STUART Bingham returns to action on Friday in a qualifying match for the German Masters.

The 34-year-old, from Basildon, will play in the third round of the qualifiers at the World Snooker Academy, in Sheffield.

He will play either Anthony Hamilton, Kurt Maflin, Fergal O’Brien or Adam Wicheard, depending on which one of them comes through the opening two rounds.

And if Bingham wins that match he will book a place at the German Masters, a ranking tournament to be held at Berlin’s Tempodrom between February 2 and 6.

Friday’s match will be a return to action for Bingham following last week’s career-best showing at the UK Championships, where he beat Ronnie O’Sullivan and Marco Fu to move from 23rd to 17th in the new world rankings.

Bingham said: “I’ve had a couple of days off now to recharge my batteries a bit. I played Judd Trump [world number 26] this morning, and he hammered me.

“But that is not a bad thing because it keeps me focused. I’m off to Cambridge tonight to see my coach and I’ll be ready for Friday.”