Masters Snooker 2026: Schedule and Draw Revealed as Wilson and Higgins Advance to the Final

This year's Masters snooker competition, taking place from January 11 to 18 at Alexandra Palace, has seen its defending champion Shaun Murphy eliminated, while John Higgins and Kyren Wilson are set to meet in the final. Murphy's campaign was cut short in the first round, where he suffered a 6-2 loss to China's Wu Yize. Meanwhile, eight-time champion Ronnie O'Sullivan will be absent for the second consecutive year due to health issues, and has been replaced by Chris Wakelin. Wakelin's time in the tournament was brief, as he fell to Neil Robertson with a score of 6-2, a margin that became a recurring theme in the first round. The tournament features the top 16 ranked players following December's UK Championship, which was claimed by Mark Selby. Notably, all matches in this non-ranking, 16-player competition are best of 11 frames, with the exception of the final, which will be contested over the best of 19 frames. Wakelin, who had been ranked 17th at the cutoff, stepped in to fill the void left by O'Sullivan's withdrawal.