SEVEN-TIME UK Snooker Championship winner Ronnie O'Sullivan declared York's Barbican was a "great venue for a great tournament".

The 43-year-old, who beat Mark Allen 10-6 to seal a 19th 'triple crown' title on Sunday, hailed the Minster city as "fantastic" and a "beautiful place to spend 10 days".

The UK Championship - snooker's second most prestigious tournament - returned to the Barbican in 2011 and is growing in popularity every year.

World Snooker celebrated record ticket sales for this year's event, and tickets for the 2019 tournament are already on sale.

O'Sullivan was full of praise for the city, saying: "York is a fantastic place, even when you are not playing you can walk around the streets and there are lovely coffee bars.

"It's a beautiful place to spend ten days. This is where you want to be playing tournaments, in great cities like this.

"We're lucky to have such a great venue for a great tournament.”

Next year's tournament will run from Tuesday, November 26 to Sunday, December 8. Tickets are available by visiting worldsnooker.com/tickets