Masters 2025 - Review

One of the most anticipated events in the sport lived up to it's billing last week as Alexandra Palace welcomed the snooker fraternity with open arms and the action on the baize did not disappoint.

Shaun Murphy came out on top of Kyren Wilson 10-7 in the final, the world number 7 was a deserved winner after playing some breath-taking snooker all week including a brilliant maximum break in the semi-final against Northern Ireland's Mark Allen.

Many would've saw the withdrawal of Ronnie O'Sullivan as a massive loss on the eve of the Triple Crown event but the exclusion of the 7x world champion was quickly forgotten when the action got underway in impressive fashion with Neil Robertson staging an inspired comeback to defeat John Higgins 6-5 in the first match.

Big names continued to impress with Judd Trump, Mark Selby & Luca Brecel among others progressing from their last 16 ties.

As we all know, the Masters plays host to the top 16 in the world so the standard was always going to be high but 6 of the 8 quarter-finalists where former winners of the Paul Hunter trophy, an example of the quality on show.

After the quarter-final's and with 4 players left in the hunt to be victorious on Sunday night they were Shaun Murphy (6-2 N.Robertson), Mark Allen (6-2 M.Selby), Judd Trump (6-3 Ding Junhui) & Kyren Wilson (6-4 L.Brecel). All players in the world's top 8. 

The lineups for the semi-final both had a small bit of added spice with Murphy V Allen & Trump V Wilson having separate rivalries that had fans intrigued.

In the end, Murphy and Wilson (both 6-3) impressively did their talking on the table to set-up a grandstand final showdown.

Heading into the final, the reigning world champion had a significant head-to-head deficit to overcome (10-4) if he was to claim his 1st Masters title.

However, Murphy flew out of the blocks taking a 4-1 lead and extending it to 6-2 after the first session. When they resumed, Wilson did fight back as expected to closed the gap to 8-7 before Murphy ran out a 10-7 winner finishing off with an impressive break of 100.

He claims the title for the 2nd time exactly 10 years after his first in 2015, impressive longevity at the top of the sport.

In my opinion, the drama and standard over the last 7 days was some of the best we have seen in recent times in a Triple Crown event. Bring on Sheffield in April!!! 

Masters 2025 - Day 6

Friday January 17th 2025

Judd Trump V Ding Junhui

This afternoon sees a rematch of this year’s World Open final between Judd Trump and Ding Junhui as they look to join Shaun Murphy & Mark Allen in tomorrow's semi-finals.

Trump came out on top 10-4 that day but will Ding be able to reverse the result when they take to a sold-out Alexandra Palace arena? 

His deciding frame victory over Mark Williams in the last 16 will give him endless amounts of confidence ahead of his tie with the world number one. The Chinese superstar will need that boost as he takes on a player who has defeated him in their last 3 meetings.

However, It’s the first meeting of the pair at the Masters and although Trump leads in head-to-heads (11-9), Ding is more than capable of overturning the best on any given day. 

The world number one cruised into the quarter-final with a commanding 6-1 defeat of Barry Hawkins, if he can replicate that form today, Ding faces an uphill battle.

A quick start is crucial for the 2011 winner of this event but I find it hard to look past Trump progressing to another semi-final.

Prediction 6-1 Trump

Luca Brecel V Kyren Wilson

The final four will be confirmed after the clash of  Luca Brecel and Kyren Wilson this evening. An intriguing clash between the last two winners of the World Championship.

Brecel holds a slim advantage in head-to-heads over Wilson (5-4) but the reigning World Champion is keen to add the Masters to his ever-growing list of winners titles especially after surviving a huge scare against China’s Zhang Anda in the last 16.

If both players play to the levels we know they’re capable of, we could be in for a real treat to wrap up the quarter-finals.

Brecel was clinical in his last 16 defeat of Chris Wakelin and if showing that form tonight, he could run Wilson close.

For me though, Wilson is a different animal this season, the scare he got off Zhang Anda in the last 16 will be the catalyst for him to push on to a semi-final with the impressive Judd Trump.

Prediction: Wilson 6-2

Masters 2025 - Day 5

Thursday January 16th 2025

Neil Robertson V Shaun Murphy - 13:00

The quarter-finals kick off this afternoon with Robertson V Murphy. What a match to look forward to in a spectacular sold-out arena.

Robertson took full advantage of his late call-up to this event to defeat John Higgins 6-5. The Australian made an inspired comeback from 5-1 down to defeat the Scotsman.

Murphy was composed and professional in defeating Gary Wilson 6-3 and even though it wasn’t a standout performance from the Magician, he will have set his sights on bigger challenges ahead.

Robertson holds a comprehensive lead in head-to heads between the pair (25-14) but it is Murphy that has the advantage in this tournament recently, he has defeated the Aussie in their last 2 meetings including in the final in 2015 (10-2).

Their last meeting in this event was in 2023 where the Englishman came out on top 6-4, I can see a similar outcome today.

Today’s match has the potential to go all the way with two of the most attacking, entertaining players to watch on the baize, it promises to be a cracking watch.

Prediction: Murphy 6-4

Mark Allen V Mark Selby - 19:00

This evening's match pits two of World Snooker Tour’s fiercest competitors against each other as Mark Selby and Mark Allen do battle for a spot in the semi-final.

The pair have played in some epic battles throughout the years, the 2023 World Championship semi-final springs to mind. On that occasion, Selby triumphed 17-15 and tonight's clash is likely to be just as close.

If replicating the form he showed during his convincing 6-1 victory over Ali Carter in the last 16, Selby will be hard to stop this week.

Allen's best form this season has been in recent months and his victory in the Riyadh snooker championship will give him confidence after a barren spell on tour, he also looked sharp throughout his 6-2 last 16 win over Si Jiahui.

Both players can be tactical at times but if they can bring their last 16 form into tonight’s quarter-final, we will be in for a treat. Whoever progresses will no doubt fancy their chances of going all the way this week.

A tie with Shaun Murphy awaits the winner after he was mightily impressive in his quarter-final victory over Neil Robertson this afternoon.

I'm siding with Selby due to the fact he looked back to his best last time out and I think he will continue on that form tonight.

Prediction: Selby 6-3

Masters 2025 - Day 4

Wednesday January 15th 2025

Kyren Wilson V Zhang Anda - 13:00

Reigning world champion Kyren Wilson kicks off the action this afternoon against China’s Zhang Anda. Wilson has been a brilliant world champion and has performed impressively during the season but won’t get it all his own way as we have seen Anda produce some top-quality displays over the past 2 seasons.

The pair have come up against each other very few times but it is the lower-ranked Anda with the slight advantage (3-1). That will give him confidence coming into today. 

It's been an uninspiring season to date for Anda, he has reached the latter end of tournaments on very few occasions and has been unable to emulate his standout season of 2023/2024.

His record at Ally Pally will no doubt concern him though. (1 appearance, 1 defeat). He has however moved up to 10th in the world, his highest-ever ranking. 

He faces an uphill task today as he faces world champion Kyren Wilson. Having claimed his first world title last season, he has continued to impress this term winning the Xi'an Grand Prix & Wuhan Open.

He seems to have taken his game to a new level over the last year and is a live contender to get back in the winner's circle this week.

I don't expect a landslide victory this afternoon but I'd be surprised if Wilson wasn't to progress with a couple of frames to spare.

Prediction: 6-4 Wilson

Luca Brecel V Chris Wakelin - 19:00

Bringing the last 16 to a close is Luca Brecel and debutant Chris Wakelin. On paper it may be hard to look past the Belgian Bullet progressing but Wakelin has shown over the last 12 months that he is more than capable of mixing it with the best on tour. His shoot-out triumph in 2023 a career highlight for the Englishman. 

It's been an impressive season so far for Wakelin making the final of the International Championship, semi-final of the English Open and quarter-finals in both Wuhan and the Scottish Open resulting in him reaching his highest ever world ranking. 15.

He will however have to produce his best form to defeat prestigious talent Brecel this evening. Since winning the world title, Brecel has largely gone missing and struggled to make latter stages of events. 

He has lately begun to find some form and reached the final in Riyadh before Christmas. But if he can rediscover the form that sealed his World Championship victory in 2023, it’s hard not to see him progressing to set up a match with Kyren Wilson.

Prediction 6-3 Brecel

Masters 2025 - Day 3

Tuesday January 14th 2025

Judd Trump V Barry Hawkins - 13:00

This afternoon sees a rematch of the 2024 UK Championship final as Judd Trump takes on Barry Hawkins. The pair have met in two of the last three Masters with both matches going to a deciding frame with a different winner on each occasion. (2023 Trump, 2022 Hawkins). 

Without picking up any silverware, Hawkins has had a solid year making a final and 2 quarter-finals along the way. He more often than not produces his best against the top players in the world and we expect today will be no different.

Similar to last season, Judd Trump has threatened to dominate the World Snooker Tour as he has already claimed 3 titles so far this term. He will no doubt want to rack up as many Triple Crown's as possible and he will fancy his chances of adding to his 2019 & 2023 wins at Ally Pally this week.

The casual snooker fan will look at the match-up and think it will be a stroll in the park for Trump this afternoon but Hawkins is more than capable of competing with the world number 1.

It leaves the job of picking a winner of this one very tough but a close, lengthy encounter looks guaranteed with the winner set to take on Ding Junhui.

I think it will be a similar result to 2023 & 2022 with Trump just edging it.

Prediction: 6-5 Trump

Mark Allen V Si Jiahui - 19:00

The high-quality pairings continue with Mark Allen and Si Jiahui set to do battle this evening. In his debut appearance at Ally Pally, Jiahui has been rewarded with a match with world number 4 and 2018 winner Allen. 

Considering other first-round ties, this is a relatively new rivalry with the pair having only met 5 times before this encounter (4-1 Allen). However they are evenly matched going off this season’s results to date, with both players flirting with their best form over the past few months.

Allen impressively won the recent Riyadh season championship defeating Selby, O'Sullivan and Luca Brecel on the way to claiming the title and £250,000.

It's been his only victory this season despite making 4 semi-finals so far and will be hoping to at least replicate his run to the final four here last year. In the pairs first meeting back in 2021, Allen made a maximum break on the way to a 4-1 victory in Belfast. Let's hope for similar scoring tonight.

It's been a relatively quiet season so far for his Chinese opponent with a run to the final in Wuhan his best result. However, qualifying for this competition as the world number 13 is a testament of how well he is playing and how dangerous he can be when on form.

He stormed to victory in group 2 of the Championship League a week ago where he looked in fine form seeing off Jak Jones in the final.

All things considered, tonight's match will be very close and is likely to go down to the wire. I've been very impressed with Si Jiahui over the last 18 months and even though Allen is a tough opponent to face on his debut, I think he might shade it. 

Prediction: 6-5 Si Jiahui

Masters 2025 - Day 2

Monday January 13th 2025

Mark Williams V Ding Junhui - 13:00

Two legends of the sport battle it out for a place in the quarter-final. It is Ding who holds the upper hand (14-8) in head-to-heads with the Welshman but the pair have only met once at the Masters with the Chinese superstar coming out on top 6-4.

A victory in his home country at the International Championship has been a highlight this season for Ding as he has struggled at times to make the latter stages of tournaments.

Williams was also in the winners circle as he impressively came out on top in the Champion of Champions defeating Ding's fellow countryman Xiao Guodong 10-6 in the final.

It's a very close match to call the winner of and if either player can hit form throughout it may be the deciding factor of who comes out on top in this one.

A repeat result of the deciding frame UK Championship Quarter-Final between the pair in 2023 would not be a surprise.

Prediction: 6-5 Ding

Mark Selby V Ali Carter - 19:00

Two warriors of the game. It promises to be a hard-fought encounter. Both players have performed well at times during the season with Selby’s consistency particularly impressive. 

He will have his sights set on adding to his collection of three Masters titles (2008, 2010 & 2013) but has a tricky opener against last year’s runner-up to navigate through first.

He holds a commanding lead in head-to-head's over tonight's opponent (25-16) but the pair have only met in Alexandra Palace once before with Carter coming out on top in 2020 (6-4).

It was an inspired run to the final from the captain 12 months ago impressively defeating Mark Williams, Judd Trump & Mark Allen along the way.

That will give him huge confidence as he returns to the venue tonight to take on one of the fiercest competitors in the sport.

But most importantly Selby has been quoted during the week saying his mental health is in a good place at the moment, coupled with the form he has shown over the past week in the Championship League mean he is a live contender this week.

I think he will have too much for Carter tonight.

Prediction: 6-3 Selby

Masters 2025 - Day 1

Sunday January 12th 2025

John Higgins V Neil Robertson - 13:00

A last-minute entry into the tournament due to Ronnie O'Sullivan withdrawing on medical grounds mean Australia's Neil Robertson is thrown in at the deep end on day 1 as he takes on 'Class of 92' legend John Higgins.

It will be the pairs first meeting at the Masters and head-to-head gives very little indication as to who will come out on top of this heavyweight clash. (16-15 Robertson).

After a below-par 2023, Robertson returned to the winners circle this season after defeating Wu Yize 9-7 to claim the English Open. On the other hand, Higgins has failed to lift any silverware with a final appearance at the British Open his best finish this season to date.

The pair have failed to win their first-round matches at Alexandra Palace for the last 2 years so somethings got to give this afternoon.

I'm siding with the Aussie to get over the line after a hard-fought, close encounter and grasp the opportunity he has been given after O'Sullivan's withdrawal.

Prediction 6-4 Robertson

Shaun Murphy V Gary Wilson - 19:00

An interesting battle between two players who have under-achieved this season. Without picking up any silverware this season, Murphy has reached 3 quarter-finals, 1 semi-final and a final so doesn't seem too far away from producing his best form and has seemed to make a habit of being defeated by the eventual tournament winner. (5 times this season).

Gary Wilson is yet to secure a victory at the Masters having only appeared once at the Triple Crown event. (6-2 loss to Kyren Wilson). He will hope to change that stat tonight as he takes on the world number 7.

On recent form it's difficult to see Wilson troubling Murphy tonight as the possibility of the Magician stamping his authority on this week's competition looms large.

Prediction 6-1 Murphy