‘Rocket’ test for Akbar

Hamza Akbar - to play Ronnie O’Sullivan.

OLDHAM-based Hamza Akbar takes on Ronnie O’Sullivan next week as ‘The Rocket’ makes his long-awaited return to competitive snooker in the German Masters qualifying event in Wigan.

All eyes will be on Akbar - in his first season on the professional tour - and five-times world

champion O’Sullivan at the Robin Park Sports Centre. The match takes place between December 17 and 19.

The winner must overcome another qualifying round to reach the finals, in Berlin in February.

This is by far the Pakistani player’s greatest challenge in international snooker. A recent performance at the UK Championship at the Barbican Centre in York gives cause for optimism. Akbar (22), who puts in hours of practice at the Oldham Snooker Academy, lost 6-4 to former world champion Mark Williams in the first round, after being 4-0 down.

Though not match sharp — O’Sullivan’s last competitive appearance was a quarter-final defeat by Stuart Bingham at the World Championships in April — the 39 year old remains a major force.

Moorside’s Michael Wild is also in first-round action in Wigan. He takes on Scotland’s world No.24 Anthony McGill, who exited last season’s world championships in Sheffield at the last-eight stage.