The 2026 Masters has reached the semi-finals stage with just four players still in contention for the title at the Alexandra Palace.
A bizarre opening round of the prestigious invitational saw all eight fixtures conclude with 6-2 scorelines.
However, there were a couple of truly entertaining encounters in the quarter-finals that eventually delivered with final-frame thrillers.
Two victories have been secured to get to this point, but another two are needed to walk away with the Paul Hunter Trophy and the £350,000 champion’s cheque.
Let’s take a look at Saturday’s semi-finals ties at the Masters.
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
Wu Yize vs Kyren Wilson
Wu Yize and Kyren Wilson could barely have experienced more contrasting quarter-final clashes on Friday.
In an all-Chinese battle of the debutants, Wu thrashed friend and practice partner Xiao Guodong to record the tournament’s first bagel scoreline.
By contrast, Wilson needed all 11 frames in a topsy-turvy tie to see off the challenge of two-time former champion Neil Robertson.
For Wu, the 22 year-old continued to demonstrate why so many people consider him to be the next huge star coming out of China.
Emerging victoriously at the International Championship in November was his breakthrough moment in a ranking event, but here he is attempting to announce himself as a genuine force at the major events.
Wu dominated his quarter-final opponent – making sizable contributions of 112, 97, 93, 84, and 60 – but he was allowed to settle and was given unlimited chances to produce his A-game.
That is unlikely to be the case against Wilson, who again proved his mettle in a determined deciding-frame defeat of Robertson.
Last year’s runner-up appears to have recovered from his end-of-2025 slump, and the manner in which he withstood the Australian’s fight back will have given him a big boost in confidence again.
Wilson and Wu have faced each other only twice before with both outcomes favouring the former.
When is it? Saturday, 19:00 GMT
Judd Trump vs John Higgins
The opening semi-final affair at the 2026 Masters pits two players against each other who are no strangers to facing off in high-profile matches.
John Higgins and Judd Trump renew a rivalry that dates back to 2008 but truly ignited at their memorable World Championship final of 2011.
Since then, they have been involved in numerous showdowns of importance, including another Crucible title-deciding affair and four other finals.
Their overall head-to-head from matches in all competitions is close, with Trump just about edging it 28-26.
However, the Englishman has completely dominated their battles since beating Higgins to claim his maiden world title in 2019.
In the seven years since, Higgins has taken glory on only one meaningful occasion and it very much feels like the cards are stacked against the all-time great again here.
Higgins, in trademark fashion it has to be said, extracted an incredible victory from a seemingly helpless position against Zhao Xintong in the last eight.
He will need every bit of that fight again if he’s to take down Trump, who looks intent on offsetting the failures of his last calendar year by beginning the new one with silverware in his hands.
When is it? Saturday, 13:00 GMT
2026 Masters Draw
Round 1 (bo11)
Shaun Murphy (1) 2-6 Wu Yize (13)
Mark Selby (8) 2-6 Xiao Guodong (11)
Neil Robertson (5) 6-2 Chris Wakelin
Kyren Wilson (4) 6-2 Si Jiahui (15)
Judd Trump (3) 6-2 Ding Junhui (12)
Mark Williams (6) 2-6 Mark Allen (10)
John Higgins (7) 6-2 Barry Hawkins (14)
Zhao Xintong (2) 6-2 Gary Wilson (16)
Quarter-Finals (bo11)
Wu Yize (13) 6-0 Xiao Guodong (11)
Neil Robertson (5) 5-6 Kyren Wilson (4)
Judd Trump (3) 6-2 Mark Allen (10)
John Higgins (7) 6-5 Zhao Xintong (2)
Semi-Finals (bo11)
Wu Yize (13) vs Kyren Wilson (4)
Sat 17 Jan, 19:00 GMT
Judd Trump (3) vs John Higgins (7)
Sat 17 Jan, 13:00 GMT
Final (bo19)
Wu/K. Wilson vs Trump/Higgins
Sun 18 Jan, 13:00 and 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
John Spencer, Stephen Hendry and Mark Selby remain the only players to win the Masters on debut.
Ronnie O’Sullivan has won the event a record eight times, appearing in a record 14 finals and a record semi-finals.
John Higgins will be a making a record-extending 32nd appearance. He’s been an ever present since his debut in 1995.
It’s 25 years now since the late great Paul Hunter clinched the first of three Masters titles in four years. It was shameful how long it took World Snooker to name the trophy after him. There’s a piece on the BBC snooker homepage marking this year being the 20th anniversary of Paul’s tragic passing. It’s mostly a interview with his dad Alan about how the family have coped and paying tribute to the man and player.
That wax meant to say a record 15 semi-finals for O’Sullivan.
With a strong field, minus rocket Ronnie O’Sullivan, hopefully it’s a good one! Shaun Murphy isn’t bubbling into one of his purple patches so one would have to mark Mark Selby as the form favourite but really it could be any of a dozen players from this entry list!
I said in a comment a short time ago that I felt it was only 50/50 that O’Sullivan would show up for the Masters — after hearing he was scheduled to play in the German Masters, in another comment I said I would be surprised if he played both the Masters and the German Masters (which starts a week after the Masters concludes) — the probability that he’ll play in Germany just went down substantially (assuming he’s not getting a significant appearance fee).
O’Sullivan ought to take a hiatus for a year or so — personally, I think these frequent, largely unexplained withdrawals, even/especially from big events like the Masters, are not good for his reputation.
Trump and Allen’s first match at the Masters was a clash in the defunct Wildcard Round in 2009, with the Antrim man progressing.
All eight players from England in this year’s draw faced an opponent from a different nation in round one.
A first genuine Masters classic of this year’s tournament last night. Both Robertson and Wilson produced spells of excellent snooker. While the fourth and last frames were fabulous entertainment.