Guest Blog: What next for Judd Trump?

Following his superb victory at the Alexandra Palace to claim his first Masters title, new guest blogger Gary Moss has asked the question... What is next for Judd Trump? Long time snooker fans will know Gary from his days running the blog 'On Cue'  and he has contributed most recently for 'The Sportsman' so I'm really looking forward to his contributions on the blog.

What next for Judd?

Breakthrough moments in sport can come in all different shapes and sizes.

While Judd has had a few in the past, Sunday night’s Masters triumph at the Alexandra Palace could certainly be another.

His resounding defeat of Ronnie O’Sullivan – the sport’s most successful player in this tournament – lands him his first major title since 2011 and could be the moment that he breaks through the ceiling to go on and land a hatful more. After all, it is his wins in these events that will ultimately define his legacy in the sport.

Aged 29, Judd is without doubt the most accomplished and well-decorated player in his age bracket with nine ranking titles to his name and having achieved a sustained and stable period at the very top of the rankings.

But this doesn’t hide whispering in the game from those who believe his trophy return in the sport’s blue riband events is short of his talent. We can speculate as much as we want about why he has waited so long for this win. Dedication, mental strength and many more factors are touted as playing a part. We’ve heard them all, but sport is about looking forward rather than looking back. Every top player has battle scars from painful defeats in the past, but now the task for Judd becomes about capitalising on this win and getting more.

As he lifted the Paul Hunter Trophy on Sunday, he landed the second of snooker’s Triple Crown events and got back that taste of winning one of the big ones again.

It will feel long overdue for the ambitious Judd who not only knows how good he is when he’s at his best but also knows that criticism and expectation on him have been high. For all these reasons, it is important he enjoys the win and there is no doubt it sticks one back on his doubters.

This win puts a bit of that to bed for now but the challenge ahead is for him to go on and keep doing it. He needs to use this as a springboard to become a serial winner of the biggest titles.

Of course, this is no easy task and doesn’t just become a formality. Winning the big events is no easy feat and there are so many top players around with the same ambition.

After a win of this magnitude, it is natural for attention to turn to April’s World Championship with numerous people posing the question as to whether Judd can go on and complete the Triple Crown with immediate effect. While spectators like to use the Masters as a barometer for form ahead of the Crucible, the last time that a player did actually go on to win in Sheffield after victory in London is Mark Williams back in 2003.

This doesn’t mean Judd can’t do it, of course but it should be a reminder that Trump’s win is no guarantee of the floodgates opening for major wins. In fact, we might have to judge over a longer period of four to five years of whether this Masters win will prove a catalyst for Judd, in which he can add a handful more to his collection in the next few years ahead, rather than it translating to immediate success.

That said, Judd looked ready to win the World Championship last year. His narrow 13-12 defeat to John Higgins in the quarter-finals was despite the result a performance which showed he had matured and was getting closer to achieving the game’s holy grail. This Masters win solidifies this.

Judd can be very proud of his work at Alexandra Palace. He looked to have that extra bit of fire in the belly you need to win the big titles and despite taking early leads in all his matches proved that he could stand up to the pressure of the winning line when it came within sight and his opponents tried to hook him back in.

There were spells when Trump looked at his free-flowing best in this event but there were also plenty of moments where he was forced to get the job done when he wasn’t in top form and this proved pivotal.

His newfound partnership on the practice table with his brother Jack seems to have resulted in him spending many more hours each week putting the work in and to earn direct results off the back of this will probably mean it continues.

His fierce rivalry with Kyren Wilson and drawing him in round one of this tournament no doubt played a big part too. After a mini run of defeats to Kyren, he was desperate to reverse that here and as a result came into the event firing on all cylinders.

Wherever the motivation and drive comes from, it doesn’t matter. For Judd now, the challenge is to put his foot down and go into his 30s looking to achieve as much as he can out of his outstanding potential.

Tour Qualification routes confirmed for the 2019/2020 season

The WPBSA has today announced the qualification routes for the professional snooker tour in the 2019/2020 season.

As always the top 64 in the world rankings at the end of the current season will remain on tour for at least another year, while 30 players in all are currently on the first year of a two-year tour card and will also stay on tour for next season.

It has also been confirmed that, despite speculation that this would no longer be a route, the top eight players on the one-season list at the end of this season that are not in the top 64 on the two-year list, or one season into a two-year card, will be awarded a fresh two-year tour card.

Once again, 12 players will then be awarded tour cards via Q School and these will again be the four winners of the three events to be held at the end of the season. For the first time, two players will be awarded cards via the new Challenge Tour.

This will be decided by the season-long order of merit and with eight of the 10 events completed, Brandon Sargeant and David Grace are provisionally set to claim tour cards. Event nine is coming up this weekend (26-27 January) at the Star Snooker Academy in Sheffield, while event 10 runs from March 6-7 at the South West Snooker Academy in Gloucester.

The two tour cards allocated to the Challenge Tour replace the cards that were awarded to the winners of the EBSA play-offs in previous years.

Similarly to last year, two tour cards have then been allocated to the CBSA China Tour, the winners of the 2019 European Championship and the 2019 European Under-21 Championship will also receive tour cards along with the WSF Champion. The WPBSA have also confirmed that the WSF Championship runner-up will receive a tour card, something that was not confirmed going into last year's event, though eventual runner-up Adam Stefanow was invited to the tour at a later date.

Finally, the winners of the 2019 Oceania Championship (not awarded a card last year), the 2019 Americas Championship (last awarded a card in 2016) and the 2019 African Championship will all receive two-year tour cards.


Timeline of events: 

- 2019 Pan American Snooker Championship - Houston, Texas - January 30-February 3
- 2019 European Under-21 Championship - Eilat, Israel - February 19-22
- 2019 European Men's Championship - Eilat, Isreal - February 23-March 2
- 2018/2019 Challenge Tour, Final event - Gloucester, England - March 6-7
- 2019 Oceania Snooker Championship - New South Wales, Australia - March 14-17
- 2019 WSF Championship - Dubai World Trade Centre, UAE - April 1-7

Top 8 on the one-season list 

At the time of writing, the top 8 players on the provisional one-season list (inclusive of German Masters and Indian Open qualifying points) that are neither in the first year of a two-year tour card or currently inside the top 64 on the provisional end-of-season rankings are as follows:

1 - Eden Sharav (34th, £46,600)
2 - Ian Burns (61st, £28,600)
3 - David Lilley (competing as a Q-School top-up) (68th, £22,500)
4 - Rory McLeod (69th, £22,000)
5 - Joe Swail (73rd, £19,600)
6 - Alexander Ursenbacher (77th, £18,600)
7 - Peter Lines (78th, £18,500)
=8 - James Cahill (competing as a Q-School top-up) and Paul Davison (Joint 81st, £16,500)
----------
With a number of events still to go, the chasing pack are tightly bunched, with another four players within £1,400 of Cahill and Davison:

10 - Gerard Greene (83rd, £16,100)
11 - Zhang Yong (84th, £16,000)
12 - Ross Muir (85th, £15,600)
13 - Dominic Dale (87th, £15,100)


This is also subject to a lot of change not just on the one-season list but as players move into or out of the top 64 on the provisional end-of-season list. For example, currently in 66th position is Zhao Xintong who is on the first year of a two-year tour card, but is set to get into the top 64 after one year. Having qualified for the World Grand Prix, the £5,000 he would be guaranteed would take him into the provisional top 64, knocking out Anthony Hamilton.


There's still a long way to go until this will all be decided during the World Championship qualifiers in April, while the next few months will see a number of cards being awarded over the various international amateur competitions starting with the Pan-American Championship.

Fantasy Snooker: Masters points and German Masters info

The second double points event of the season has come to a close and it has made a big difference to those in the running for this year's fantasy snooker title. Not only has Judd Trump's victory given defending champion Kellie Barker the lead once again in the standings, but she was joined by three other participants who fired up the standings by combining a pick on Trump by selecting losing finalist Ronnie O'Sullivan.

The others to select Trump and O'Sullivan were Phil Mudd (up to joint 8th from 19th), Kim Kristensen (up to 12th from joint 23rd) and Daniel Gavin (up to 15th from 27th). It remains tight though with the top four in the standings being separated by just 30 points, while each of the top nine in the standings are within 100 points, so a couple of good weeks for the chasing pack or a couple of bad weeks for the leaders could see the standings changing once more.


STANDINGS AFTER THE MASTERS:

Kellie Barker 789

Matt Butler 779

Daz Muckian 762

Ryan Duckett 759

Rob Chipp 735

FAM147 701

LTD Syndicate 695

Cluster of Reds 693

Phil Mudd 693

Stephen McCabe 681

Tungsten Darts 674

Kim Kristensen 672

Andy (APB147) 661

Rob Francis 650

Daniel Gavin 642

Shaun Hunt 634

Munraj Pal 629

Debbie Dymott 625

Voihelevettisua 609

Anatole Compton 608

Alex Abrahams 605

Anthony (antow73) 604

Dani M (esnukero) 602

Daniela Reich 595

Chris Watts 584

Phil Robinson 581

Martin Pearlman 559

The Cue View 536

Steven Bunn 530

Pete Tscherewik 527

Kelvin Platten 456

Andrew Devonshire 452

Markus 450

Next up in the Fantasy League is the German Masters and the deadline for picks there falls on Wednesday 30 January at 1pm before the first matches at the venue get underway. The qualifiers for this one were played just prior to Christmas meaning there are 32 players heading to Berlin with a shot at the title. Those that have a season pick in the 32 for Berlin will receive points from the last 128 and last 64 matches for that player (not shown in the above table).

Immediately following the German Masters will be the World Grand Prix and the draw for this event will only be confirmed after the event in Berlin has been completed so keep a close eye on that ahead of further upcoming picks in what will be a busy February on the baize. Don't forget in all of the busyness that you can only select a player three times over the course of the season and with a few top players missing from the German Masters draw, this week may be a good opportunity to look outside of the box a touch.

World champion Mark Williams falls short at the Master while Mark Selby flourishes

World Champion Mark Williams has fallen at the first hurdle in the 2019 Masters after letting a 3-1 lead slip, losing five frames in a row to fall 6-3 to Neil Robertson. Mark Selby meanwhile made three century breaks as well as further breaks of 95 and 96 on the way to an emphatic 6-2 victory against Stephen Maguire in what was by far the performance of the round.


Robertson had not been without chances in the opening four frames, but without setting the world alight it was Williams who took the early advantage. The tide turned in frame five though when Williams casually missed frame ball brown to lead 4-1, instead shooting himself in the foot as Robertson produced an exceptional 59 clearance to get back into the match and fully punish the poor play from Williams.

From there, Robertson began to find his stride, making a break of 102 in the next frame to level the match, before a break of 69 in the seventh put him ahead for the first time at 4-3, with Williams only scoring two points up from 57-0 ahead in frame five to falling behind. There was another killer blow in the eighth as he missed a chance to level the match, his break of 53 not doing enough to make it 4-4 and another tight frame would go the way of Robertson who moved one frame from victory. In the clinical fashion of a former champion, Robertson closed out the match with a fine break of 88, to progress to Friday's quarter-final.


Also in fine scoring form was three-time Masters champion Mark Selby as he demolished Stephen Maguire 6-2. After a long and scrappy opening frame went to Maguire on the colours, Selby quickly found his range responding with a break of 115 to swiftly level up the scores. In the third, the world number one moved ahead with a break of 95, missing the brown for the chance of consecutive centuries. He only had to wait until the next frame though to bring up three figures again, with a superb 125 clearance putting him 3-1 ahead at the interval in emphatic style.

Another frame of over half an hour went to the Scotsman after the interval to keep him in the match, but there was simply nothing he could do about Selby's scoring. Frame six saw the highest break of the match as Selby made a 133 to restore his two frame advantage, before a run of 96 where the world number one missed the black for his fourth century of the night made it 5-2. There were no big breaks to finish up but the damage had already been done long before the eighth and final frame, and Selby laid down his marker for a fourth Masters title with a very convincing 6-2 win.


Selby will now face Judd Trump who came through the 'grudge match' against Kyren Wilson in equally as comfortable fashion. 12 months ago Trump had blown a 5-2 lead against Wilson in the semi-final at Ally Pally and further losses to Wilson since would have fired him up to finally get one over on him. On the day though it was fairly easy pickings for the left-hander who started with a break of 128 as Wilson did not even pot a ball until he was 2-0 down. In that third frame though he relinquished a 57 point advantage as Trump cleared with 58 in a crucial frame that moved him 3-0 up, before a break of 81 made it 4-0. Another big opportunity came and went for Wilson in the fifth and the bad miss that cost him that frame also cost him any chances of a comeback as he fell 5-0 adrift. The warrior battled hard to win the next two frames, particularly the seventh after Trump had chances to close out the match, but there was to be no repeat of last year and a run of 72 in the next frame was enough to close out a 6-2 win.


In very similar style, 2016 runner-up Barry Hawkins progressed to a quarter-final with Neil Robertson by beating 2015 Masters champion Shaun Murphy. Hawkins took the opening two frames after missed opportunities for Murphy, who was not at the races early on in the match at all. Then, sensing the weakness in his opponent, Hawkins stretched his lead with breaks of 86 and 124 to take a massive 4-0 lead at the mid-session lead. The fifth would also go the way of the left-hander aided by a break of 60 as a humbling night continued for Murphy.

He was able to get a frame on the board with a break of 74 in the sixth, as the Magician jokingly took a bow to the crowd after avoiding the whitewash. Frame seven followed and then the eighth came down to the colours as Hawkins was perhaps starting to sweat a little. Murphy snookered himself on the yellow though and was then put into a far worse snooker by Hawkins, who would then clear from yellow to an impressive shot on match ball blue to close out what in the end was still an easy evenings work.

Quarter-Final draw (Bottom Half) 

Mark Selby Vs Judd Trump (Friday 18 January - 1pm)
Barry Hawkins Vs Neil Robertson (Friday 18 January - 7pm)


The first quarter-final in the bottom half of the draw sees Mark Selby face Judd Trump in what should be an excellent contest. Trump looked fresh and well-prepared for his match yesterday against Wilson but was still not quite at the level we know he can reach and he may well need to make that step up to beat the world number one. Selby played as well as he has all season in defeating Stephen Maguire 6-2. He made five breaks of at least 95 in a best-of-11 which will beat anyone on the planet and showed why he is a three time winner of this event. Selby will be fresh and raring to go having disappointed in the triple crown events in 2018, a first round loss at the UK Championship, followed by skipping the Scottish Open meaning that he had almost all of December off. The head-to-head between these two is even, at 5-5 in matches outside of the Championship League, though three of Selby's wins came prior to Trump's breakthrough in the 2011 China Open, where he beat Selby in the final. The last major meeting between the pair was well over two years ago though with Trump winning 6-2 in the 2016 European Masters semi-final. Overall, if Selby plays close to how he did against Stephen Maguire, he may get a closer contest out of Trump but you have to give the number one player the slight edge.

Then Neil Robertson and Barry Hawkins will complete the quarter-final action on Friday night in what is another intriguing contest. Both were emphatic winners in their first round matches but against below par opposition, making this a much tough proposition for both guys. Hawkins looked solid as ever against Murphy, even if he did stutter a little towards the winning line but if Robertson continues scoring as he has been this season then he will take some beating. When he sensed the opportunity at 3-1 down against Williams he made an excellent clearance and then hammered home the advantage he had picked up from that mentally by producing the heavy scoring that has been the trademark of his career. Outside of the Championship League, these two have met ten times in total, with Robertson winning six to give him the slight edge on the head-to-head. Hawkins however, has won three of the last four against Robertson, including a 10-6 win in the semi-finals of the 2018 China Open and a famous 13-12 victory in the 2015 World Championship quarter-finals. This is another incredibly tough match to call and it would not be any surprise if they needed a deciding frame to find the winner.


All the quarter-final matches will be played over the best-of-11 frames, ahead of two further best-of-11 semi-final matches on Saturday.

Defending Master Mark Allen beaten while Ronnie O'Sullivan progresses

Defending champion Mark Allen has been defeated in the first round of the Masters, but Ronnie O'Sullivan has progressed to the quarter-finals after the completion of the first four matches in London.

Allen was a strong favourite to defeat Belgian Luca Brecel, who is 37th on the provisional one-season ranking list compared to Allen who has led the way this season, but it was Brecel that found his form and came through 6-5.

Breaks of 75 and 50 featured from Brecel in the opening four frames as he took a 3-1 lead into the mid-session interval, but the scoring really hit another level after the break. Allen came storming back with a break of 96 followed by a 136 total clearance to level the scores at 3-3. Brecel then made the highest break of the match and set a very good early tournament high break target with a stunning 140 to move back ahead.

A run of 83 from Allen put him back level, but he could not steer ahead as the former China Champion moved 5-4 ahead aided by an 88 contribution. Allen fell one short of a second century, with a 99 break to force the final frame shoot-out. An excellent long pot started Brecel's early break of 58 but Allen had the chance to counter later in the frame, before going in-off on a thin cut on the brown and Brecel would eventually get over the line.


Masters specialist Ronnie O'Sullivan had no such problems as he defeated Stuart Bingham with ease 6-2. Bingham took a scrappy opener but never looked likely from that point on and did not perform to the level required to test O'Sullivan. The run of 96 that put O'Sullivan 2-1 was the moment the reigning UK champion found his form, following that with centuries either side of the interval. Those runs of 134 and 111 take him up to 988 career centuries, before a 60 break aided him in moving within a frame of victory at 5-1. Bingham kept O'Sullivan at bay with a run of 71 to get a second on the board and he looked like extending the match further before falling short on 62 in the ninth. That sparked a 66 counter clearance for O'Sullivan to force a re-spotted black, which he went on to win in order to seal victory.


Another former Masters champion was not so fortunate though as John Higgins fell in a final frame decider to Ryan Day. After losing a tight opener and another tight fourth frame in which he had chances to draw level, Day found himself 3-1 down at the interval. From there though, Higgins would only score another 10 points in the next three frames as Day found his scoring boots. A break of 52 was enough to secure the fifth frame, before following it up with a sublime 111 and a further 83 to move 4-3 up. Higgins drew level at 4-4, but only before Day would win a crucial frame nine after excellent pots on pink and black after a long battle on the colours. Higgins was not to be discouraged though, forcing a decider by comfortably taking the tenth. He did not get a match winning chance as Day was at his clinical best in the eleventh. A sensational long pot got him in first and left him perfect on the black and he would go from strength to strength, finishing with a sublime 128 break to move into the quarter-finals.


The first half of the opening round came to a close as Ding Junhui defeated Masters debutant Jack Lisowski 6-1, but the scoreline alone does not tell you the full story. Lisowski had clear cut chances in almost every frame that Ding won. Starting in the opener, Lisowski missed a straightforward black to leave Ding in and he took advantage of what Lisowski left with a break of 66 to take the opener. Then in the second, Lisowski missed the final red into the middle and paved the way for Ding to lead 2-0. Frame three came down to the pink and black, with Lisowski only needing the pink to take the frame. The left-hander narrowly missed out on three long attempts on the pink but the frame would go to Ding after an excellent long pot of his own followed by a fine cut on the black.

The fourth frame was another bad one for Lisowski as he took a commanding early lead before Ding got away with misses late on in the frame, before eventually taking that one on the black as well to lead 4-0. The one bright spark from either player came in frame five when Ding made the match high break of 123 to move 5-0 up. Lisowski did show the battling qualities to avoid a whitewash with a run of 60 helping him in taking frame six and he could have extended the match further, but for a casual miss when in amongst the balls in frame seven, leaving everything on for Ding. The Chinese number one made enough to leave Lisowski needing a snooker, completing a 6-1 win that could have been very different.


So already in the quarter-finals, we have two former champions taking on two slightly less established winners at this level.

Quarter-Final draw (Top half): 

Ding Junhui Vs Luca Brecel (Thursday 17 January - 7pm)
Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs Ryan Day (Thursday 17 January - 1pm)


In all likelihood now, most will be expecting an O'Sullivan Vs Ding semi-final but Day and Brecel will certainly have something to say about that. Brecel performed to a much higher level than Ding did in the opening round and while his form this season may not suggest a big run in this event, the Belgian is a very streaky player that could now be about to get on a very hot run. Ding looked far from convincing and had it not been for the potential nerves of Masters debutant Lisowski who missed a boat-load of chances, the 2011 champion could be on his way home again. That match was only the second Ding has won since lifting the trophy in 2011 (the year before the event moved to its current home) so he clearly has a vulnerability at Ally Pally and Brecel can exploit that if he scores as well as he did against Allen.

As for O'Sullivan and Day, the Welshman showed a lot of bottle in the deciding frame century he made against a star player in John Higgins and that is just the confidence boost a player needs before taking on the most daunting task on the planet. Playing O'Sullivan is tough enough at the best of times, but doing so in front of such a big crowd of which 99% will be supporting O'Sullivan is almost an impossible mission. O'Sullivan looked very solid in round one, without having to be spectacular against Bingham and you would not think he would need to go through too many gears in order to see off Day, unless the former Riga Masters champion is in flawless form.


There are still four first round matches to enjoy on Tuesday and Wednesday in the bottom half of the draw, and to see my thoughts on those take a look at quarters 3 and 4 in my initial Masters preview here

THE BIG MASTERS PREVIEW

The snooker year of 2019 kicks into top gear this week as the top 16 players on the world ranking list descend on London's Alexandra Palace for the Masters. The year's first triple crown event is one packed full of worthy contenders.

The season's first triple crown title went to Ronnie O'Sullivan as he defeated Mark Allen to win the UK Championships in December, and it is Allen that is the defending champion in the capital after his epic victory against Kyren Wilson in the final 12 months ago.

Allen and O'Sullivan are joined by a further 6 former Masters champions, while only one of the 16 players in Jack Lisowski is making his first appearance in the event, so there is big tournament winning experience everywhere you look.

As well as Lisowski breaking into the top 16, Stephen Maguire is back where he belongs, qualifying for the Masters again after a two year absence. Stuart Bingham is also back after being suspended for this event last year, while Neil Robertson was also absent 12 months ago after dropping out of the top 16 for the most important week of the year (before immediately retaking his place with a win in Scotland).

Those four replace Anthony McGill, Marco Fu, Ali Carter and Liang Wenbo in the four changes to the line-up from 2018. Plenty of drama can be expected once again and some top quality snooker from the 16 best players that the game has to offer.

Quarter 1 

First round draw: (Picks in bold)

Mark Allen Vs Luca Brecel (Sunday 13 January - 1pm)

Ding Junhui Vs Jack Lisowski (Monday 14 January - 7pm)

Defending champion Mark Allen opens up the tournament on Sunday afternoon with a repeat of the match that got him underway 12 months ago, as he takes on Luca Brecel. The Belgian fell down 6-3 on that occasion and his form has gotten progressively worse from that point on as he suffered a torrid 2018, failing to make a single world ranking event quarter-final. For Brecel, who is winless from four previous outings against Allen, winning this one would be a fantastic result, while the Northern Irishman will have serious aspirations of defending his title. Marches to victory at the International Championship and the recent Scottish Open will have him full of confidence, while Ronnie O'Sullivan was the only man who could stop him in York, as Allen had to settle for second prize at the UK Championship.

The other match in this top quarter sees debutant Jack Lisowski take on 2011 Masters champion Ding Junhui. That opening line may give you false ideas about how this match may go, but the season Lisowski has had to rise into the top 16, coupled with Ding's Masters record since the tournament moved to the Alexandra Palace in 2012 tell an entirely different tale. This will be Ding's eighth Masters in all since he lifted the illustrious trophy and he has managed just one match win in that time. Interestingly, he mentioned after a loss to Shaun Murphy in 2014 that he perhaps did not put enough work in over Christmas in order to give the tournament a good enough go and that quote has stood out ever since. Put that alongside a heavily reduced schedule this season since the birth of his first child and a fairly average season altogether and it is hard to see him as a firm contender this week. Lisowski though has a great chance in this match. He's been excellent this season, making his first ranking final in the season's opening event in Riga, before making the semi-finals of the International Championship and generally looking altogether more consistent than he ever has. His dedication has shone at the start of the 2019, lining up in group one of the Championship League (on New Year's Day) making the final of that group before winning group two.

All things considered, Allen is certainly the form man of this section while Lisowski certainly has an outside chance as long as he does not suffer any debutant nerves early on against Ding. 

Quarter choice: Mark Allen

Quarter 2

First round draw: (Picks in bold) 

John Higgins Vs Ryan Day (Sunday 13 January - 7pm)

Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs Stuart Bingham (Monday 14 January 1pm)

The opening game in this quarter between John Higgins and Ryan Day looks like a really tight affair and one that could hang on a knife edge. In the head-to-head, Higgins may lead the way overall but their last four meetings have been shared, with both of the last two going to deciding frames (Day winning 6-5 in Shanghai and Higgins 4-3 in Coventry). They did meet in the quarter-finals of this event 12 months ago when Higgins ran out 6-1 but his form this season does not point towards a repeat scoreline here. Early exits at the UK and International Championship are the stand out disappointments for a player that has spoken about retirement and losing his motivation with the game, after a second successive World Final defeat last May. Day has hardly set the world alight this season either, with a string of quarter-finals that could have become much more. The question here is whether either player turns up on the day. Day has been known to blow hot and cold at the best of times, while Higgins self-proclaimed lack of motivation may have resulted in a lack of practice time over the Christmas period.

Then on Monday afternoon, it is over to Masters legend Ronnie O'Sullivan and former world champion Stuart Bingham. Overall, the pair have met 17 times, though Bingham has only registered three victories in that time. One of those was the 2015 world quarter-final that inspired Bingham to his world title, though the three meetings since have all gone in O'Sullivan's favour. One of those was a semi-final at this event in 2016 which Ronnie won 6-3, while the other two were this season in Shanghai (6-2 O'Sullivan) and Coventry (4-2 O'Sullivan). Bingham may have had a strong season winning the English Open and making the UK Championship semi-finals, but O'Sullivan has been at the latter stages in every tournament he has played in. A winner at the Shanghai Masters, semi-finalist in the English Open, winner again at the Champion of Champions, finalist in Northern Ireland and then winning the UK Championship. A reduced schedule is helping him to contend in all the big events and helping him to stay motivated and he will be hungry for yet more Masters glory in front of his home fans.

In all, Bingham will most likely fall short against O'Sullivan, while either Higgins or Day would massively have to up their form from the first half of the season in order to get anywhere near him in the quarter-final. O'Sullivan is a firm favourite to lift the trophy next Sunday and the way he has played this season, it is hard to go against that. 

Quarter choice: Ronnie O'Sullivan

Quarter 3

First round draw: (Picks in bold) 

Mark Selby Vs Stephen Maguire (Wednesday 16 January - 7pm)

Judd Trump Vs Kyren Wilson (Wednesday 16 January - 1pm)

Three-time Masters champion and world number one Mark Selby features in the last of the first round matches on Wednesday evening taking on Stephen Maguire. Selby has not had the brightest start to the season in some peoples eyes, though he has won a big Chinese title in the early part of the season. The disappointment for him will come from another early York exit, this time at the hands of James Cahill in the last 128 round. One thing he does have is a slight edge against Maguire in the head-to-head, as well as winning their two previous matches in this event back in 2008 and 2010. Maguire's comeback in the last 16 of the UK Championship against Mark Williams showed that he can still produce the goods on the big stage, but Selby has all the tools to frustrate the hotheaded Scotsman. Given that he has not gone beyond the quarters since 2014, it would be easy to forget that Selby made the final of this event in five of his first seven attempts, while Maguire himself has lost in the first round here in four of his last six appearances. Unless Selby is really off his game in this one, you have to think that Maguire will need to be at his very best to come through.

The other tie in this third quarter is the one that has caught everyone's eye given their track record. The needle between Judd Trump and Kyren Wilson has really gone up a notch in recent months and both will be giving everything they've got to put the other in their place. Trump overcame Wilson twice in the recent Championship League groups, but without a big match atmosphere and much more on the line it is hard to use that as any kind of guide whatsoever. When it has mattered, Wilson has won the last four non-Championship League meetings against Trump, 6-1 in the Champion of Champions, 6-2 in the Shanghai Masters, 4-2 in the Romanian Masters and of course 6-5 from 5-2 down in the Masters semi-final last year. In all that means he has won 20 of their last 25 frames played outside of the Championship League and one of the matches in their head-to-head that may be forgotten is the 2015 Shanghai Masters final which Wilson won 10-9, another massive match where Wilson has got the better of Trump.

The danger for both players given the animosity between them is that they end up trying too hard, fail to produce their best which could result in a scrappy encounter or one player having a runaway win, or indeed taking so much out of themselves that they scupper their chances of going on and winning the title. In all honesty, this feels like a much bigger match for Trump than it does for Wilson. The left-hander has a few points to prove. First off he needs to beat Wilson in a big match because the record between them does not make for pretty reading. Then there is the much bigger task of having a big run in a triple crown event. This is his eighth Masters in a row and it is somewhat surprising that is yet to appear in the final, because on paper it is an event that should suit him down to the ground. He has had three semi-final appearances, but at the same time he has had three first round exits in the last five years at the Palace. This will also be his 22nd triple crown event since winning the 2011 UK Championships and he has only been in one final (the 2014 UK Championship) out of the previous 21, another huge surprise.

In all, Selby's Masters record is the stand out of those in this quarter and he will be hungry for a big run after the disappointment of the UK Championship. If Trump and Wilson's match is as much of a tight battle as anticipated, then Selby could be the benefactor if the winner of that clash shows any mental fatigue in the quarter-final. 

Quarter choice: Mark Selby

Quarter 4

First round draw: (Picks in bold) 

Barry Hawkins Vs Shaun Murphy (Tuesday 15 January - 7pm)

Mark Williams Vs Neil Robertson (Tuesday 15 January - 1pm)

The fourth and final quarter of the draw is probably one of the tightest to call. Starting with 2015 Masters champion Shaun Murphy's match up with 2016 runner-up Barry Hawkins, this is a really tough one to call. The pair actually met in round one here in 2017 with Murphy having a real off day in a 6-1 loss. Taking the Championship League and Snooker Shoot-Out out of the equation, that is one of Hawkins two wins against Murphy, from 11 previous attempts. The other may also have been a big match in the 2013 UK Championship, but Murphy won their very biggest tie in the 2015 World Championship semi-finals by a wide margin.
Their seasons have both been interesting ones. Murphy's has been stacked with early exits, including in the last 128 of the UK and International Championships, but things have looked up in recent times. Back with coach Chris Henry, who aided him in winning this title four years, he made the final of the Scottish Open with wins over Kyren Wilson and Judd Trump before a narrow loss to Mark Allen. Following that he won both of his German Masters qualifiers just before Christmas, making seven centuries in ten frames won. If that sort of form continues in London then he is major title contender, make no mistake. As for Hawkins, he was solid as a rock at the start of the season, making the Shanghai Masters final and having some other good results in China in the early part of the season. In recent times though he has suffered some early exits, including first round losses in both the Northern Ireland and Scottish Opens. It is hard to see this match being anything over than close, but if his form since getting back with Chris Henry continues, Murphy is a huge threat.

Then we have another epic battle lined up between world champion Mark Williams and 2012 Masters champion Neil Robertson. In the head-to-head Robertson has a slight edge and has won their two previous Masters match-ups in 2007 and on the road to victory in 2012. Robertson has a bit of a love affair with the Alexandra Palace. His victory year in 2012 was the first at the new venue and he has thrived since, making two further finals and never losing in the first round in the six times he has qualified for the Masters at this venue. For Williams, it is now 16 years since he last won this prestigious title and he has only appeared in one Masters semi-final since then. If their recent Masters records differ, then so to has their form this season. Williams may have won the World Open early on in the season, but since then he has not made a ranking quarter-final, losing in the last 16 of the UK Championships, the first round of the Champion of Champions and looking a little out of sorts at times, as his World Championship party has gone on a little too long. Robertson meanwhile has been focused from ball one, winning the Riga Masters and making the International Championship final. His failure to qualify for this event last year spurred him on to win the 2017 Scottish Open and he has looked more like the player we know with each passing event. A last 16 exit in the UK Championship and a quarter-final loss in another big event at the Champion of Champions both came at the hands of Mark Allen, who also beat him in that International final. With Allen safely in the opposing half of the draw this week, Robertson could be a serious title contender.

In all though, the second half of this season could be a big one for Murphy after his run to the final in Scotland. The confidence gained there will be re-enforced by having Chris Henry back by his side and that makes him a real dark horse for this title. 

Quarter choice: Shaun Murphy

Tournament winner selection: Ronnie O'Sullivan

For an alternative build-up to the Masters, it is worth listening to the podcast produced by the Racing Post, featuring the thoughts of their snooker expert Dave Clark who is also worth giving a follow on Twitter. You can listen to that in full (at just under the half hour in length) by clicking here.

As always, the first three rounds up to and including the semi-finals will be played over the best-of-11 frames at Alexandra Palace ahead of the best-of-19 frame showpiece final on January 20, where the winner will take home the Paul Hunter trophy and the £200,000 first prize. 

Fantasy Snooker: Updated points table and Masters information

After a month off from the Fantasy Snooker League since the Scottish Open concluded with a dramatic 9-7 victory for Mark Allen in the final against Shaun Murphy, the League returns with the second double points event of the season, as the Masters kicks off on Sunday.

Following a short turnaround from his UK Championship final loss to Ronnie O'Sullivan, not a single player in the league selected eventual winner Allen for the event in Glasgow, while only one participant fancied Murphy to turn around his poor season. One big mover in the table was Tungsten Darts who is up to joint 7th in a tightly bunched table after picking semi-finalist Judd Trump, quarter-finalist Ryan Day and having another quarter-finalist in Alfie Burden as one of his season picks.

There has also been a change at the very top of the standings with Daz Muckian overtaking Matt Butler, who saw his reign come to a quick end after some poor Scotland picking. In fact some of the picking across the board was below par, with two of the most popular picks being Stuart Bingham and Neil Robertson. Bingham would lose out 4-0 in the very first round, while defending champion Robertson would only go a round further, losing 4-2 to Ross Muir in the last 64.


So, here is how the table looks in full ahead of the Masters:

Daz Muckian 690

Matt Butler 677

Rob Chipp 661

Ryan Duckett 657

LTD Syndicate 651

Kellie Barker 637

Shaun Hunt 630

Tungsten Darts 630

Cluster of Reds 617

Rob Francis 616

FAM147 613

Andy (APB147) 613

Stephen McCabe 605

Voihelevettisua 605

Chris Watts 580

Phil Robinson 577

Munraj Pal 557

Debbie Dymott 553

Phil Mudd 541

Alex Abrahams 533

The Cue View 532

Daniela Reich 523

Anthony (antow73) 520

Kim Kristensen 520

Dani M (esnukero) 512

Anatole Compton 506

Daniel Gavin 490

Steven Bunn 482

Martin Pearlman 457

Pete Tscherewik 455

Square Sausage 436

Andrew Devonshire 422

Markus 420

Kelvin Platten 412

In all, the top 14 in the table are only separated by 85 points, which is not a huge margin leading into a double points, with a further nine events still to come thereafter. The double points offering at the Alexandra Palace may help to open the table up a bit, but with only 16 players to choose from there may also be a lot of repeat picks that could lead to very little separation whatsoever.

The deadline for your two Masters selections is prior to the first match between defending champion Mark Allen and Belgium's Luca Brecel on Sunday 13 January at 1pm. With plenty of points on offer still if you can pick the two finalists it is very much worth studying the draw closely before making the two selections. I would like to wish the very best of luck to all competitors ahead of the Masters, and the next update will follow events in London and lead into the German Masters at the very end of the month.