The one table set-up means we can watch every single game, starting on Sunday afternoon at the Alexandra Palace which is one of the best venues in sport in my opinion. The world number one Darts player Michael Van Gerwen was triumphant at this venue two weeks ago in the World Darts Championship. If snooker's world number one Mark Selby is crowned the Masters champion at the Palace over the next week he will hold all of snookers three triple crown events as the reigning UK and World Champion when he arrives here.
Defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan will certainly have something to say about that as he searches for his first title this season, having been beaten by Selby in the UK final. John Higgins meanwhile has already won two 16 men invitationals this season at the China Championship and Champion of Champions while there are a host of other big contenders for the title.
This is how the draw shapes up for the next 8 days:
Quarter 1
Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs Liang Wenbo (Sunday 15th January at 1pm) - When it comes to the Masters Ronnie O'Sullivan is the man. Six times a champion he has had as much success here as anyone else. This season so far he has played a lot of tournaments, and despite coming close at the UK Championships, Champion of Champions and European Masters, he is yet to pick up a trophy. A year ago he blew everyone away and cruised to the title and did similar in 2014 so you would certainly not be surprised if he did that here. Liang Wenbo provides first round opposition to the Rocket and he comes back here now as a ranking event winner. A year ago he qualified after reaching the UK final, and now having won the English Open he is nicely into the top 16. He appears to relish the big occasion and will thrive on playing O'Sullivan, though taking him on in front of his own crowd will not be an easy task. Last year playing John Higgins he played very well but faded away towards the end as Higgins found another gear and the same could very much happen in this match. I expect O'Sullivan to be on it here and if he is he could play Neil Robertson in round two. A tough ask on paper but after winning seven straight frames to take the Welsh Open final against Robertson, and then beating him 6-0 in the European Masters semi-final last year as well he has 13 frames in a row against Robertson and somewhat of a psychological edge.
Prediction: O'Sullivan to start his defence with a 6-3 win.
Neil Robertson Vs Ali Carter (Tuesday 17th January at 7pm) - This contest is an intriguing one after interesting seasons for these two players. Starting with Ali Carter he played brilliantly to win the World Open in July but that is a long time ago now with the amount of events played since then and his form in the lead up here is poor. In the UK Championships he will have been gutted to lose to David Gilbert considering some of the positions he put himself in, during that Last 32 clash. There have been a lot of Last 32 exits for Carter since Shanghai and now that he is back in the top 16 he would expect better. He also has quite a poor recent record against Neil Robertson having taken some real thrashings in their last few meetings which will give Robertson a lot of confidence coming in here. There has been equally as little for Robertson to cheer since an early season success in Riga. It seemed to me that Robertson lost his way in October. A 6-0 semi-final loss in Romania to Ronnie was followed by squandering a 3-0 lead against Xiao Guodong in the Last 32 in Manchester. Then he lost his cool in the International Championships against Joe Perry. That all came before first round exits in the China Championship and then again in his title defences of the Champion of Champions and UK Championships. For me this match will be closer than some of their previous meetings but given Robertson's edge on the head to head he will have the good memories to call upon and has very happy memories at the Alexandra Palace, with three finals in five years here, which still makes him one of the favourites for the title.
Prediction: Another Robertson victory, 6-4 this time.
Quarter Choice: Ronnie O'Sullivan
Quarter 2
Judd Trump Vs Marco Fu (Tuesday 17th January at 1pm) - This is a very tough match to call on paper. Had this match been in November you would have chalked it up as a Trump win for sure. At this point he was flying having won the European Masters, made the final at the English Open and the semi's of the International Championship. By contrast Fu did not get past the Last 32 of a ranking event until the UK Championships where he made the semi-finals. Following that he played fantastic snooker, scoring very heavily to win the Scottish Open and he will be full of confidence coming back here to the Masters. Trump has played the better snooker so far this season and is more consistent than Fu who can blow very hot and cold (as we have seen this season). He will also want to right the wrongs of the Scottish Open when he blew a big lead in the semi-finals against John Higgins. There is a lot of pressure on Trump though who is always expected to do well in these triple crown events, but has not yet been to a Masters final and he did lose to Fu in the first round in 2014. If Trump gets through he has a tough route to winning this title but he is more than capable of blowing everyone away. Meanwhile for Fu, he will want to go one better than the 2016 World Championships where he got very close to Mark Selby in the semi-finals and then the UK Championships where he should have made the final. After watching him in Scotland you have to believe that Fu has a triple crown win in him if everything comes together.
Prediction: Trump to edge a tight tussle 6-5
John Higgins Vs Mark Allen (Monday 16th January at 1pm) - Monday afternoon sees yet another big tournament meeting between Mark Allen and John Higgins. Higgins became the king of the invitationals in 2016 winning the China Championship and the Champion of Champions in consecutive weeks and grabbing £300,000 for his efforts. He thumped Allen in China and pounced at the first sign of weakness to beat Allen again in the UK Championships where he made the quarter-finals. Making the Scottish Open final and losing will have really hurt Higgins in front of his home crowd and losing the way he did (8 straight frames from 1-4 to 9-4) will fire him up, as he looks to banish those memories this week. Mark Allen does not seem like he is far away from winning a big one, but it also seems like this is something we have all been saying for a little while. In the two invitationals Higgins won, Allen was a semi-finalist and made the semi-finals at the Ally Pally two years ago after beating Higgins in round one. If Allen takes his opportunities and scores well in this match he has every chance, but if it gets tactical this is where Higgins has an edge on 99% of players. If Higgins and Trump were both to win in round one it would be their sixth meeting of the season. Trump won the first three over a shorter format, but Higgins took the last two over the best-of-11 at the Champion of Champions and then the Scottish Open when Higgins came from 5-1 behind. In fact Trump has only ever beaten Higgins once in a match of best-of-9 frames or longer.
Prediction: Higgins to prove too good once more winning 6-4
Quarter Choice: John Higgins
Quarter 3
Stuart Bingham Vs Joe Perry (Monday 16th January at 7pm) - A shadow of doubt has already been cast on this match. Stuart Bingham has said he may withdraw from the event if his wife is likely to give birth during the match. If that were to happen Ricky Walden would come in as "first reverse". For now though Bingham has not withdrawn but even if he does play you have to wonder if his mind will be elsewhere. Form has been up and down this season for Bingham. Early exits in the Scottish Open and UK Championships saw the year end on a disappointing note. Prior to that though he had had three semi-finals (Shanghai Masters, English Open and International Championship) to start the season as well as making the China Championship final. If he is 100% committed to the event then you have to say he is threat, particularly in this quarter where there is no stand out favourite. Joe Perry has not had the best of seasons so far, and started 2017 with a poor showing in the Championship League. Perry has only gotten past the Last 32 in two ranking events this season, and lost in the first round of both November invitationals. For a player of Perry's class that is unexpected and certainly not the form you would expect of a top 16 player. If Bingham commits to the match and is playing well then you have to say that he is certainly the favourite and could be a man on a mission depending on how things go.
Prediction: Bingham to dash for the winning line 6-3
Ding Junhui Vs Kyren Wilson (Sunday 15th January at 7pm) - This is a very interesting match up. I have already mentioned in the Stat Attack blog about Ding Junhui's recent Masters record of 0/5 in matches at the Alexandra Palace. That is something that can certainly get into a players mind even if they do not think it does. Shaun Murphy's record in the Champion of Champions at the Ricoh Arena is another example of this (Sorry Shaun!). You might think that a turnaround in form for Ding will make the difference, and after making the World final, the International final and winning the Shanghai Masters that could be the case. Although an early exit at the UK Championships and still picking and choosing his events quite a lot means that he has not played competitively since this exit. Kyren Wilson is a on his Masters debutant but as he showed at the Crucible last year I think he could really attack this and take his opportunity rather than becoming a rabbit in the headlights that many can do. It did not take the likes of Paul Hunter and Mark Selby long to succeed in the Masters and while I am not comparing him to them I was impressed by his performances in the World Championships which was his first since his breakthrough. Equally this quarter is the hardest to call for me. We know the uncertainty surrounding Stuart Bingham, Ding's recent record as I have said is poor to say the least and Joe Perry has very little form at all. Therefore, an opportunity could present itself here for Wilson and with a couple of semi-finals, a final and a Crucible quarter-final in 2016 he is continuing his progress and looks well equipped to take his opportunities.
Prediction: Wilson to inflict more Masters misery on Ding 6-5
Quarter Choice: Kyren Wilson
Quarter 4
Shaun Murphy Vs Barry Hawkins (Wednesday 18th January at 7pm) - In the final quarter we come across the toughest match to call in the first round this year. Both players have played well at times this season and lost matches to players who have played very well against them. Hawkins was of course a Masters finalist last season, cementing that he is very much a top class player on his day. Murphy meanwhile broke his Masters duck in 2015 taking the title and showing that when he is knocking in the long balls and scoring heavily there is nothing anyone can do. Murphy has a very good record at the Palace and always seems to get up for this event and the World Championships more than any other. He will feel unlucky not to have gone on further in certain events this year, losing to a lot of players playing well and if he carries on working hard, his bad luck will surely run out soon. Hawkins has played well also making the final in Northern Ireland and the semi-finals in Manchester, and if he carries on striking the ball the way he is he will not end the season with his biggest win being Group 4 of the Championship League. The head to head is largely in Murphy's favour but a lot of their more recent meetings have gone to a deciding frame and it would be surprising with how evenly matched these two appear to be, if the match did not go close once again. Whoever comes through it will be a big contender to go on and win the whole thing this week, make no mistake about that.
Prediction: Murphy to steal victory 6-5
Mark Selby Vs Mark Williams (Wednesday 18th January at 1pm) - The way Mark Selby is playing this season it is difficult to see anyone beating him at all. Having not played in Scotland or Belfast he has not lost a match since the Champion of Champions and not lost in a full ranking event since the English Open. His confidence must be sky high and it is not just his supreme safety that is winning him matches because he is scoring very heavily as well making him as tough to beat as guys like Higgins and O'Sullivan at their very best. Of course if Selby were to take the title he would be holding all of the Triple Crown events until he comes to defend his World title in April. Mark Williams is becoming somewhat of an odd player to predict, that is if you ever read his Twitter. He seems to have written himself off this season more times than Ronnie has threatened to retire in his whole career. However, while his form was a mixed back at the very start of the season he improved towards Christmas with quarter-finals at the Northern Irish Open and UK Championship. However, if he truly does not believe that he can compete at this very top level then he probably won't because the belief would not be there. I like to think he still has big performances in him and his record against Selby in recent meetings is a good one and he has a chance of beating the world's best. Selby is so tough to beat though and if he continues his strong form of scoring and safetyin what has been his most successful event throughout his career then it could be Masters title number 4 for the world number one.
Prediction: Selby to march on 6-2
Quarter Choice: Mark Selby
Tournament Winner Choice: Mark Selby
I'll be back throughout the week with updates and to tell you how much I am loving the event. Don't forget you can watch on the BBC or Eurosport this week.
My Tournament Top Ten blog from earlier on is here:
http://cueactionsnookerblog.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/the-masters-tournament-top-ten.html
While the Stat Attack can be viewed here:
http://cueactionsnookerblog.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/stat-attack-masters.html
My Tournament Top Ten blog from earlier on is here:
http://cueactionsnookerblog.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/the-masters-tournament-top-ten.html
While the Stat Attack can be viewed here:
http://cueactionsnookerblog.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/stat-attack-masters.html
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