Analysis

2025 Masters Snooker: Semi-finals preview, draw and match schedule

James Fearn/Getty Images
One of the most special days on the annual snooker calendar, it's semi-finals Saturday at the 2025 Masters.

We began with 16 of the world's top players, but now we are left with four, and all of them will have real hopes of lifting The Paul Hunter Trophy on Sunday night, adding another Triple Crown title to their career CV, and depositing the £350,000 top prize into their bank account.

Let's preview the final four action from the Alexandra Palace in London...

(Seed numbers are in brackets)

Shaun Murphy (8) v Mark Allen (4): from 13:00GMT

Between them, Shaun Murphy and Mark Allen have dropped just nine frames en route to this semi-final encounter, as both cueists aim to win their second Masters crown.

Murphy resisted a mid-match rally from Gary Wilson in a 6-3 first round win before ending the challenge of late call-up to the event, Neil Robertson, 6-2, in the last eight. Allen schooled debutant Si Jiahui 6-2 first up before repeating that scoreline over three-time Masters champion Mark Selby in the quarters.

There are a lot of similarities between the two contestants on Saturday afternoon. They have both done punditry work this week for the BBC, both are one-time Masters title winners, both lost in the semis last year, and neither have returned to this final since lifting the beautiful crystal trophy. For Murphy, that came a decade ago in 2015, while Allen's crowning at the Palace arrived in 2018.

In terms of this season, Englishman Murphy is looking to make his first final since July when he was runner-up at the Shanghai Masters.

Allen is showing supreme consistency on the World Snooker Tour; he has now reached at least the semi-finals from five out of his last six events, and the one he didn't in was the one-frame Snooker Shoot Out. The Northern Irishman won the last trophy to be handed out on the professional circuit at the Riyadh Season Snooker Championship just before Christmas.

Looking at the overall career head-to-head match record, if you include all professional formats, Murphy leads 15-9, although Allen has won the last two. However, somewhat bizarrely - for two players within the top echelons during the same period - have not met on the top tier for nearly three years (last 16 of the 2022 German Masters).

This will be their third match at the Masters. Murphy came out on top 6-2 in the semi-finals in 2015 - winning the title in the next match - but the following year in the opening match of the tournament Allen dethroned Murphy with a 6-4 victory.

Judd Trump (3) v Kyren Wilson (2): from 19:00GMT

The world number one against the reigning World Champion - what a Saturday night treat!

Judd Trump and Kyren Wilson renew their rivalry, and for the fourth time already this season, they’ll clash on a big stage in a huge match.

Trump brushed aside Barry Hawkins 6-1 in round one before producing a sizzling five-frame burst against Ding Junhui in the quarter-finals as he recovered from 3-1 down for a 6-3 victory. The minimum £75,000 Trump has already earned from this tournament means he sets a new record for the most amount of prize money won in a single season, and he remains on course for the ‘Trump Slam’ having claimed the Saudi Masters and UK Championship titles earlier this term.

This will be the 35-year-old’s seventh Masters semi-final appearance. From the previous six, he won two, and both those times he made them fully count as he went on to wear the crown in 2019 and 2023.

Fellow Englishman Wilson is the only semi-finalist who has yet to win the Masters title, but of course, he currently possesses the most important snooker accolade of all, and is aiming to join an elite club of holding multiple Triple Crown titles at the same time.

Wilson has been occupied the most during this event out of all the intact contestants in North London following very entertaining 6-4 victories over Zhang Anda and Luca Brecel. This will be the world number two’s second trip to a Masters semi-final having been runner-up in 2018.

The career head-to-head record between these two is a fascinating one. Trump leads overall, but Wilson has memorably got under his skin on several big occasions in the past, including this season by besting him in the finals of the Xi’an Grand Prix and the Northern Ireland Open. However, Trump did take their most recent encounter, 6-2, in the semi-finals of the UK Championship just several weeks ago.

This is set to be their fifth Masters dance with one another. Wilson recovered from 5-2 down to win 6-5 in their first - in the 2018 semi-finals.

Since then, though, Trump got the verdict each time: 6-2 in 2019 (Round One), 6-1 in 2022 (Quarter-Finals), and 12 months ago here ‘The Ace in the Pack’ compiled a cool counter clearance to pip Wilson on the final black for a deciding frame 6-5 success in the opening round.

When are the semi-finals at the 2025 Masters Snooker, what are matches?

13:00GMT

  • Shaun Murphy v Mark Allen

19:00GMT

  • Judd Trump v Kyren Wilson

Both matches are the best of 11 frames (first to six), with a scheduled mid-session interval after the fourth frame.

For the full draw, results and match schedule, please visit here.

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.

Register
Follow us
©National World Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.Cookie SettingsTerms and ConditionsPrivacy notice