On January 16, 2025, Beijing time, the first round of the World Snooker Masters concluded.
Brechel defeated Wakelin 6-3, while Kyren Wilson narrowly won against Zhang Anda with a score of 6-4. Allen beat Si Jiahui 6-2, and Trump easily defeated Hawkins 6-1.
Selby swept Carter 6-1, while Ding Junhui made a comeback to defeat Mark Williams 6-5. Murphy eliminated Gary Wilson 6-3, and Robertson won five consecutive games to reverse Higgins 6-5.
Thus, the top eight of the Masters have been determined, including Brechel, Kyren Wilson, Allen, Trump, Selby, Ding Junhui, Murphy, and Neil Robertson.
In the next round, Murphy will face Robertson, while Selby will take on Allen. Ding Junhui will encounter Trump, and Brechel will compete against Kyren Wilson for a spot in the semifinals.
In the first round of the Masters, Brechel, Kyren Wilson, and Allen all performed well and successfully advanced to the top eight.
In the match between Brechel and Wakelin, Brechel announced his strong return. The former world champion defeated Wakelin 6-3 with single-stroke scores of 89, 57, and 73 points, and two consecutive victories.
The newly crowned world champion only scored two 69-point shots in the game, but he eliminated Chinese snooker star Zhang Anda, who had scored 141 points and three 50+ shots, with a 6-4 victory to advance.
Allen, who is currently in great form, defeated Si Jiahui 6-2 with single-stroke scores of 111, 70, 94, and 80 points, and three consecutive victories to enter the top eight.
The biggest highlight of this Masters is the gathering of the "Five Tigers of the 80s." World number one Trump scored 59, 60, 56, and 112 points in a row, winning five consecutive games to eliminate Hawkins 6-1.
Selbi scored 108, 126, 62, 93, and 53 points in a row with an excellent performance to easily defeat Carter 6-1. China's number one player, Ding Junhui, scored 69, 64, 60, 66, 76, 90 points in a row and two consecutive victories to reverse and kill Mark Williams 6-5.
Murphy scored 103, 69, 56, and 64 points in a row and four consecutive victories to eliminate Gary Wilson 6-3. The top Australian player scored 63, 118, 80, and 57 points in a row and five consecutive victories to reverse and kill Higgins 6-5, performing an epic comeback in this Masters and achieving godly status all the way.
The schedule and preview for the quarterfinals of the Masters are as follows.
At 21:00 on January 16, 2025, Beijing time, the second round of the World Snooker Masters will officially begin, with the following specific schedule:
At 21:00 on January 16th, Robertson will face Murphy. At 3:00 on January 17th, Allen will meet Selbi. At 21:00, Ding Junhui will face Trump. At 3:00 on January 18th, Brechel will meet Kyren Wilson.
In the matches between Robertson and Murphy, Robertson has a record of 25 wins and 14 losses. In the past matches between Allen and Selbi, Selbi has a record of 13 wins and 14 losses. In the matches between Trump and Ding Junhui, Trump has a record of 11 wins and 9 losses. In the matches between Kyren Wilson and Brechel, Brechel has a record of 5 wins and 4 losses.
Judging from the past matches of the four games, only the record between Robertson and Murphy has a relatively large difference, while the records of the other three games are very close. Therefore, the results of the matches will be unpredictable, and any player has the hope of winning.