With the early rounds of the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters now complete, the top 16 seeds from the world rankings can finally enter the draw in Jeddah.
The likes of reigning champion Judd Trump, world champion Zhao Xintong, and in-form Kyren Wilson have all been waiting several days to join the action.
That wait is over, with the heavy hitters set to make their mark in the lucrative tournament from Tuesday.
World number one Trump, who triumphed at the inaugural staging of this event last year with a dramatic 10-9 defeat of Mark Williams, first faces friend and fellow Englishman Oliver Lines.
Zhao and Wilson are both on the opposite side of the 2025 Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters draw.
The former entertains Steven Hallworth, who extended his superb run in the competition with a 5-3 defeat of Zhou Yuelong on Monday.
Recent Shanghai Masters champion Wilson meets up-and-coming talent Iulian Boiko.
Hallworth and Boiko are two among four unlikely contenders who have battled their way through all four rounds so far.
The others are Farakh Ajaib, the British-born Pakistani player who is doing his best to represent the Middle East region in its most high-profile tournament, and Chang Bingyu.
Ajaib will next face Chris Wakelin while Chang appears to be wasting little time in getting his career back on track following the conclusion of his ban – setting up a date with Mark Allen after beating David Gilbert.
Elsewhere, Ronnie O’Sullivan faces a tricky opening challenge in the form of Championship League Snooker runner-up Joe O’Connor.
Stephen Maguire, who beat O’Connor to win that season-opening ranking title, looked in fine form as he thumped Anthony McGill 5-0 to set up a mouthwatering clash against Ding Junhui.
Another exciting prospect is the showdown between Shaun Murphy and maximum man Thepchaiya Un-Nooh.
Un-Nooh backed up his 147 display on Sunday with another fearsome performance in the round of 48, thrashing Jak Jones 5-1 with contributions of 110, 103, 95, 67, and 57.
Last year’s finalist Williams, meanwhile, will play Yuan Sijun with John Higgins in action against Elliot Slessor.
Mark Selby and Neil Robertson are also considered as possible champions at the end of the week with the pair first up against Long Zehuang and Ben Woollaston respectively.
There is an all-Chinese contest between Si Jiahui and Wu Yize, Barry Hawkins meets Martin O’Donnell, Ali Carter players Gary Wilson, and Zhang Anda takes on former world champion Stuart Bingham.
The attendances at the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters have been woeful so far, with the latest edition having moved to the Green Halls in Jeddah this season.
A low turnout is to be expected during the earlier rounds of most events during the calendar, but it’ll become harder and harder to defend the optics the longer that continues from now on.
With the marquee names now entering the fold, it’ll be interesting to see to what level crowd numbers improve, if at all, in what is dubbed the sport’s fourth major.
Live coverage for fans in the UK and Ireland continues on TNT Sports and discovery+.
Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters draw
Last 32 (bo9)
Matches take place on Tuesday, August 12th
11am UTC+1 (BST)
Judd Trump vs Oliver Lines
Ali Carter vs Gary Wilson
Neil Robertson vs Ben Woollaston
Mark Selby vs Long Zehuang
John Higgins vs Elliot Slessor
Zhang Anda vs Stuart Bingham
Shaun Murphy vs Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
Mark Williams vs Yuan Sijun
5:30pm UTC+1 (BST)
Kyren Wilson vs Iulian Boiko
Si Jiahui vs Wu Yize
Mark Allen vs Chang Bingyu
Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Joe O’Connor
Ding Junhui vs Stephen Maguire
Barry Hawkins vs Martin O’Donnell
Chris Wakelin vs Farakh Ajaib
Zhao Xintong vs Steven Hallworth
The full updated draw is available at snooker.org
Featured photo credit: WST
