Snooker has received a major shot in the arm with the announcement of a new sponsorship deal for the game's second most important ranking event.

Independent electrical retailers PowerHouse will be the title sponsor for the 2002 UK Championship, starting in York on 1 December.

The news comes 10 days after the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association defeated an attempt to overthrow five of its directors at an extraordinary general meeting.

A consortium led by Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry and Terry Griffiths demanded resignations because the sport was losing money.

Next season snooker will lose tobacco patronage for the Regal Masters invitation event, the Regal Welsh and Scottish Opens plus the Benson and Hedges Masters at Wembley.

Currently the only non-tobacco sponsorship comes from electronics giants LG, who have sponsored the LG Cup at Preston for the past two years.

They have one year left on their contract.

Prestige

The UK Championship is only superseded in prestige by the Embassy World Championship and carries a prize fund of �615,000.

It went unsponsored 12 months ago at the Barbican Centre after a deal with previous backers Liverpool Victoria ended in 2000.

A WPBSA spokesman said PowerHouse had agreed a one-year deal, though details of the financial package remain undisclosed.

Ronnie O'Sullivan, who defends his UK crown next month, said: "I've always said that once snooker started to move forward, sponsors and broadcasters would support us - and this deal has proved it."