O'Sullivan starts against Higgins

Ronnie O’Sullivan will begin the defence of his PartyPoker.com Premier League title against 2007 world champion John Higgins.

’The Rocket’ beat Scot Higgins 7-4 in a gripping showcase final last season - and the two will once again go head-to-head on September 11 at the Grimsby Auditorium in the first week of group matches.

Seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry, the most successful player in the history of the game, begins on September 25 against this season’s Masters and Welsh Open champion Mark Selby.

Each event will be broadcast live on Sky Sports on Thursdays between September and November before the semi-finals and final are shown over the weekend of December 6 and 7.

Every match in the league phase is the best of six frames with two points going to the winner and a point each if it ends 3-3.

After every competitor has played the others once the top four in the league advance to the semi-finals and the winners meet in the final to see who will become the 2008 champion.

Once again, a 25-second shot clock will be introduced to guarantee fast and exciting play