The 2026 Masters gets under way on Sunday as 16 of the world’s elite snooker players converge on the Alexandra Palace in London.
The campaign’s biggest invitational tournament returns to the English capital city for its 52nd edition, with a whopping £350,000 top prize on offer for the winner this year.
The biggest news from the tournament already has been the withdrawal of Ronnie O’Sullivan, who won’t be adding to his record haul of eight Masters crowns after pulling out for the second year in a row.
Half of the field, though, already knows what it takes to outlast the opposition in what is the 2025/26 calendar’s second-biggest competition.
That level of experience is countered by the presence of two players who will be making their Masters debuts in the 2026 draw.
Let’s take a look at the eight first-round matches.
2026 Masters Draw: Round 1
Shaun Murphy vs Wu Yize
A blockbuster opening to the tournament will see reigning champion Shaun Murphy encounter one of the fastest-developing players on the circuit, Wu Yize.
Wu launched himself into the top 16 of the world rankings for the first time with a tremendous victory at the International Championship in November.
First-timers at the Masters often struggle with the enormity of the occasion, but Wu boasts an exciting playing style that could quickly win the crowd over.
That said, Murphy will of course begin the contest as the favourite and will hope to rekindle the form that saw him produce arguably his best-ever snooker to lift the Paul Hunter Trophy aloft a year ago.
When is it? Sunday, 13:00 GMT
Mark Selby vs Xiao Guodong
The other debutant in the 2026 Masters draw is Xiao Guodong, one of a record five Chinese players in the lineup this year in all.
Xiao, now an established top 16 member and a two-time ranking event winner, couldn’t really have received a tougher assignment, though.
Mark Selby ended 2025 as the undoubted best player in the world, claiming back-to-back titles at the Champion of Champions and the UK Championship.
Once a Masters specialist, Selby has underperformed in the Triple Crown event for more than a decade, failing to reach beyond the quarter-finals since 2014.
When is it? Sunday, 19:00 GMT
Neil Robertson vs Chris Wakelin
There was plenty of hubbub surrounding the prospect of a heavyweight first-round showdown between Neil Robertson and Ronnie O’Sullivan.
Instead, Scottish Open champion Chris Wakelin has been subbed in to replace the Rocket, effectively receiving a free hit at contending in a tournament he wasn’t expecting to be involved in at all.
There will be extra pressure on Robertson now, but the Australian ought to be experienced enough to handle the change of course.
Robertson won’t have particularly fond recent memories of facing Wakelin, though, losing to the Englishman in the first round of last year’s World Championship in Sheffield.
When is it? Wednesday, 19:00 GMT
Kyren Wilson vs Si Jiahui
Kyren Wilson began the 2025/26 snooker season with a bang through his victory at the Shanghai Masters, a tournament very much of similar ilk to this week’s event at the Ally Pally.
But there hasn’t been a lot to speak of since then, the Warrior struggling to rediscover the kind of form that saw him land four ranking titles during the last campaign.
Opponent Si Jiahui is making his second Masters appearance having lost in the first round on his debut a year ago.
The 23 year-old remains a promising talent, but his consistency has been poor and he only has one quarter-final appearance to brag about from the ongoing term.
When is it? Tuesday, 13:00 GMT
2026 Masters Prize Money
Champion: £350,000
Runner-up: £140,000
Semi-final: £75,000
Quarter-final: £40,000
Last 16: £25,000
Highest Break: £15,000
Total: £1,015,000
Judd Trump vs Ding Junhui
While every section of the Masters draw boasts star quality, it’s almost impossible to top the foursome cueing up in the third quarter.
First, there is a humdinger tie between world number one Judd Trump and 2011 Masters champion Ding Junhui.
It’s incredible to think that both of these formidable players went through the entire 2025 calendar year without silverware, especially Trump.
The Englishman generally enjoys the upper hand from meetings with Ding, including triumphs over China’s greatest in both the Masters and the UK Championship last year.
When is it? Wednesday, 13:00 GMT
Mark Williams vs Mark Allen
Then in the same section, there’s the bruising battle of the Marks between another pair of former Masters champions, Williams and Allen.
Whoever manages to reach the semi-finals from this quartet will have certainly achieved it the hard way.
Williams and Allen are both ranking event winners from this season, the former becoming the oldest-ever champion with his Xi’an Grand Prix success and Allen capturing the English Open trophy.
The latter possesses a healthier record from their overall head-to-head (13-9), but Williams has won their last two games, making this one another that’s not to be missed.
When is it? Monday, 13:00 GMT
John Higgins vs Barry Hawkins
John Higgins will be making a record-extending 32nd appearance in the Masters when he takes on Barry Hawkins in round one this year.
The Scot reached the final on his debut in 1995 and duly claimed glory on two occasions in 1999 and 2006, but the tournament hasn’t always been kind to him.
Higgins has lost in the first round a record 16 times, including in each of the last three editions, and that’s something that will give Hawkins plenty of hope.
The Hawk is a two-time Masters finalist, losing the title-deciding bouts in both 2016 and 2022, and is always a dark horse to contend at these big events.
When is it? Tuesday, 19:00 GMT
Zhao Xintong vs Gary Wilson
Zhao Xintong will make just his second Masters appearance when he meets Gary Wilson in the last 16 of the 2026 draw.
Something will have to give when the pair cross each other’s paths here, because between them they have suffered defeats in three first-round clashes at the Alexandra Palace.
Zhao hasn’t reached the heights that he is capable of this season yet, but the 28 year-old did emerge victoriously at the last invitational event on the calendar – the Riyadh Season Snooker Championship in November.
Wilson has gone a bit quiet since reaching the final of the Wuhan Open and the semi-finals of the Xi’an Grand Prix, but a win here would certainly reignite his campaign.
When is it? Monday, 19:00 GMT
Round 1 (bo11)
Shaun Murphy (1) vs Wu Yize (13)
Sun 11 Jan, 13:00 GMT
Mark Selby (8) vs Xiao Guodong (11)
Sun 11 Jan, 19:00 GMT
Neil Robertson (5) vs Chris Wakelin
Wed 14 Jan, 19:00 GMT
Kyren Wilson (4) vs Si Jiahui (15)
Tue 13 Jan, 13:00 GMT
Judd Trump (3) vs Ding Junhui (12)
Wed 14 Jan, 13:00 GMT
Mark Williams (6) vs Mark Allen (10)
Mon 12 Jan, 13:00 GMT
John Higgins (7) vs Barry Hawkins (14)
Tue 13 Jan, 19:00 GMT
Zhao Xintong (2) vs Gary Wilson (16)
Mon 12 Jan, 19:00 GMT
How to Watch the 2026 Masters
There are several options available to watch the upcoming snooker live, depending on your location.
Many of the popular betting sites provide live streaming of snooker events through signing up on their websites or apps, subject to regional restrictions.
Below is a full list of official options, as published on the World Snooker Tour website:
- UK – BBC, BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport website
- UK & Ireland – BBC, TNT Sports and discovery+
- Mainland Europe – Eurosport and locally relevant streaming platforms (discovery+ in Germany, Italy and Austria, and HBO Max in all other markets)
- China – CCTV5; Huya.com; Migu; CBSA-WPBSA Academy WeChat Channel (pay-per-view); CBSA-WPBSA Academy Douyin
- Macau – CCTV5
- Hong Kong – Now TV
- Taiwan – Sportcast
- Thailand – True Sport
- Mongolia – N Sports
- Philippines – TAP
- Malaysia & Brunei – Astro SuperSport
- All Other Territories – WST Play
Featured photo credit: WST
