MATTHEW Stevens claims his 2000 Masters victory was so long ago he remembers little of it – so now he is intent on winning it again and writing a new chapter of success in his career.
Stevens faces an all-Welsh showdown against Mark Williams in the first round of one of snooker’s traditional big three titles, which began on Sunday at London’s Alexandra Palace.
The opening match of the 2013 Masters between defending champion Neil Robertson and 2011 winner Ding Junhui always had the look of a thriller about it, and so it proved as the Australian came back from 5-3 down to advance into the quarter-finals. There he will play Mark Allen, who also progressed with a 6-2 win against Mark Davis, despite an amusing foul with the extended rest…
So while the final round of the 2013 China Open qualifiers is played out in Sheffield today, tomorrow sees the start of the year’s first major, as the 2013 Masters kicks off at the Alexandra Palace in London. Click below for my thoughts ahead of the tournament…
WORLD number two Judd Trump believes he is playing better snooker than any of his rivals heading into the Masters.
The ‘Juddernaut’ lost his place at the top of the rankings following a shock first round exit to Mark Joyce at the UK Championship last month, but had been in stunning form prior to that.
And the 2011 World Championship runner-up is now preparing to add the Masters title to his UK Championship victory of 13 months ago.
SHAUN Murphy admits his impressive season so far is missing just one thing – some silverware.
And the 30-year-old is hoping that he can end his barren run, and in the process complete snooker’s elusive Triple Crown, at next week’s Masters in London.
So after snooker’s brief shut-down for the festive period, the action kicks off again this Friday with the conclusion of the season’s final PTC event, the European Tour 6 event in Munich.
From there will follow the start of the Championship League next week, ahead of the China Open qualifiers and then the big one, the 2013 Masters…
Further increasing their involvement in snooker, it has recently been announced that Betfair will sponsor the 2013 Masters tournament, in addition to the German Masters, Shoot Out and European Tour events already under its banner.
With the announcement also comes the draw for the 2013 event which you can view here, click below for more…
Congratulations to Neil Robertson who has tonight defeated Shaun Murphy 10-6 to win his first Masters title and maintain his formidable record in professional finals. In doing so he becomes the 12th player to have lifted both the World Championship and Masters titles…