Snooker Masters 2013

The Masters, arguably snooker’s most prestigious event, will see the best in the world will appear at the Alexandra Palace in London. Two notable absentees are missing from the draw, with neither Stephen Hendry nor Ronnie O’Sullivan in attendance. Hendry, a six time winner of the event, did not appear last season either, the first time since making his debut way back in 1989. This will be the first time that four time Masters winner O’Sullivan since the 1993/94 season. This is the second longest snooker tournament, first established in 1975.

Australia’s Neil Robertson is the defending champion at this year’s event, as he beat Shaun Murphy 10-6 in last year’s final to claim his first Masters crown. That was only victory of 2012 for the “Melbourne Machine” and the first time that he had gotten past the quarter finals. Still, with a title defence to motivate him, he is not bad value to look at, especially as the draw will keep him away from two of the strongest contenders. Due to his seeding as number one for the 2013 German Masters, Robertson would avoid Mark Selby or Judd Trump until the finals. It does leave John Higgins in his half of the draw though.

Scotland’s Higgins, who lost in the semi finals last year, is a two time winner of the Masters, but he last got his hands on the trophy back in the 2005/06 season. He is trading as one of the favourites in the outright betting for the Masters though, despite his drought at the event, his composed shot selection still not missing a beat after all the years in the game. The top half of the draw could come down to a big semi final clash between Robertson and Higgins. While the likes of last year’s runner up Shaun Murphy and 2010 Masters winner Ding Junhui are dangerous floaters, both have indifferent records at the event.

Down in the bottom half of the draw for the 2013 Masters is favourite Judd Trump. “Mr Haircut 100” really burst onto the scene when he took the China Open in 2011. That paved the way for the biggest win of his career at the UK Championship in the same year, also taking semi final berths in both The Masters and the Premier League Snooker championship that season too. One of the most exciting and prodigious young talents in the game, Trump has already reached the final of the Shanghai Masters and won the International Championship this season. It has been a rapid climb to the top and a Masters title may not be far away.

But coming back into good form, and one of the men most likely to deny him, is Mark Selby. The “Jester from Leicester” is a two time winner of the Masters, which included a triumph in the 2010 final against Ronnie O’Sullivan, one of the greatest Masters finals ever. After a solid 2011/12 season, which included a win at the Shanghai Masters, Selby could just be peaking at the right time with a win at the UK Championship at the beginning of last December. Selby only made it to the quarter finals at last year’s Masters.