Most of the Shanghai Masters lineup for the 2023 draw has been confirmed with Ronnie O’Sullivan finally looking to defend his title in China.
Once a staple of the annual schedule, the tournament hasn’t been played since before the pandemic.
O’Sullivan triumphed when it was last staged in 2019, beating Shaun Murphy 11-9 in the final a year after he overcame Barry Hawkins by the same margin.
Previously classified as a ranking tournament, which O’Sullivan also won twice, the Shanghai Masters’ status was changed to an invitational in 2018.
Roll of honour
Ranking Event
2007: Dominic Dale
2008: Ricky Walden
2009: Ronnie O’Sullivan
2010: Ali Carter
2011: Mark Selby
2012 John Higgins
2013: Ding Junhui
2014: Stuart Bingham
2015: Kyren Wilson
2016: Ding Junhui
2017: Ronnie O’Sullivan
Invitational Event
2018: Ronnie O’Sullivan
2019: Ronnie O’Sullivan
As the reigning champion, O’Sullivan will be the top seed in the 2023 Shanghai Masters draw.
There will be 24 players in total invited to take part next month, comprising the current top 16 in the world rankings, the next four highest-ranked Chinese cueists, and four young Chinese wildcards.
The top eight seeds will receive a bye through to the last 16, with the remaining contenders drawn against each other in round one.
O’Sullivan awaits the winner of the encounter between Ali Carter and one of the wildcards, who will be selected following an upcoming CBSA Tour under-21 event in China.
World champion and number two seed Luca Brecel, meanwhile, will face either Mark Williams or Pang Junxu.
Mark Allen, Judd Trump, Mark Selby, Neil Robertson, Shaun Murphy, and Kyren Wilson make up the remaining eight seeds.
The standout draw in the first round of the Shanghai Masters is an all-Chinese clash between Ding Junhui and Si Jiahui.
Boasting a total prize fund of £825,000 where the champion is set to earn a huge sum worth £210,000, it is guaranteed to be a keenly contested week of action.
Adding to its prestige is a longer format than a lot of other events on the calendar, with best-of-11 matches for the first three rounds.
The last-four stage will then be played over 19 frames before a 21-frame title decider.
The tournament runs from September 11th to September 17th at the Shanghai Grand Stage.
2023 Shanghai Masters draw
Last 24
Ali Carter (11) vs Wildcard
John Higgins (10) vs Wildcard
Hossein Vafaei (16) vs Wildcard
Jack Lisowski (13) vs Zhou Yuelong
Gary Wilson (14) vs Fan Zhengyi
Ding Junhui (15) vs Si Jiahui
Robert Milkins (12) vs Wildcard
Mark Williams (9) vs Pang Junxu
Last 16
Ronnie O’Sullivan (1) vs Carter/Wildcard
Kyren Wilson (8) vs Higgins/Wildcard
Mark Selby (5) vs Vafaei/Wildcard
Judd Trump (4) vs Lisowski/Zhou
Mark Allen (3) vs G.Wilson/Fan
Neil Robertson (6) vs Ding/Si
Shaun Murphy (7) vs Milkins/Wildcard
Luca Brecel (2) vs Williams/Pang
Featured photo credit: WST
