2024 Masters: Schedule confirmed as Ronnie O’Sullivan takes on Ding Junhui in first round headliner
![Ronnie O'Sullivan holds the Paul Hunter trophy after his victory during day eight of the Dafabet Masters at Alexandra Palace, London.](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.planetsport.com%2Fimage-library%2Fland%2F700%2Fr%2Fronnie-osullivan-22-january-2017.webp&w=3840&q=75)
Ronnie O’Sullivan and Ding Junhui will clash again in the first round of the Masters at Alexandra Palace in London next month, with the fixtures for snooker’s biggest invitation event now confirmed.
The tournament will run from January 7 to 14 and a small number of tickets for certain sessions are still available despite over 98% of standard tickets having already been sold.
World Champion Luca Brecel will face Jack Lisowski in the opening match at 1pm on Sunday January 7th.
On Monday January 8th at 1pm, O’Sullivan will meet Ding in a repeat of the UK Championship final, which the Rocket won 10-7 to capture his 22nd Triple Crown title.
The full schedule is below, with seedings of the top eight in brackets.
Sunday January 7th
1pm: (2) Luca Brecel v Jack Lisowski
7pm: (7) Shaun Murphy v Zhang Anda
Monday January 8th
1pm: (3) Ronnie O’Sullivan v Ding Junhui
7pm: (8) Mark Williams v Ali Carter
Tuesday January 9th
1pm: (1) Judd Trump v Kyren Wilson
7pm: (6) Neil Robertson v Barry Hawkins
Wednesday January 10th
1pm: (4) Mark Allen v John Higgins
7pm: (5) Mark Selby v Robert Milkins
Quarter-finals
Thursday January 11th
1pm: QF3 O’Sullivan or Ding v Robertson or Hawkins
7pm: QF4 Brecel or Lisowski v Murphy or Zhang
Friday January 12th
1pm: QF1 Trump or Wilson v Williams or Carter
7pm: QF2 Allen or Higgins v Selby or Milkins
Semi-finals
Saturday January 13th
1pm: Winner of QF3 v Winner of QF4
7pm: Winner of QF1 v Winner of QF2
Final
Sunday January 14th
1pm and 7pm.
Judd Trump will be defending the title having beaten Mark Williams in last season’s final. As always, the field is packed with snooker’s greatest stars, as only the world’s top 16 earn the chance to compete for the Paul Hunter Trophy and £250,000 top prize.
In recent years the Masters has gained a reputation for its extraordinary atmosphere, with up to 2,000 fans packing the fabulous Alexandra Palace arena.
And aside from the action on the baize, there is so much to experience for fans at the venue including interactive games, the chance to play snooker and receive free coaching in CueZone and the opportunity to watch the pros practising.
The Masters is one of snooker’s most historic events, first held in 1975 so this is the 50th staging of the tournament. It will be televised by BBC, Eurosport, CCTV5 and a wide range of broadcasters across the globe.