Analysis

2025 Masters Snooker Quarter-Finals: Draw, Preview, Match Schedule

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The quarter-finals of the 2025 Masters will take place across Thursday 16th and Friday 17th January at the Alexandra Palace in London. We look ahead to the fixtures and preview the action on show.

For the full 2025 Masters draw - and results - please visit here.

Neil Robertson v Shaun Murphy: Thursday afternoon from 13:00GMT

Is Neil Robertson's name on this year's Masters trophy?

This time last week, he wasn't even in the event. Ronnie O'Sullivan withdrew, Robertson got a late call-up as first reserve, and in the opening match of the tournament he was fluent and played superbly as he battled back from 5-1 down to deny John Higgins 6-5.

Murphy resisted a mid-match rally from Gary Wilson in round one, eventually progressing as a 6-3 victor. He has now navigated the first Masters hurdle in five of the last six years.

Robertson and Murphy have big Masters history with each other. They've previously met four times (all coming at the Alexandra Palace) and have defeated each other in a final; Robertson was a 10-6 winner in 2012 (the first year to be held here) but Murphy avenged that in 2015 with a 10-2 drilling.

It's currently 2-2 on the overall Masters score - Robertson won the first two encounters (2012, 2013) but Murphy claimed the next two (2015, 2023).

Looking at general head-to-head stats on the sport's top tier, Robertson holds a firm advantage. They first played each other on the professional circuit at the 1998 UK Championship.

Mark Selby v Mark Allen: Thursday evening from 19:00GMT

World number four Mark Allen faces world number five Mark Selby in what will very likely be a very close affair that could easily go the full distance of 11 frames.

Both came through their opening assignments in North London earlier this week with frames to spare; Allen saw off Si Jiahui 6-2 while Selby eliminated last year’s runner-up Ali Carter, 6-1.

2018 Champion Allen is looking for back-to-back semi-final appearances having lost first round five years consecutively between 2019 to 2023.

Three-time Masters winner Selby is somewhat unbelievably aiming to reach the last four of this prestigious invitational for the first time since 2014.

The career head-to-head record between these two is exceptionally close. If you include all professional matches, Allen currently shades it 14-13. They played four times in 2024 - Allen won three of those, the first of which was at this stage of the Masters 12 months ago when he compiled a 147 en route to a 6-5 win.

Allen won their last meeting just before Christmas in Riyadh (Allen went on to win the title) and Selby won their penultimate tie in the British Open (Selby went on to win the title)

They have previously met three times at the Masters - incredibly, they were all quarter-final fixtures that finished 6-5. Selby edged it in 2009 and 2010, Allen did so last year.

Judd Trump v Ding Junhui: Friday afternoon from 13:00GMT

This is the third quarter-final match to feature two former Masters champions sharing the baize.

Trump coasted past Barry Hawkins 6-1 in round one while Ding ousted Mark Williams, 6-5, fashioning two classy breaks in the final two frames. China’s greatest-ever player secured his first match win at the Masters since 2019 (although he didn’t qualify in 2022 or 2023), while Trump has lost in the first round just once in his last seven appearances.

This match-up holds another very keenly-contested tale of the tape if you include all professional formats (Trump leads 11-9).

The duo first played each other in professional competition during the 2005 UK Championship, but this will be their first Masters meeting.

Luca Brecel v Kyren Wilson: Friday evening from 19:00GMT

Reigning World Champion Kyren Wilson plays 2023 World Champion Luca Brecel in the fourth and final quarter-final.

This will be the third time they have met in just a matter of weeks, and all of those encounters have come in a one-table set-up tournament. Wilson won 4-1 in the opening round of the Champion of Champions, Brecel was a 4-3 victor in the quarter-finals of the Riyadh Season Championship.

Both players won their round one matches on Wednesday. Wilson managed to get the better of Zhang Anda 6-4 and is now trying to make the Masters semi-finals for the first time since reaching the final in 2018. Brecel recorded a match win at the Masters for the second time in his career following a 6-3 success over debutant Chris Wakelin.

There are real signs of recovery for Brecel who endured a pretty torrid season up until a few weeks ago since making the last eight of the Scottish Open and the final of the Riyadh event.

In all professional contests, Brecel pips the current career head-to-head score 5-4.

When are the quarter-finals at the 2025 Masters Snooker event?

Thursday 16th January

  • 13:00 GMT - Neil Robertson v Shaun Murphy
  • 19:00 GMT - Mark Selby v Mark Allen

Friday 17th January

  • 13:00 GMT - Judd Trump v Ding Junhui
  • 19:00 GMT - Luca Brecel v Kyren Wilson

Quarter-Finals draw bracket for the 2025 Masters Snooker:

  • Neil Robertson (R) v Shaun Murphy (8)
  • Mark Selby (5) v Mark Allen (4)
  • Judd Trump (3) v Ding Junhui (9)
  • Luca Brecel (7) v Kyren Wilson (2)

Player seedings in brackets - Neil Robertson wasn’t in the initial 16 and is a reserve.

All quarter-final matches are the best of 11 frames (first to 6) with a scheduled mid-session interval after the fourth frame.

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