It’s time to get back to work after the Christmas break, and what a place to start, with the Masters always one of the highlights of the snooker season. It’s a great event, a very special one to play in, and to enjoy as a snooker fan, and I’ve commentated on some terrific Masters matches over the years.
I was on the Talking Snooker Podcast only recently and was reminded of my playing days and the fact I made it to three Masters semi-finals, sadly losing them all despite taking John Parrott to a deciding frame in 1989, and coming off second best in another close match to Alan McManus in 1994.
Some of you may remember 1994 as being the year when Alan snapped Stephen Hendry’s six-year Masters winning run, so I have been asked many times now whether that feels like one that got away.
Perhaps it does, but I must confess that when I look back, playing at the Masters was never as enjoyable as it ought to have been for me. I was a local boy from just down the road, but that came with added pressure, be it from people wanting tickets or the expectation that comes with so much support.
I think I let off-the-table things affect my play on the table at the Masters, which often made things tough. There’s a lesson in that. That said, I beat the great Steve Davis in this tournament two years running, which I do take great pride in.
Of course, it would’ve been wonderful to have played in a Masters final, to have a crack at winning it, but that wasn’t to be, and I’m not one who looks back on my playing career too much, not now it’s finished.
London crowd takes no prisoners
I remember the Wembley Conference Centre with fondness. It was as a grand old venue, with rich history. It was ideal for spectators – nice and comfortable, with a good atmosphere – but it could get rowdy, and occasionally unsavoury.
I’ve always said that London crowds are different to York and Sheffield. The Masters is a real social event, a chance for people to get together after Christmas, but things can spill over here, and I remember coming as a spectator in 1985 and watching in disbelief as Steve was booed in a match against Alex Higgins that he would go on to lose.
I’d not managed to play in the tournament at that point, so it was quite the eye-opener. At the end of the match, some spectators actually ran out into the arena as emotions spilled over. It wasn’t good, and I know changes were made after that.
Alexandra Palace, or Ally Pally as it is known, has become a new home for the Masters, something the Wembley Arena was never able to manage, and what a terrific job that has been done by all. We have seen improvements year after year, be it with the Century Club or Palm Court, and each time I return there seems to be a new innovation to make things better.
As for the tournament itself, the first prize is now £350,000, a huge amount of money which, along with the history and prestige that comes with the Masters, makes this week such a big one for all of the players lucky enough to be in the final 16.
Shaun Murphy will return as defending champion having defeated Kyren Wilson in the final 12 months ago, a result which kickstarted something of a resurgence for him as he went on to enjoy a strong year overall.
Everyone knows what a great player Shaun is, but in the past he has been guilty of slipping into big lulls and then producing red-hot streaks that could see him win multiple events in a short space of time. In the last year, he’s been much more consistent and a big threat most weeks.
I like that the champion opens the show on Sunday, and Shaun’s first-round tie with Wu Yize might just be the pick of the draw. We have a smashing game in prospect, a big test for Wu on his Ally Pally debut, and one which I’m sure will be open and attacking.
I’m a huge fan of the young, Chinese star, but right now there is a big gap between his best game and his B-game, and when he doesn’t play well, he doesn’t usually win.
Snooker is too difficult to play your best all the time, so somewhere along the way Wu is going to have to find that middle ground.
Ronnie and Robertson lock horns again
It’s a match to savour, no doubt, as is the clash between Ronnie O’Sullivan and Neil Robertson. It’s a mouthwatering draw from top to bottom, as it is every year, but this is the one you’d imagine that most people will be desperate not to miss.
There are already so many chapters to this story, and Wednesday night’s match is another page in that book. Neil has had the edge over Ronnie more recently, including in a big final in Saudi Arabia at the beginning of the season, but we know what both men are capable of when hitting the right notes.
It’s funny, even at this late stage, there appears to be some doubt as to whether Ronnie will actually play. It wouldn’t be the first time he’s skipped the event, but it’s getting very late in the day and you’d hope that decision has been made by now.
By all accounts, Ronnie has been over in Ireland in the last week practicing with the likes of Aaron Hill at Fergal O’Brien’s club, so all the signs would suggest he is gearing up to play again, and that he’ll be sharp when he does step out into the arena.
As we always say, every tournament is better for having Ronnie in it, and for all it’s hard to know exactly where he’s at with his game right now, I firmly believe there’s another wave to come from him in the next little while, be it next week or somewhere down the line.
Perhaps it might be his last hurrah, but I certainly do think there’s another big one in him.
I think the biggest story heading into this year’s renewal is just what a big opportunity this next week represents. And it’s not just about winning the Masters, or the big prize, but snooker is screaming for someone to take the sport by the scruff of its neck and become its dominant force again.
We had it with Hendry, we had it with O'Sullivan, but we’ve barely seen the latter in tournament play this season, while Judd Trump hasn’t won since the 2024 UK Championship. It’s been said many times already, but we haven’t yet had a single dual ranking event winner this term.
Can the real Judd Trump stand up?
I wouldn’t discount Judd for one second, though.
Even in what has been a quiet spell by his own incredibly high standards, he still made the finals of the Champion of Champions, the Northern Ireland Open and the UK Championship before Christmas. Most players would be thrilled with that, and there’s a compliment in that we view his recent results as slightly disappointing.
He’s still only 36, and it seems those defeats do hurt him like they should hurt. That’s no bad thing. He’s still the world number one, and just about the hardest worker on the tour, so you’d have to think he’ll be back. All that being said, we don’t know where he currently stands with his cue and whether he’s going to go back to the old one permanently. I know I would.
The funny thing with Judd is that we are so used to seeing him get stronger and stronger at the back-end of tournaments, but it’s been just the opposite this season. His class and tenacity has kept him in so many events, but he’s just not had that extra gear at the weekend, be it in Belfast or when Mark Selby beat him at the Champion of Champions and again in York.
Mark might be the most interesting contender of all this year. That unusual stat about no dual ranking event winner is true, but Mark does have two titles to his name, and big ones, having also won the UK Championship in York.
You could well argue that he’s been the player of the season, and his beating of Judd in two major finals is striking, suggesting he might be capable of reclaiming the world number one spot at some stage. He has a way to go yet, but is playing fantastically well again.
Of all the top players, Mark looks like the one capable of dominating, racking up a sequence of titles in the manner nobody has been able this term, and he’ll be keyed up for this event having not made it past the quarter-finals here since 2014 when finishing runner-up.
He lost his way for a while, but I think that win in York, in particular, will have done him so much good. Confidence and trust in his game appears to be back, and he’s a very hard man to beat when that is the case. Come the World Championship, Selby could well be top dog again.
I’m finding it hard to know what to expect from Mark Allen, who continues to tinker with his game and strive for perfection. That’s easier said than done, and I’d love to see Mark just play. He’s a devastating break-builder with a silky touch in the balls when at his best. Mark Williams is a tough opening match, though.
Zhao chases greatness at the Masters
That tie is another cracker from the first round, and down at the bottom of the draw, Gary Wilson has the unenviable job of taking on world champion Zhao Xintong, the latter bidding to complete his Triple Crown set at Ally Pally.
It’s still hard to believe Zhao won the World Championship last year as an amateur, surely one of the greatest comebacks in the history of game. And now, within the blink of an eye, he’s on the verge of achieving greatness.
He’s a beautiful player to watch, Zhao, with all the grace and class in the world. He doesn’t have to hit the ball hard to bring it under his spell. What a talent he is.
We all know about Zhao’s chequered past, but that’s behind him, and it would be amazing were he to become Masters champion next week. I think he’ll relish the task ahead.
He won’t be the only one, and this year’s Masters really does represent a huge opportunity for those 16 players who have earned their right to play in one of the biggest and most iconic tournaments in snooker.
What a week we have in store.
