STAR SNOOKER PREVIEW: 2026 Masters

In the snooker world, the start of a new year means one thing: a week of top-quality competition in North London, with the 52nd running of the Masters tournament pitting the top 16 players against each other, each vying to lift the Paul Hunter trophy and take away a cheque for £350,000, writes DANIEL PUDDICOMBE.

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2026 Masters
Alexandra Palace, London
Sunday 11th January – Sunday 18th January
Live on BBC Two, BBC One, and iPlayer / Live on TNT Sports.

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🏆 PAST WINNERS
2016: Ronnie O’Sullivan
2017: Ronnie O’Sullivan
2018: Mark Allen
2019: Judd Trump
2020: Stuart Bingham
2021: Yan Bingtao
2022: Neil Robertson
2023: Judd Trump
2024: Ronnie O’Sullivan
2025: Shaun Murphy

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Trying to predict what will happen is difficult at the best of times, but doubly so this year, given how open the season has been thus far. Of the 14 ranking and non-ranking tournaments that have taken place so far during the 2025/26 campaign 12 different winners have emerged. That’s an impressive feat, and it shows how competitive the sport is.

The only man to win two events so far this season and spoil the tally is Mark Selby, who lifted the UK Championship crown last month, while he also won the Champion of Champions event in November. He takes on Xiao Guodong, who is making his debut at Alexandra Palace. Guodong, from Chongqing, is having a stellar campaign, having reached the quarter finals of the Shanghai Masters, plus retaining the Wuhan Open title.

The other man who will be stepping out in front of the raucous crowd is Wu Yize, who takes on defending champion Shaun Murphy in the opening encounter on Sunday afternoon. Yize, 22, won his first title earlier this season, beating John Higgins 10-6 at the International Championship.

Those lucky enough to have an all-day ticket for Wednesday are in for a treat with the picks of the draw both taking place. In the afternoon, Judd Trump (who hasn’t won an event this season but was runner-up to Selby twice) plays Ding Junhui.

Neil Robertson was due to take on Ronnie O’Sullivan in the evening, however, ‘The Rocket’– pulled out of the event at the eleventh hour on the grounds of medical reasons. He did the same thing last year.

Instead, ‘The Thunder from Down Under’ will play Chris Wakelin (who was 17th seed at the cut-off point). Wakelin is playing well this season, having lifted the Scottish Open trophy just last month.

Monday afternoon, meanwhile, sees the battle of the Marks, with Wales’ Williams taking on Northern Ireland’s Allen. Despite proclaiming on numerous occasions that he’d rather be on the golf course than on the baize, MJW is still at his brilliant best, while Allen is always fun to watch, so this should be another belter of a first-round encounter.

The surprise World Champion, Zhao Xintong, has a clash with 2025 Wuhan Open finalist Gary Wilson on Monday evening.

The third member of the ‘Class of ‘92’, John Higgins, meanwhile, takes on Barry Hawkins, a man who somehow manages to fly under the radar a lot of the time despite his immense talent. Finally, 2024 World Champion Kyren Wilson faces a tough opening test in the form of 23-year-old Si Jiahui.

No doubt there will be twists and turns aplenty on the baize, but with final-worthy matches from the start and a big occasion, what’s not to like about the second Triple Crown event of the season?

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💬 Trader’s View – from John Brackenridge (@Moley888)

“From a laying point of view, we would be happy enough taking on Ronnie and are top price currently. He hasn’t played much competitive snooker this season and when he did at the UK Championship, he was knocked out in round 1 by China’s Zhou Yuelong. He is sure to have the “come on Ronnie” home crowd on his side and is as big a price as he has probably been for a Triple Crown event in 30 years, but an opening match vs Neil Robertson, who has found some form recently, looks a particularly tricky start.

Most of our business will come closer to the start of the event but we have seen a little bit of money for the 2 time winner Mark Williams who was tweaked to 20/1 from 22/1 in the week.

I think the opening match could be fascinating. I’m a big fan of Yize, who is up against Shaun Murphy, who was superb when winning (and hitting a 147) last year. That could be a brilliant match to kick off the tournament.”

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(JAN 2026): PROFIT/LOSS: -7.20 points

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