Mark Allen is among the favourites for the title as the 2024 Shanghai Masters commences on Monday in China.
The Northern Irishman won’t begin his tilt for glory at the prestigious invitational until Wednesday when he takes on either Gary Wilson or Pang Junxu in the last 16.
The match will mark the first time Allen gets announced into an arena as the world number one, having claimed top spot in the rankings at the end of last season.
Allen is only the 12th world number one in snooker history and represents the first new name at the summit of the standings since Ding Junhui achieved the feat a decade ago.
“It’s exciting, it’s my first time doing it,” Mark Allen told the World Snooker Tour on the eve of the 2024 Shanghai Masters.
“I hope I hit the ground running and hopefully give myself a chance come Sunday to win a tournament.”
“As of now, I would say no [it doesn’t feel different being world number one]. I just want to go out there and play snooker.
“But when I go out there on Wednesday, it might feel different being introduced as world number one.
“I’ve dealt with the pressure of all sorts right throughout my career, so I don’t think I’ll be too bad at handling this one. It’s a good problem to have.
“I’ve always got extra motivation from myself anyway – I want to do well, and I want to do well every year.
“But yeah, it’s nice to have that target on my back. Normally, you’re the one sort of shooting for someone, but it is what it is.
“I have to deal with it. I could come here and lose in the first round. It’s the best players in the world, so you need to perform.
“Whether I’m number one or number 16, everyone is going to feel like they’ve got a chance here in this tournament.”
The 2024 Shanghai Masters features the top 16 from the official two-year rankings list in addition to eight other competitors from China.
It’s China’s longest-running tournament, dating back to 2007 when the competition was originally staged as a ranking event.
A September slot on the calendar had been common for the Shanghai Masters, but for the first time this year the event has been moved forward to much earlier in the season.
“I’ll be honest, I’d always like a tournament or two before a big event like this. But it is what it is, we’re all in the same boat,” Allen said.
“None of us have had a tournament since the World Championship, so we’re all probably eager to get at it but a little bit apprehensive as well.”
“You don’t really know where your game is at until you actually play a match. You just have to go out there and play well like in any other tournament.
- CLICK HERE: 2024 Shanghai Masters information
“It’s weird being here in July – there’s a different feeling in the air here in Shanghai. But it’s one of my favourite tournaments of the year.
“It’s my favourite by far of all the China events, so I’m looking forward to hopefully doing well.
“This is one of the ones that you want to win, it’s the top 16 in the world. These are the events you want to win in.
“It’s disappointing that I haven’t been able to cross that line so far, but I get another go here this week. That’s what I’m looking forward to.”
Allen has outright betting odds of 9/1 to capture the Shanghai Masters for the first time in his career, and there are plenty of good welcome offers at Free Bets UK to avail of.
Defending champion Ronnie O’Sullivan is the bookies favourite with odds of 2/1 having emerged with the silverware the last four times the event has been staged.
World champion Kyren Wilson, Judd Trump, and Ding Junhui are among the other marquee names in the field.
2024 Shanghai Masters draw
Round 1 (bo11)
Zhang Anda 3-6 Zhou Jinhao
Ali Carter 6-0 Qiu Lei
Tom Ford 3-6 Si Jiahui
Mark Williams 6-3 Wang Xinbo
Gary Wilson 5-6 Pang Junxu
Jak Jones 2-6 Cao Jin
John Higgins 6-1 Lyu Haotian
Barry Hawkins 4-6 Zhou Yuelong
Round 2 (bo11)
Ronnie O’Sullivan 6-1 Zhou Jinhao
Ding Junhui 6-5 Ali Carter
Luca Brecel 2-6 Si Jiahui
Judd Trump 6-2 Mark Williams
Mark Allen vs Pang Junxu
(July 17: 7am)
Mark Selby vs Cao Jin
(July 17: 7am)
Shaun Murphy vs John Higgins
(July 17: 12:30pm)
Kyren Wilson vs Zhou Yuelong
(July 17: 12:30pm)
Quarter-Finals (bo11)
Ronnie O’Sullivan 6-3 Ding Junhui
Si Jiahui 2-6 Judd Trump
Pang Junxu 3-6 Mark Selby
Shaun Murphy 6-2 Zhou Yuelong
Semi-Finals (bo19)
Ronnie O’Sullivan 3-10 Judd Trump
Mark Selby 8-10 Shaun Murphy
Final (bo21)
Judd Trump 11-5 Shaun Murphy
Featured photo credit: WST
