The Mote Squash Club is ready to welcome another top-class international field to the county town next month.

The annual Select Gaming Kent Open, presented by First Business Finance, runs from June 11-18.

Joel Makin, the runner-up last year, is back as the top seed after a rich run of recent success which culminated in him winning the British Under-23 Championship in Cambridge on Sunday.

In the final, Welsh number one Makin beat former European junior champion Richie Fallows, who is number three seed at The Mote this year. The two are seeded to meet in the Kent Open semi-finals.

In the bottom half of the draw, Maidstone-born Josh Masters, from Walderslade, is seeded four.

The 6ft 3in tall Masters, aged 22, is currently ranked 60 in the world.

He is seeded to meet American number one Todd Harrity, a semi-finalist two years ago, in the semi-finals.

Masters and number two seed Harrity train together in Bristol, where Masters attends the University of the West of England (UWE).

A pre-qualifying tournament on June 11-12 gives local players the chance to pit their skills against some of the rising professionals who are desperate to get into the main competition to earn PSA World Tour ranking points and a chunk of the £8,000 prize money on offer.

A Women’s Satellite tournament is added to the schedule this year for the first time and will run for three days over the final weekend.

Organisers are hoping to see Kent’s top female players, Georgina Kennedy and Amelia Henley, who are both now studying in the States at Harvard University, do well.

Men’s First Round draw (Thursday June 15, seeding position in brackets):

(1) Joel Makin (Wales) v Daniel Poleshchuk (Israel, wild card)
(6) Jan Van Den Herrewegen (Belgium) v Qualifier
(5) Adam Murrills (England) v Asim Khan (Pakistan)
(3) Richie Fallows (England) v Qualifier
(4) Joshua Masters (England) v Edmon Lopez (Spain)
(8) Kristian Frost (Denmark) v Qualifier
(7) Aqel Rehman (Austria) v Shahjahan Khan (Pakistan)
(2) Todd Harrity (USA) v Qualifier

First Business Finance and Blade Rackets have come on board as new Associate Sponsors as Select Gaming continue their Title Sponsorship of this popular annual event, which is one of the top six PSA world-ranking events in England.

The tournament costs more than £10,000 to stage and other sponsors include Shepherd Neame, Craft Insure and Lashings.