There is a plethora of high quality snooker on display for fans as Ronnie O'Sullivan looks to topple champion Shaun Murphy for the ultimate prize
07:00, 11 Jan 2026
The Masters kicks off on Sunday with Ronnie O'Sullivan and a host of other big names in action over the next week. Shaun Murphy is the current champion of the prestigious tournament after beating Kyren Wilson in the 2025 showpiece event.
The Masters will take place at Alexandra Palace, which has just played host to the World Darts Championship - with teenage sensation Luke Littler emerging as the winner again. Swapping the oche for snooker tables, the Palace will see a multitude of heavyweight clashes take place, with O'Sullivan concluding round one with a clash against two-time winner Neil Robertson on January 14.
The prize packet for the tournament stands at a stunning £1,015,000 with the winner to take home £350,000. There's £140,000 for the runner-up and £75,000 on the table for the semi-finals.
O'Sullivan is playing in the Masters this year but he spoke about potentially missing it altogether after his move to Dubai. "I probably won't play the Masters this year," he said to talkSPORT in October.
"I moved to Dubai, a lot of my work is in China and the Middle East so it made sense to be near. The jet lag was crucifying. It's not that easy to just get on a plane and come back to the UK.
"I think I'm just going to play the UK Championship, hopefully the Tour Championship if I've done enough, which I think I have because I did well in Saudi. Then the World Championship. It would be nice to win that one more time before I snap another cue."
Nevertheless, O'Sullivan is back for more. He's the youngest and oldest champion of the competition and has also won it the most times out of any player.
Here's everything you need to know about the Masters Snooker 2026.
TV channel
The Masters Snooker 2026 is being shown live on BBC One, BBC Two and the red button. It is also being broadcast on TNT Sports.
Live stream
You can live stream the Masters Snooker 2026 by using BBC iPlayer, the BBC Sport website and app, as well as Discovery+.
Masters schedule - round one
Sunday January 11
- 1pm: Shaun Murphy vs Wu Yize
- 7pm: Mark Selby vs Xiao Guodong
Monday January 12
- 1pm: Mark Williams vs Mark Allen
- 7pm: Zhao Xintong vs Gary Wilson
Tuesday January 13
- 1pm: Kyren Wilson vs Si Jiahui
- 7pm: John Higgins vs Barry Hawkins
Wednesday January 14
- 1pm: Judd Trump vs Ding Junhui
- 7pm: Neil Robertson vs Ronnie O'Sullivan