Masters Snooker 2016: Schedule, Draw, Live Stream, TV Info and Preview
Snooker in 2016 will get kick-started in earnest this weekend, as the world’s finest players seek to build momentum ahead of the World Championships with a strong showing at the Masters.
It’s a competition that commands a degree of pedigree in its own right and looking at the names set to break off at the Alexandra Palace, London expect plenty of high-quality action.
Champion Shaun Murphy will be seeking to retain the crown he won here last year, but strong cases can be made for any number of players, including world champion Stuart Bingham, Mark Selby, Neil Robertson and Ronnie O’Sullivan.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Here’s a look at the competition draw, all the key viewing details for the event and a closer look at a trio of contenders for glory at the competition.
| (1) Shaun Murphy | vs. | (11) Mark Allen |
| (8) Barry Hawkins | vs. | (10) Joe Perry |
| (5) Judd Trump | vs. | (16) Stephen Maguire |
| (4) Neil Robertson | vs. | (15) Marco Fu |
| (3) Mark Selby | vs. | (12) Ricky Walden |
| (6) Ronnie O'Sullivan | vs. | (13) Mark Williams |
| (7) John Higgins | vs. | (15) Liang Wenbo |
| (2) Stuart Bingham | vs. | (9) Ding Junhui |
Schedule: Jan. 10-17
TV Info: Live on BBC (UK)
Live Stream: BBC website and BBC iPlayer (UK)
Ronnie O’Sullivan
Rated as possibly the most talented man to ever pick up a cue by many, O’Sullivan is viewed as the favourite by plenty to take this coveted title.
The man dubbed “Rocket Ronnie” has won this competition five times in his distinguished career and can draw alongside Stephen Hendry as the most successful player in Masters history. O’Sullivan has a difficult opener, though, as he faces two-time world champion Mark Williams.
As bet365 noted ahead of this one, O’Sullivan has been consistent throughout his career, recently notching his 800th century break:
A win here may well be beyond him, though. This will be his first high-profile appearance since deciding to take a hiatus from the game after this exit at the 2015 World Championships at the hands of eventual champion Bingham.
It’s a rustiness that has shown recently, with O’Sullivan losing to the 62nd-ranked player in the world, Stuart Carrington, during the preliminary rounds of the German Masters. In such a high-class field, that lack of playing time at an elite level will cost Rocket a chance of a deep run into the tournament.
Prediction: Quarter-Final
Mark Selby
Should O’Sullivan get past Williams in his opener, the man likely to face him in the quarters will be Selby, who seems to be coming into a spell of encouraging form himself ahead of this competition.
As we can see via this post on his Twitter feed, Selby seemed pumped up for a possible showdown with the five-time world champion in the last eight:
Of course, a player as experienced as Selby will not let his focus waiver, with a difficult clash with Ricky Walden to negotiate in his Masters opener. But the Leicester potter looked back in the groove at the UK Championships, before running into a magnificent Robertson in the semi-final in York.
The 2014 world champion will be desperate to get back among it in the Triple Crown tournaments again this year after falling just short during 2014-15. He’ll have enough to surge past O’Sullivan in the quarters and beyond the semi-finals but expect him to fall at the final hurdle at the Alexandra Palace.
Prediction: Runner-Up
Neil Robertson
The man to beat this week looks set to be left-handed star Robertson, who was a cut above in the UK Championships. If the Aussie can replicate this kind of form again here, then he’s going to be very difficult for the rest of the field to cope with.
The whitewash 6-0 win over Selby was the kind of performance players can only dream of and although Robertson is a former world champion, this was arguably the best we have ever seen him play in one of the major televised tournaments.
As we can see here, on his way to glory in York, Robertson made a stunning maximum 147 break against Liang Wenbo in the final:
Robertson has showcased the most consistency of any of the top players this season. His break-building has been marvellous to watch, his long potting superb and in tight clashes, the Aussie has shown a noticeable knack for finding his way past opponents.
Put simply, with O’Sullivan, Selby and the rest of the established elite all coming into this competition with question marks over them, Robertson has a brilliant chance to add this Masters title to the UK Championship and secure two of the three legs of a season Triple Crown title.
Expect the 33-year-old to rise to the occasion again.
Prediction: Winner
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
