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Ronnie O’Sullivan is the bookies’ favourite to claim an eighth Masters crown as the world’s top 16 players descend on the Alexandra Palace starting January 8.
The 47-year-old, who last won the tournament in 2017, is 10/3 on the market to win the tournament ahead of two-time champion Neil Robertson (4/1), 2019 champion Judd Trump (9/2) and three-time victor Mark Selby (7/1).
Other former winners in the draw include Stuart Bingham (40/1), Mark Allen (12/1), Shaun Murphy (33/1), Mark Williams (20/1) and John Higgins (18/1).
World #1 O'Sullivan (1/3) is tasked with beating Belgian Luca Brecel (12/5) in the opening round. Brecel won his third ranking title in 2022 in the Championship League, but has won just one of three meetings against O'Sullivan - the quarter-final of the 2017 China Championship where he came back from 1-4 down to win 5-4.
Brecel also comes into the tournament after a strong English Open campaign in December where he reached the final, defeated 9-6 by Mark Selby.
The Brit, however, won the other two meetings 5-1 in frames. In the longer best-of-11 format for the Masters, a 6-1 win for O'Sullivan pays out at 13/2. O'Sullivan has just one century break in the three meetings against Brecel, with the Belgian notching three. O'Sullivan (21/10) and Brecel (2/1) are priced enticingly for zero and one century respectively.
2022 champion Robertson (1/3) has yet to reach a singles World Snooker Tour final in the current campaign, but he is heavily favoured to defeat 2015 champion Shaun Murphy (12/5). Robertson won three ranking events in the 2021-22 season, but hasn't faced Murphy since a 5-4 defeat at the European Masters in 2020.
Robertson owns the bragging rights with 24 wins over Murphy, the Englishman claiming 13 victories in the head-to-head match-up. A 6-1 (13/2) or 6-2 (9/2) frame win for Robertson looks good value on current form.
Trump is another who has failed to record a victory on the World Snooker Tour this season, but his perennial talent always makes him a contender. He did reach the final of the Champion of Champions tournament in October but lost 10-6 to O'Sullivan.
Trump (1/3) faces Ryan Day (12/5) - Day the winner of the British Open earlier in the season where he defeated Mark Allen 10-7 in the final. The pair last met at the 2021 WTS Pro Series where Trump took the honours 2-0.
In all, the head-to-head reads five wins for Trump, one for Day, and one draw. A 6-3 or 6-4 Trump win, both 9/2, is around the ballpark for value.
Other first round clashes see Selby (4/11) face Hossein Vafaei (11/5), Higgins (4/5) take on Jack Lisowski (Evens), Allen (8/15) duel with Barry Hawkins (6/4), Williams (4/7) play David Gilbert (11/8) and Kyren Wilson (8/15) battle Bingham (6/4).
