Reigning champion Neil Robertson was dumped out of the Masters 2023 in the opening match as he suffered a 6-4 defeat to Shaun Murphy.
Robertson fought back from 5-1 down but revealed after he’d been suffering with a bout of flu. “When I look back it is probably one of the best performances of my career,” Robertson told Eurosport. “I had a horrendous bout of flu over the Christmas and New Year, just been in bed for a week and a half.
“Mille (Robertson’s wife) has been amazing as she got it as well but got up to look after the kids to allow me to get as much rest as possible. I have been going to the club and doing about 45 minutes (practice), which is about the most I can do. I am on a lot of painkillers and was really struggling out there physically.”
Here’s a full rundown of results and how to watch the action over the coming days.
MORE: Snooker match-fixing: Yan Bingtao among those suspended amid investigation
Masters 2023 snooker results
Round 1
Neil Robertson 4-6 Shaun Murphy
Mark Selby 2-6 Hossein Vafaei
Ronnie O’Sullivan 6-1 Luca Brecel
John Higgins 2-6 Jack Lisowski
Mark Allen 0-6 Barry Hawkins
Mark Williams 6-2 David Gilbert
Judd Trump 6-5 Ryan Day
Masters 2023 snooker venue
London’s Alexandra Palace, which has a capacity of 2,200 fans for each session, will be the setting for the Masters for a second successive year.
The tournament had been held at Alexandra Palace for nine years in a row before the showpiece was moved to Milton Keynes Arena, where it was held in a ‘bubble’ environment amid the Covid pandemic in 2021.
The tournament has also previously been staged at Wembley Arena, Wembley Conference Centre, the New London Theatre and, in its first edition in 1975, the West Centre Hotel.
Who is playing at the Masters 2023?
Neil Robertson started his tournament against another player to have won the Triple Crown — all three of the World Championship, UK Championship and Masters titles during their career — in Shaun Murphy with the latter taking a shock victory.
Known as ‘The Magician’, Murphy lost the 2012 final 10-6 to Robertson but emphatically avenged that defeat with a 10-2 thrashing when the pair met again in the 2015 decider.
World number one Ronnie O’Sullivan is likely to receive most of the attention as he seeks his first Masters title since 2017. The man immediately behind him in the rankings, Mark Selby, is taking part and last won the tournament 10 years ago, beating Robertson in the final.
Champion in 2021, Yan Bingtao, and Zhao Xintong, who won the UK Championship in the same year, will not be involved because they have been suspended by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association as part of a match-fixing investigation.
David Gilbert has taken Yan’s place, with Hossein Vafaei, who beat Selby, replacing Zhao.
| Player | Country | Seeding | World ranking |
| Neil Robertson | Australia | 1 | 3 |
| Ronnie O’Sullivan | England | 2 | 1 |
| Mark Selby | England | 3 | 2 |
| Judd Trump | England | 4 | 4 |
| Mark Allen | Northern Ireland | 5 | 5 |
| John Higgins | Scotland | 6 | 6 |
| Mark Williams | Wales | 7 | 7 |
| Kyren Wilson | England | 8 | 8 |
| Luca Brecel | Belgium | – | 10 |
| Shaun Murphy | England | – | 11 |
| Jack Lisowski | England | – | 12 |
| Barry Hawkins | England | – | 13 |
| Stuart Bingham | England | – | 14 |
| Ryan Day | Wales | – | 15 |
| David Gilbert | England | – | 18 |
| Hossein Vafaei | Iran | – | 19 |
Masters 2023 snooker schedule and times
Matches are played as the best of 11 frames until the final, which is played over two sessions and is the best of 19 frames.
*denotes play starts the following day local time.
| Match | Date | UK time (GMT) | US time (ET) | Canada time (ET) | Australia time (AEDT) | India (IST) | Hong Kong (HKT), Malaysia (MYT), Singapore (SGT) | New Zealand (NZDT) |
| Neil Robertson vs Shaun Murphy | Sun, Jan 8 | 13:00 | 08:00 | 08:00 | 00:00* | 18:30 | 21:00 | 02:00* |
| Mark Selby vs Hossein Vafaei | Sun, Jan 8 | 19:00 | 14:00 | 14:00 | 06:00 | 00:30* | 03:00* | 08:00* |
| Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Luca Brecel | Mon, Jan 9 | 13:00 | 08:00 | 08:00 | 00:00* | 18:30 | 21:00 | 02:00* |
| John Higgins vs Jack Lisowski | Mon, Jan 9 | 19:00 | 14:00 | 14:00 | 06:00 | 00:30* | 03:00* | 08:00* |
| Mark Allen vs Barry Hawkins | Tues, Jan 10 | 13:00 | 08:00 | 08:00 | 00:00* | 18:30 | 21:00 | 02:00* |
| Mark Williams vs David Gilbert | Tues, Jan 10 | 19:00 | 14:00 | 14:00 | 06:00 | 00:30* | 03:00* | 08:00* |
| Judd Trump vs Ryan Day | Wed, Jan 11 | 13:00 | 08:00 | 08:00 | 00:00* | 18:30 | 21:00 | 02:00* |
| Kyren Wilson vs Stuart Bingham | Wed, Jan 11 | 19:00 | 14:00 | 14:00 | 06:00 | 00:30* | 03:00* | 08:00* |
| Quarterfinal 4: Williams vs O’Sullivan | Thurs, Jan 12 | 13:00 | 08:00 | 08:00 | 00:00* | 18:30 | 21:00 | 02:00* |
| Quarterfinal 3: Vafaei vs Lisowski | Thurs, Jan 12 | 19:00 | 14:00 | 14:00 | 06:00 | 00:30* | 03:00* | 08:00* |
| Quarterfinal 2: Hawkins vs Trump | Fri, Jan 13 | 13:00 | 08:00 | 08:00 | 00:00* | 18:30 | 21:00 | 02:00* |
| Quarterfinal 1: Murphy vs Wilson / Bingham | Fri, Jan 13 | 19:00 | 14:00 | 14:00 | 06:00 | 00:30* | 03:00* | 08:00* |
| Semifinal 1: Quarterfinal 1 winner vs quarterfinal 2 winner | Sat, Jan 14 | 13:00 | 08:00 | 08:00 | 00:00* | 18:30 | 21:00 | 02:00* |
| Semifinal 2: Quarterfinal 3 winner vs quarterfinal 4 winner |
Sat, Jan 14 | 19:00 | 14:00 | 14:00 | 06:00 | 00:30* | 03:00* | 08:00* |
| Final: Semifinal 1 winner vs semifinal 2 winner | Sun, Jan 15 | 13:00 & 19:00 | 08:00 & 14:00 |
08:00 & 14:00 |
00:00* & 06:00* | 18:30 & 00:30* | 21:00 & 03:00* | 02:00* & 08:00* |
How to watch the Masters 2023 snooker tournament
Fans around the world can follow all of the action from the Masters via Matchroom.live and Paramount+.
Live coverage is also available through DAZN in the US, Eurosport in Europe, the BBC in the UK, Now TV in Hong Kong and Astro SuperSport in Malaysia.
| TV channel | Streaming | |
|---|---|---|
| USA | – | DAZN |
| Canada | — | Matchroom Live, Paramount+ |
| UK | BBC, BBC red button, Eurosport 2 | BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website |
| Australia | – | Matchroom Live, Paramount+ |
| New Zealand | – | Matchroom Live, Paramount+ |
| India | – | Matchroom Live, Paramount+ |
| Hong Kong | – | Now TV |
| Malaysia | — |
Astro SuperSport |
| Singapore | — | Matchroom Live, Paramount+ |
How to buy tickets for the Masters 2023 snooker tournament
As of January 7, limited tickets remained available only for the opening four days of the tournament, costing £29 including booking fees for one session or £45.50 for a full day.
Some premium seating was also still advertised, priced at £73 including fees for a single session or £111.50 for a full day.
VIP packages are available for fans feeling flush. Visit the tournament ticketing page for details.