Judd Trump will begin the defence of his Dafabet Masters title against Shaun Murphy at Alexandra Palace next month.
The draw for snooker’s biggest invitation tournament has been made, with the top eight seeds drawn at random against those seeded nine to 16.
Trump won the title for the first time last season, beating Ronnie O’Sullivan 10-4 in the final, and will face 2015 Masters winner Murphy in the first round this time.
The tournament runs from January 12 to 19 in North London. It’s one of snooker’s Triple Crown events, contested by the world’s top 16 players. The top prize this time has been boosted from £200,000 to £250,000.
The first round draw is:
Judd Trump v Shaun Murphy: Tuesday January 14 at 1pm
Ding Junhui v Joe Perry: Sunday January 12 at 1pm
Mark Selby v Ali Carter: Sunday January 12 at 7pm
John Higgins v Barry Hawkins: Tuesday January 14 at 7pm
Neil Robertson v Stephen Maguire: Monday January 13 at 1pm
Mark Allen v David Gilbert: Monday January 13 at 7pm
Kyren Wilson v Jack Lisowski: Wednesday January 15 at 1pm
Mark Williams v Stuart Bingham: Wednesday January 15 at 7pm
Quarter-finals:
QF1: Thursday January 16 at 1pm
QF2: Thursday January 16 at 7pm
QF3: Friday January 17 at 1pm
QF4: Friday January 17 at 7pm
Semi-finals:
Winner QF1 v Winner QF2: Saturday January 18 at 1pm
Winner QF3 v Winner QF4: Saturday January 18 at 7pm
Final: Sunday January 19 at 1pm and 7pm
Tickets for most sessions are still available but anyone wanting to attend is advised to book quickly now that the draw has been released.
For details call 0871 620 7052 (calls cost 13p plus network access charges) or visit www.worldsnooker.com/tickets
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