Star names advance on opening day of the German Masters in Berlin

The opening two rounds of the £550,400 world ranking event were completed in Sheffield earlier this month - as were half of the matches from round three (last 64) - although all the top 16 seeds’ opening fixtures were held over to the main venue in the capital city.

Amongst those on the baize during the curtain-raising afternoon session was new Masters champion and reigning German Masters champion Kyren Wilson who began his title defence with a 5-1 win over Robert Milkins.

After depositing frame one, Wilson made breaks of 75, 63 and 119 as he went into the mid-session interval 4-0 up.

Two-time ranking event winner Milkins - who is battling to avoid tour relegation at the end of this season - averted the whitewash by taking frame five on the final black after his opponent unexpectedly missed match ball blue with the rest, but a run of 65 in the next helped Wilson wrap up the victory.

The world number two is aiming to complete a hat-trick of German Masters crowns having won here in 2019, and ousted Barry Hawkins 10-9 in a thrilling final last year.

Despite holding both the invitational Shanghai Masters and Masters titles, Wilson has largely struggled in ranking events this season, not appearing in a semi-final of one.

As a consequence, he currently sits outside of the top 16 on the one-year list, and needs a big result either here or at next week’s World Grand Prix in Hong Kong to qualify for the Players Championship - another tournament he is the reigning champion of.

Next up at the Tempodrom for Wilson is a last 32 meeting with Anthony McGill which will stir up memories of their legendary Crucible semi-final encounter from 2020.

All four of the top 16 seeds playing in the afternoon progressed. Shaun Murphy produced an effort of 133 during a 5-2 win over Zak Surety while Barry Hawkins fashioned breaks of 140 and 105 in back-to-back frames en route to a 5-2 victory against Mark Davis.

In a quality affair where a half-century break was scored in every frame, Mark Allen saw off Oliver Lines, 5-3.

Former world number one Allen will be trying to make things right in this event; he has gone past the last 16 just once in 14 previous attempts (2022 semi-finals).

Comeback win for India’s Singh Chadha

There were just two matches on the schedule for the evening session as Chang Bingyu (visa issues) and Wu Yize (medical grounds) had since withdrawn.

Winner of this title in 2011 and 2018, Mark Williams recovered from the loss of the opening frame by stringing together five-in-a-row to defeat Sanderson Lam, 5-1.

It was looking like a day one clean sweep for all the top 16 stars in action as recent Scottish Open champion Chris Wakelin racked up runs of 67, 72, 61 and 76 in building a 4-2 lead over Ishpreet Singh Chadha.

However, India's number one Singh Chadha rallied, taking the final three frames - assisted by efforts of 54 and 64 in the final two - to score an impressive 5-4 success.

The result could be crucial in his bid to retain his professional tour card in a few months' time.

To view the full draw, results, schedule, and other information from the 2026 German Masters, visit here.