Richard Mann delivers his verdict on this year's Masters, where snooker's biggest hitters are chasing Triple Crown glory at Alexandra Palace.
Snooker betting tips: Masters
1pt e.w. Neil Robertson to win the Masters at 9/1 (General 1/2 1,2)
1pt e.w. Mark Williams to win the Masters at 20/1 (General 1/2 1,2)
*This preview was published before Ronnie O'Sullivan withdrew from the event
Snooker fans may well be biased, but it’s hard to think of too many more sporting events as iconic as the green baize version of the Masters.
Late Sunday nights watching Masters snooker at the old Wembley Conference Centre – the venue itself the very definition of iconic – as the likes of Stephen Hendry, Paul Hunter and Ronnie O’Sullivan made memories to last a lifetime. For some of you, it might have been Kirk Stevens and Jimmy White, but the feelings that Masters snooker evoke will be just the same.
That man O’Sullivan, eight times a Masters champion, is still going, though not as strong at 50 years of age, and his decision to compete in fewer UK-based tournaments has clearly impacted his results.
Nevertheless, O’Sullivan was still responsible for one of the moments of season when making two 147 maximum breaks in the semi-finals of the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters in August. He would go on to lose in the final, but that performance confirmed he remains capable of snooker most others can only dream of.
Robertson backed for Masters glory
The man who beat O’Sullivan in the final in Saudi was NEIL ROBERTSON, and the pair renew hostilities in a blockbuster first-round clash at Alexandra Palace on Wednesday evening.
Robertson has won four of the last five meetings between these two great players, and he headlines my staking plan this year.
The Australian has two Masters titles on his CV himself, the last one won as recently as 2022, when coming through a series of close, high-pressure matches, and he’s been right back to his best in recent months.
He started the season with that win in Saudi Arabia and returned to the Middle East to finish runner-up in the Riyadh Season Snooker Championship more recently. There was also a last-four finish at the Champion of Champions, before he signed off for Christmas with a terrific run at the UK Championship.
That was another semi-final for Robertson, a welcome improved showing in York following a lean few years up in North Yorkshire. His bid only came to an end there when losing to Judd Trump 6-3, having at one stage led 3-2.
However, Robertson has become better able to leave defeats behind and move on quickly, so important with the modern calendar relentlessly demanding, and he’s made no secret of how working with former professional and close friend Joe Perry, among others, has had a positive effect on his mindset.
Crucially, the biggest weapon in Robertson’s game, his almost peerless break-building, has been in very good working order, and he’s already up to 33 centuries for the season having registered 41 and 43 in the previous two campaigns respectively.
I loved Robertson’s comments at the UK Championship where he referenced how big some of the pockets have been in many of the overseas events, and how the tables were much better in York for having tighter pockets.
He was almost calling some of the other players out on this issue, which may have upset a few, but I liked it. To me it spoke of a man confident in his game and technique, and everything I see from Robertson at present suggests he’s in a very good place.
Robertson finds himself in a tough top half of the draw this year – and I’ll get to the other protagonists shortly – but general quotes of 9/1 still appear too big, probably down to the fact bookmakers have his match with O’Sullivan as a choice affair.
I don’t see it that way, nor does the recent head-to-head record, and Robertson is backed to make three a magic number at the Masters.
A potential quarter-final with Kyren Wilson or Si Jiahui awaits, but I would fancy an on-song Robertson over both. Wilson has been underwhelming since his early-season success at the Shanghai Masters, and Si remains raw.
On-song Selby in the mix
Three-time Masters champion Mark Selby is the shortest priced runner from that top half, 11/2 the best available about a man who was right back to his best when beating Trump in the finals of the Champion of the Champions and UK Championship before Christmas.
In truth, Selby looks as good as ever, and his more recent Masters record, which is poor, doesn’t overly concern me. He ought to have too much for Xiao Guodong first up, though the fact he’s close to half the price of Robertson doesn’t make a great deal of sense to me, given both have enjoyed strong campaigns thus far.
Defending champion Shaun Murphy is the number one seed, and he opens the show on Sunday afternoon against the wildly talented Wu Yize, who will get a match played on his terms and has the firepower to spring an early surprise.
As always at the Masters, this looks a tough section, but I’m happy with where I stand.
Take on Trump with Williams
Trump is clinging onto overall favouritism, though Selby and Zhao Xintong are snapping at his heels in the market.
Up first for Trump is Ding Junhui, who boasts a strong Masters record himself, while world champion Zhao kicks off his bid to complete his Triple Crown set with a match against Gary Wilson, whose form has been strong and perhaps goes under the radar a little.
Zhao always has the potential to blow any field apart, just as he did at Sheffield, but I’d still argue he’s not the finished article – what a prospect that is – while Trump’s well-publicised issues with his cue do again leave him with questions to answer.
I have the utmost respect for both, but so does the market, and from the bottom half, it’s MARK WILLIAMS who gets my each-way vote at 20/1.
This season is already turning into another good one for the Welsh Potting Machine, a big win over a then red-hot Murphy in Xi’an supplementing a run to the semi-finals of the Wuhan Open and four more quarter-finals.
York was slightly disappointing, but that appears to be par for the course with Williams nowadays, whereas he’s generally played well at the Masters, perhaps helped by the Christmas break beforehand.
He might have lost in the first round here 12 months ago, but only 6-5 to Ding in a high-quality affair full of big breaks, and Ali Carter was just as good when beating him the year before that.
In the 2023 Masters, Williams finished runner-up to Trump, just missing out in a close final he really should’ve won, that having lost to Robertson in the semi-finals in 2022, another match he surrendered from in front. His form in both renewals was hard to fault.
And, as is the Williams way, he keeps coming back, brushing off the inevitable bumps in the road that come the way of top snooker players, still producing remarkable levels of performance even into his fifties.
As well as winning the Champion of Champions last season, Williams enjoyed yet another memorable run at the Crucible, beating old sparring partner John Higgins, who is in the same half of the draw this week, before exacting revenge on Trump for a couple of painful reverses.
Williams would eventually lose in the final to Zhao, though I maintain to this day that were he the one to have been afforded an early finish after the conclusion of the first semi-final on Saturday afternoon, instead of slugging it out with Trump in the evening, he would’ve started the final in the same manner in which he ended it, and quite possibly claimed a fourth world title.
We’ll never know, but what those 17 days did show is that Williams remains one of the sport’s biggest hitters in its very biggest tournaments, and only a select few can boast a better CV than the silky left-hander whose unflappable temperament and overall stronger form will stand him in good stead for the likely slog he’ll be faced with when he takes on Mark Allen in round one.
As with everywhere else in this draw, things will only get tougher thereafter, but Williams remains up to the job, as does fellow southpaw Robertson, and I’m very happy to have both in my book at Ally Pally.
Posted at 13:15 GMT on 09/01/26
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