Draw for the 2026 Masters snooker complete, defending champ Murphy to face Wu in Ally Pally opener
Shaun Murphy will begin the defence of his Masters title against debutant Wu Yize, while Ronnie O’Sullivan meets Neil Robertson in a blockbuster encounter.
The draw for snooker's most prestigious invitational tournament, and the second Triple Crown of the season, took place on BBC television during the first mid-session interval of the UK Championship final between Judd Trump and Mark Selby.
Carrying a top prize of £350,000, the 2026 Masters runs between January 11-18 at the Alexandra Palace in London. It is set to feature the world's top 16 players from the updated rankings immediately after the 2025 UK Championship. From the scheduled field, nine are former winners of the title.
The top eight seeds were fixed into their positions in the drawsheet and randomly drawn against those seeded 9th to 16th.
Murphy defeated Kyren Wilson 10-7 in the 2025 final to claim his second Masters crown, a decade on from his first. 'The Magician' faces 22-year-old from China Wu, who won his maiden ranking title just weeks ago at the International Championship, a result that pushed him into the top 16 for the first time.
Record eight-time Masters champion O'Sullivan has entered the competition, and will play Australia’s Robertson. Due to Mark Selby’s 2025 UK Championship triumph, O’Sullivan went down a place in the order and is not a top eight seed.
O'Sullivan was in the draw last year but withdrew just days before his title defence after deliberately breaking his cue at the Championship League Invitational.
The recently-turned 50-year-old has cast doubt on his inclusion at the upcoming Masters; should he decide to withdraw, 17th-placed Chris Wakelin would be in line for a call-up to replace him in the draw.
Shaun Murphy (1) v Wu Yize
Mark Selby (8) v Xiao Guodong
Neil Robertson (5) v Ronnie O’Sullivan
Kyren Wilson (4) v Si Jiahui
Judd Trump (3) v Ding Junhui
Mark Williams (6) v Mark Allen
John Higgins (7) v Barry Hawkins
Zhao Xintong (2) v Gary Wilson
Seeding positions in brackets
World number one Trump is due to meet Ding Junhui, while reigning world champion Zhao Xintong has been pitched with Gary Wilson.
Zhao will be making just his second Masters appearance. He requires this title to complete a Career Triple Crown having already ticked off UK and World Championship accolades.
Newly-minted UK Champion Selby begins his pursuit of a fourth Masters crown against the other debutant in the field, Xiao Guodong.
Elsewhere in the first round it’s 2025 runner-up Wilson versus Si Jiahui, and John Higgins against Barry Hawkins. Mark Williams plays Mark Allen, and Robertson shares the baize with either O’Sullivan or Selby - again, dependant on the UK final outcome.
The full schedule for round one will be released in due course. All matches are the best of 11 frames, except for the two-session final which is the best of 19.