Masters Snooker 2026: Schedule and Draw Released with Higgins in Action on Thursday

The 2026 Masters snooker tournament is underway from January 11 to 18 at Alexandra Palace, with Shaun Murphy, the reigning champion, eliminated and Judd Trump, the world's number one, advancing to the quarterfinals. Murphy suffered a 6-2 loss to Wu Yize of China in the opening round, while eight-time record champion Ronnie O'Sullivan will miss the event for the second consecutive year due to health reasons. Chris Wakelin replaced O'Sullivan in the draw but was defeated 6-2 by Neil Robertson in the last first-round match. All matches in this non-ranking, 16-player tournament are best of 11 frames, except the final, which is best of 19 frames. The top 16 ranked players after the UK Championship, won by Mark Selby, were invited to participate. Notably, Wakelin was ranked 17th at the cutoff point.