A DAY before Yorkshire hero Paul Hunter's first match in this year's Travis Perkins UK Snooker Championship the man who taught him how to play will be in action.

Jimmy Michie, from Pontefract, makes his first appearance in the UK Championship in York this year, having come through the qualifying rounds at Prestatyn last month.

Ranked 55 in the world, his first round opponent on Tuesday is Kent pro Gerrard Green, the world No 26.

"Jimmy's a friend of mine. He taught me to play snooker," said Hunter, who opens his bid for the UK crown the following day in a second round match against either Aussie hot-shot Quinten Hann or Accrington's Shokat Ali,

"I was about nine and he was the resident pro at a club called Super Snooker in Leeds city centre."

"He saw me and took me under his wing. He just taught me the basics. He is a very good friend of mine and I've known him about 16 years."

Hunter, who started the ranking tournament season by reaching the totesport Grand Prix final in Preston, losing to Ronnie O'Sullivan, says his main ambition this campaign is to at least maintain his number four world ranking and to win a ranking tournament.

The furthest he has ever got in the UK Championship in York is the quarter-finals last year, when he was beaten 9-3 by his close friend Matthew Stevens, who went on to win the trophy.

But the Leeds ace has been to the UK semis before the tournament came to York and says that it would be great to win the title here.

The top players generally prefer the longer frame matches which the UK Championship offers (all rounds up to and including the semi-finals are best of 17, the final best of 19), but Hunter doesn't think it's such an advantage these days because there are so many good players coming through from the lower ranks.

"These best of 17 frames matches are not that long, really. I think it's still a race to nine. You need to get off to a good start because the players are so good now.

"If you are talking about longer matches you need best of 25 these days,. Even best of 19 it's still a race."

This summer Hunter married his fiance Lyndsey in a ceremony on Jamaica and is now settling down to married life.

"It's excellent. I am happy at home and that's probably why everything is going well on the table.

"Everything is going well. Matthew's now got a little boy (born shortly after he won the UK title in York last year) and hopefully I'll have a family soon."

The friendship between Hunter and Stevens began when they were young players at tournaments in Prestatyn and their fathers became friends.

They could well meet again in the first quarter-finals in York this year, though Hunter might have a third round battle with Jimmy White to win first.

Updated: 16:29 Wednesday, November 10, 2004