Which players are making their Masters debuts at the Alexandra Palace this year?

Only the world's top 16 ranked players following the conclusion of last month's UK Championship in York have been invited to the Alexandra Palace in London for the eight-day spectacular which takes place between January 11-18.

A prize fund of over £1 million is on offer, with £350,000 of that allocated to the eventual champion. Contestants are guaranteed at least £25,000 for qualifying for the competition.

Shaun Murphy is set to return as the reigning and defending champion. In 2025, 'The Magician' got the better of then reigning world champion Kyren Wilson 10-7 in the final to claim his second Masters crown, a decade on from his first.

Englishman Murphy is one of nine players in the elite line-up who knows what it takes to become a Masters champion.

Ronnie O'Sullivan (eight times), Mark Selby (three times), John Higgins, Neil Robertson, Mark Williams, Judd Trump (each two times), Ding Junhui and Mark Allen (each one time) are the other former winners of the Triple Crown accolade in the 2026 field.

In comparison, two players set to feature in North London will be realising a career ambition by appearing in the event for the first time, with Chinese duo Xiao Guodong and Wu Yize making their Masters debuts.

Both Wu and Xiao - who will be the 98th and 99th players, respectively, to feature in Masters history since its inaugural edition in 1975 - are scheduled to play on the opening day of Sunday 11th January.

At 22-years-old, Wu is the youngest contestant at this year's Masters, with compatriot Si Jiahui - who is 23 - being the second youngest.

Wu has been a player that many pundits have tipped for stardom in recent years, and the exciting young talent delivered his maiden ranking event title only a couple of months ago when he defeated John Higgins 10-6 in the final to win the 2025 International Championship on home soil in China.

Having previously been a runner-up at two ranking events during the previous season, the £175,000 top prize that Wu pocketed for his first professional crown pushed him up into the world's top 16 bracket for the first time in his young career.

Facing the vastly experienced Murphy - a Masters regular every year since 2006, and one of this season's most in-form cueists - in the opening fixture of the tournament will be a tough ask for Wu, who will likely need to settle down as quickly as he can.

The two have only faced each other once before on the professional circuit and that came earlier this term when Murphy ousted Wu 5-4 in a high-quality last 32 tie at the Xi'an Grand Prix.

A few hours after Wu’s ‘Ally Pally’ introduction and 36-year-old Xiao will also walk down the steps into the playing arena.

A cueist who was already well-respected for many years having been a familiar figure inside the world's top 32, Xiao's career has really taken off over the past two seasons.

His big breakthrough came at the Wuhan Open in October 2024 when he secured his maiden ranking event crown. Twelve months later, Xiao joined an exclusive club of players who have successfully defended their first title by going back-to-back and retaining the Wuhan accolade.

In between those triumphs, Xiao - who first turned professional in 2007 - has shown impressive consistency, maintaining his new level with a run to the final of the 2024 Champion of Champions invitational on debut, and three other ranking event semi-final finishes.

Shortly before last year's Masters, Xiao was inside the world's top 16. But as a seed at the 2024 UK Championship, he lost in round one of the televised stages and fell outside the bracket, agonisingly missing the cut for the 2025 Masters. However, a year on, and the world number 11 can look forward to his bow at the one-table spectacular.

Xiao has been drawn to face three-time Masters winner Mark Selby, who last month collected his tenth Triple Crown title with victory over world number one Judd Trump in the UK final in York.

In all competitions, Selby holds a comfortable head-to-head lead over Xiao, but since his newfound status on the World Snooker Tour, Xiao recovered from 4-1 down to pip Selby 6-5 in the quarter-finals of the aforementioned 2024 Champion of Champions.

Selby won their most recent encounter, though, in February 2025 in the Winners' Group of the Championship League Invitational with a 3-2 victory. That tie was an extraordinary one, with both players compiling a brace of centuries, including a 147 maximum break for Selby.

For the full 2026 Masters round one match schedule, visit here.