal O'Brien in 2003 and then 9-3 to Mark King last year. And he hasn't won a tournament match yet this season, losing to UK champion Stephen Maguire in the Northern Ireland Trophy in August and to O'Brien in the Grand Prix at Preston in October.

Hendry, on the other hand, is in very strong form. The world No 2 reached the Northern Ireland final (losing to Matthew Stevens), the Grand Prix semi-finals (losing to John Higgins) and last night was playing Chinese teenager Ding Junhui in the Premier League semi-finals in Manchester.

Walden, the English-born, Wales-based world No 35, beat former world champion Ken Doherty 5-3 in the Swiss final in a perfect warm-up for his UK first round match against Holt on Tuesday.

"I'm looking forward to playing in York," said Walden. "Funnily enough I played Michael at the same stage of last year's UK."

Walden won that 9-4 and went on to defeat John Higgins before losing 9-5 to John Parrott in the last 16.

"I've got a lost of respect for Michael and won't be taking anything for granted," added Walden.

Several other York-bound players were in Switzerland this week, including last year's UK beaten finalist David Gray, who lost in the first round in the Swiss Open.

You can be all ears

SPECTATORS watching the UK snooker at York's Barbican Centre can buy ear pieces to listen to the BBC TV commentary during the televised stages of the tournament.

The ear pieces cost £5 and will be available at the merchandise shop in the Barbican Centre. They are easily clipped on and if you are watching play on table one, you can tune the ear piece to hear what's happening on table two.

The Chinese-made technology also gives World Snooker an easy way to communicate with the audience.

If there's a problem in the crowd with a mobile phone ringing, they can interupt the commentary to tell someone to turn off the mobile.

And if, for instance, Ronnie O'Sullivan is going to sign autographs in the foyer at a particular time, World Snooker can inform the public.

The 'scanners' can be used at all domestic events but only from the televised stages.

They can be used indefinitely while the battery lasts.

Updated: 08:49 Saturday, December 03, 2005