Masters Snooker 2026: Schedule and Draw Revealed with Murphy as Title Holder

The 2026 Masters snooker tournament is set to take place from January 11 to 18 at Alexandra Palace in London, with Shaun Murphy looking to retain his title. Murphy, who claimed the 2025 championship with a 10-7 victory over Kyren Wilson, will begin his title defense against China's Wu Yize on the tournament's opening afternoon. However, Ronnie O'Sullivan, an eight-time record champion, will be absent for the second year in a row due to health reasons and has been replaced by Chris Wakelin. Wakelin is now scheduled to face two-time champion Neil Robertson in the first round. The tournament features a best-of-11 frames format for all matches, except the final, which will be best of 19 frames. The top 16 ranked players following the UK Championship in December, won by Mark Selby, were invited to participate. Notably, Chris Wakelin was ranked 17th at the time of the cutoff.