WORLD champion Ronnie O'Sullivan makes a rare visit to Worcestershire tomorrow night, aiming for a swift return in fortune.

O'Sullivan, ranked number one in the world, will be the star attraction when the Betfred.com Premier League rolls into Kidderminster's Glades Arena.

His match against Paul Hunter is first of a double bill live on Sky Sports 1 from 7pm in front of an 800-seat sell-out audience.

Crowd favourite 'whirlwind' Jimmy White, playing his first match since changing his name to James Brown as part of a sponsorship deal involving a sauce company, faces Hong Kong's Marco Fu in the other clash.

Both matches are over six frames and carry a £1,000 per frame win bonus as well as an extra grand for every century break made. Shots also have to be played within 25 seconds.

O'Sullivan has been in top form at times this season, with the Welsh Open and Grand Prix titles already under his belt. But last week he was dumped out of the Malta Cup 5-0 by Graeme Dott.

The Rocket showed signs of his unpredictable nature in that match by conceding the third frame while leading 25-0 after missing a simple pink to a middle pocket.

And he said after the defeat: "I was outplayed and outscored. It's difficult to motivate yourself when you don't feel comfortable with your game."

Tomorrow's encounter offers him an immediate chance to put that behind him, particularly with the prestigious BBC-televised Masters tournament just days away.

Hunter, meanwhile, arrives in the county following some indifferent results that have seen him go beyond the last 16 of a tournament just once this season and he too left Malta early.

The 26-year-old Leeds professional is also looking for a quick return to form as the world number four is defending the Masters at Wembley Conference Centre.

He said: "I'm playing well in practice but that doesn't matter because I'm playing badly in matches. I'm gutted but what can you do? If I could get involved in a tournament I would be fine, but I can't get past the first round and that is playing on my mind."

Win, lose or draw, Hunter will leave Kidderminster searching for his fourth Masters title, having also won in 2001 and 2002. And he would like nothing more than to begin his quest on the back of a win against O'Sullivan.

"Everyone goes through bad patches," Hunter added. "It's a horrible feeling but you've just got to accept it as part of the game."

The Betfred.com Premier League features seven players and is played over ten Thursdays until May when the top four progress to the play-offs.

The prize fund is £250,000, with £50,000 and £25,000 to the champion and runner-up respectively.