Ebdon will be looking to win his second UK title

Peter Ebdon believes it is more difficult than ever to win a ranking event as he kicks off his defence of the Maplin UK Championship title.

Ebdon, 37, who faces Ian McCulloch on Saturday, beat Stephen Hendry 10-6 last year to win his first UK crown.

"It meant so much to join the group of players who have completed the World and UK double," he told World Snooker.

"But it's getting hard to win events. You look how long Ronnie O'Sullivan has gone without a ranking title."

Ebdon is also intent on retaining his stranglehold on the crown, which this year also carries a winner's cheque of �100,000.

"I'll be trying to replicate what I did last season to give myself every possible chance of retaining the title," he added.

O'Sullivan has been installed as the pre-tournament favourite although he has not won a ranking event in two years.

The Rocket faces Nottingham's Michael Holt, the provisional world number 31, who beat Jamie Burnett 9-5 to qualify for Telford.

Holt, 29, knows he faces a tough task against O'Sullivan.

"When Ronnie's playing well all of the players watch him and say 'wow'. Obviously, he does get beaten, so you have to make sure you stick in there and take your chances against him," he told BBC Sport.

606: DEBATE Who do you think will win in Telford?

Elsewhere, world champion John Higgins begins his bid for his third UK crown with a tough opener against the promising Jamie Cope.

The Stoke potter reached two finals last season that included a 147 maximum in the 2006 Grand Prix.

China's Ding Junhui, who won the 2005 UK final, opens up against Adrian Gunnell while the world champion of that year, Shaun Murphy, faces Welshman Paul Davies.

Glasgow's Stephen Maguire will be looking to add the 2007 title to the one he picked up in 2004 as he opens up against Northern Ireland's Joe Swail.

The shock of the first round may come in the match between five-time UK champion Stephen Hendry and 21-year-old Mark Allen.

The Northern Ireland star, whose girlfriend is top female player Reanne Evans, leapt 33 places to reach the top 32 before the start of this season.

Victory over Ken Doherty in the first round of the 2007 World Championship helped him achieve that climb while a semi-final placing in November's Northern Ireland Trophy shows that he is a man in form.