Who is the favourite to win the 2025 Shanghai Masters? Tournament preview for big snooker invitational

So far in this fledgling 2025/26 World Snooker Tour campaign we’ve had qualifying matches for the Wuhan and British Opens, and the completion of the Championship League where Stephen Maguire won the seventh ranking title of his career.

However, with all that having been held behind-closed-doors, the Shanghai Masters represents the first TV event of the term and in front of a big, live audience. Several superstar players will also being making their first appearances of the new season in Shanghai, where there is a £210,000 top prize on offer.

Format for the 2025 Shanghai Masters and who gets invited

An established fixture on the professional snooker tour, the first Shanghai Masters was won by Dominic Dale in 2007.

In 2018 the event changed from being ranked to an invitational affair. The competition now features 24 players consisting of the top 16 from the world rankings, the four highest ranked Chinese players outside the top 16, and four amateur wildcards from the host nation.

The top eight seeds (number one seed is the defending champion, number two seed is the reigning World Champion) go straight through to round two (last 16) where they will meet the winners of the round one matches which pitch together those seeded 9 to 16 against the remaining Chinese opposition.

Top half of the draw: Champion Trump trying to retain

World number one Judd Trump is the reigning and defending Shanghai Masters champion having defeated Shaun Murphy 11-5 in last year’s final to lift this trophy for the first time in his career. Previously, Trump had been a runner-up three times.

No first-time winner of this event has come back the following year and retained the title, although Trump has been installed by bookmakers as the favourite to win the tournament before a ball is struck.

The Englishman’s triumph in Shanghai in 2024 was the first of three big title victories in a spell before the end of the calendar year; he went on to also win the Saudi Arabia Masters and the UK Championship.

However - despite three subsequent semi-finals and a runner-up finish - Trump has not won a title on tour since his UK crown at the very start of December. Shanghai will be his opening outing of the new campaign.

First up for Trump will be either Neil Robertson or Pang Junxu. Australia’s Robertson is back in the event having not made the cut for it in 2024, although in 14 previous attempts, he is yet to make the final in Shanghai.

Pang is likely to be very stiff opposition for Robertson. The former WST Classic finalist will be dialled in having competed at the Championship League where he won his group in stages one and two to reach Finals Day in Leicester.

Elsewhere in the top quarter, number eight seed and 2011 title winner here Mark Selby will face Shaun Murphy if Masters Champion Murphy can dispatch an amateur wildcard (Han Fuyuan) in round one.

Selby and Murphy met in the semi-finals here last year with the latter battling back from 6-2 and 8-5 down to win 10-8. Murphy has made the final of this tournament in two of the last three editions, although he has yet to strike gold.

Further down in the top half are two members of the fabled 'Class of 92' - Mark Williams and John Higgins, who despite both being aged 50, start the new season as the world numbers three and four respectively.

Williams - who hasn’t been past the quarter-finals of this event in his last nine appearances - will face either Ali Carter or an amateur wildcard (Qiu Lei) in the last 16. 2010 champion Carter wasn’t initially in the event, but was called-up as first reserve due to Mark Allen withdrawing because of personal/family issues.

In 2012, Higgins memorably won this title when he recovered from 5-0 down - constructing a maximum 147 break along the way - to pip Trump 10-9 in the final.

The Scot will play the winner of an all-Chinese first round tie between Xiao Guodong and Lei Peifan - players who collected their maiden ranking event titles last season.

Talking of last season, Higgins got the better of Xiao in each of the final three events of the term - Players Championship (6-5), Tour Championship (10-3), World Championship (13-12).

Bottom half of the draw: World Champion Zhao Xintong returns

At the bottom of the draw is newly minted champion of the world Zhao Xintong, who will be making his first appearance on the professional circuit since his historic Crucible success near the start of May.

It seems apt that China’s Zhao will perform with the world crown for the first time in front of a home audience. With Ronnie O’Sullivan (more on him in a minute) set to be playing during the same evening session as Zhao on July 30th, there is bound to be a very special atmosphere at the venue.

This will also be Zhao’s first match back as a full professional player following his ban from the sport; he won in Sheffield as an amateur. The 28-year-old is rated by bookmakers as the second favourite to win this year’s edition.

Somewhat bizarrely, this will be the first time that Zhao has played top tier snooker in Shanghai since 2014 when he reached the last 16 as an amateur wildcard. His campaigns in 2016 and 2017 (when the event was still ranked) ended during the qualifying rounds which were held in England.

Zhao could play Chris Wakelin in round two; the two shared the baize in the quarter-finals at the Crucible just several weeks ago. This is the first time that Wakelin has qualified for the invitational version of the Shanghai Masters, so this will be a satisfying trip for him.

If Zhao advances to the quarter-finals, he would be certain to play a fellow countryman with number seven seed Ding Junhui challenging either Zhang Anda or Yuan Sijun in the last 16.

Ding is one of only two players who have won multiple Shanghai Masters titles (2013, 2016); he was the first to become a two-time champion. ‘The Dragon’ will be playing competitively for the first time since April.

Located in the third quarter of the drawsheet is record five-time Shanghai Masters winner O’Sullivan (2009, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2023), whose 21-match winning streak in this competition was ended by Trump in last year’s semi-finals.

One of O’Sullivan’s favourite stops on the circuit, it seems very unlikely that they’ll be a late withdrawal here.

The year 2025 has been a very frustrating one for ‘The Rocket’ during which he has only appeared in two professional events, so far: an ill-fated trip to the Championship League Invitational in early January where he deliberately smashed up his cue, and a last four run at the World Championship.

During the off-season, O’Sullivan married his long-term partner Laila Rouass, and has stated his intention to base himself in the Middle East for large spells of the upcoming term.

A big question for his on-table activities is whether he is equipped with a cue that he truly feels comfortable with. He memorably tinkered with his cue mid-way through his Crucible semi-final match with Zhao.

Regardless of the above, O’Sullivan will have a tricky task for his opening date of the season as he’ll play either Barry Hawkins - who defeated ROS the last time they played, at the UK Championship - or one of the sport’s hottest properties in Wu Yize.

The remaining section to look at is the one featuring world number two Kyren Wilson, who will be crossing cues with either Si Jiahui or an amateur wildcard (Wang Xinbo).

It was at this event a decade ago when a 23-year-old Wilson made his big breakthrough, stunning planet snooker as the world number 54 by winning the title after a 10-9 triumph over Trump in the final. Wilson had to win three qualifying matches and come through a wildcard round just to reach the main draw where he won five further matches.

Please visit our 2025 Shanghai Masters tournament information page here for the draw, results, format, match schedule, how to watch details and prize money payouts.

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