On January 15, 2025, Beijing time, the third day of the Snooker Masters competition concluded with the completion of the fifth and sixth matches in the first round. The lower-ranked players were unable to pull off any upsets, as Barry Hawkins was eliminated by Judd Trump, and Si Jiahui was defeated by Mark Allen. So far, six players have advanced to the quarterfinals, all from the 80s generation, including the "Five Tigers of the 80s," and Judd Trump will face Ding Junhui again in the quarterfinals.
The fifth match of the first round saw Judd Trump against Barry Hawkins. Trump only managed two breaks over 50 in the first half but still took a 4-0 lead. After the break, Trump made a single shot of 56 points to secure a match point, while Hawkins responded with a single shot of 70 points to save one match point. However, Trump then scored a single shot of 112 points in the seventh game to defeat Hawkins 5-1 and easily advance to the quarterfinals. Next, Trump will face Ding Junhui in the quarterfinals.
Trump stated that Ding Junhui has returned to his best form and is a great player and person, looking forward to facing him. Obviously, for Ding Junhui, facing world number one Judd Trump is a tough challenge, but his narrow victory over Mark Williams in the first round will give him more confidence. As long as Ding Junhui maintains a stable mindset, he also has a good chance to continue advancing, especially since his form is getting better and better.
The second Chinese player to compete was Si Jiahui, who made his debut at the Masters. Although he made single shots of 103 points and 60 points, he lost three consecutive games after being 2-3 down, ultimately losing 2-6 to Mark Allen and failing to cause an upset, thus ending his Masters run early. Allen made single shots of 111 points, 70 points, 94 points, and 80 points, winning relatively easily. With this, after the first three days of competition, six players have advanced to the quarterfinals, all from the 80s generation. Besides Allen, the others are the traditional "Five Tigers of the 80s": Judd Trump, Mark Selby, Neil Robertson, Ding Junhui, and Shaun Murphy.
The confirmed quarterfinal matchups are Neil Robertson vs. Shaun Murphy, Mark Allen vs. Mark Selby, and Judd Trump vs. Ding Junhui. On the fourth day of the main event, the last two matches of the first round will be held. First, at 21:00 Beijing time on January 15, it will be Kyren Wilson against Chinese player Zhang Anda, followed by the concluding match of the first round at 3:00 AM Beijing time on January 16, featuring Luca Brecel against Chris Wakelin.