Ronnie O’Sullivan to face Neil Robertson in heavyweight first-round match at snooker’s Masters from January 11-18; Shaun Murphy is defending champion after beating Kyren Wilson in 2025 ultimate; world No 1 Judd Trump begins in opposition to Ding Junhui; UK champion Mark Selby performs Xiao Guodong
Final Up to date: 31/12/25 1:12pm
Shaun Murphy gained snooker’s Masters at Alexandra Palace in 2025
The 2026 version of snooker’s Masters runs from January 11-18 at London’s Alexandra Palace with Shaun Murphy the defending champion and Ronnie O’Sullivan a star attraction.
Murphy – a 10-7 winner over Kyren Wilson within the 2025 ultimate – begins his marketing campaign in opposition to Chinese language expertise Wu Yize on the opening afternoon of the event.
A heavyweight conflict between eight-time Masters champion O’Sullivan and two-time winner Neil Robertson then concludes the primary spherical on the night of January 14.
Ronnie O’Sullivan will play Neil Robertson in his first-round match at The Masters
All matches within the 16-player, non-ranking event are better of 11 frames, aside from the ultimate which is better of 19.
The highest 16 gamers within the rankings after the December’s UK Championship, which was gained by Mark Selby, had been invited to compete in The Masters.
Masters first-round draw
- Shaun Murphy vs Wu Yize
- Mark Selby vs Xiao Guodong
- Neil Robertson vs Ronnie O’Sullivan
- Kyren Wilson vs Si Jiahui
- Judd Trump vs Ding Junhui
- Mark Williams vs Mark Allen
- John Higgins vs Barry Hawkins
- Zhao Xintong vs Gary Wilson
Masters first-round schedule
Sunday January 11
- 1pm: Shaun Murphy vs Wu Yize
- 7pm: Mark Selby vs Xiao Guodong
Monday January 12
- 1pm: Mark Williams vs Mark Allen
- 7pm: Zhao Xintong vs Gary Wilson
Tuesday January 13
- 1pm: Kyren Wilson vs Si Jiahui
- 7pm: John Higgins vs Barry Hawkins
Wednesday January 14
- 1pm: Judd Trump vs Ding Junhui
- 7pm: Neil Robertson vs Ronnie O’Sullivan
