Following the conclusion of the 2025 UK Championship on Sunday, the draw for the 2026 Masters is now set.
The draw was made during the final of the 2025 UK Championship.
Here is the announcement by WST:
Johnstone’s Paint Masters 2026 Draw
Shaun Murphy will face Wu Yize when he begins the defence of his Johnstone’s Paint Masters title at Alexandra Palace in London in January.
…
The draw has been made, pitching the top eight seeds at random against those seeded nine to 16:
Shaun Murphy (1) v Wu Yize
Mark Selby v Xiao GuodongNeil Robertson (5) v Ronnie O’Sullivan
Kyren Wilson (4) v Si Jiahui
Judd Trump (3) v Ding Junhui
Mark Williams (6) v Mark AllenJohn Higgins (7) v Barry Hawkins
Zhao Xintong (2) v Gary WilsonThe round one schedule is as follows:
Sunday January 11th
1pm – Shaun Murphy vs Wu Yize
7pm – Mark Selby vs Xiao Guodong
Monday January 12th
1pm – Mark Williams vs Mark Allen
7pm – Zhao Xintong vs Gary Wilson
Tuesday January 13th
1pm – Kyren Wilson vs Si Jiahui
7pm – John Higgins vs Barry Hawkins
Wednesday January 14th
1pm – Judd Trump vs Ding Junhui
7pm – Neil Robertson vs Ronnie O’Sullivan
That is, of course, provided Ronnie doesn’t withdraw. It’s a big event, it’s just one table … but he’s not a big fan of Alexandra Palace as attested by his hash criticism last year:
“Everywhere is dirty. It’s cold. It’s freezing, I have to wear my coat everywhere. You go through car parks. There are bins. Honestly, it just makes me feel ill.
“I‘m a bit of a clean freak and when I come in here it gives me the heebie-jeebies. I just can’t wait to get out of here.”
I have been there for several years in a row. I wouldn’t say it’s dirty, but it is indeed very hard to heat the place properly. The glass dome roof is beautiful but it doesn’t help the situation when it’s freezing cold outside. When it’s raining or snowing outside, the fans come in with wet coats, that they usually keep on, and the humidity level rises which only makes things worse. Cold and dampness is not a great combination.
Note that I have “corrected” the text shared by WST. In the draw as they published it, there was no Mark Selby and Ronnie was playing twice. 🙄.
And, of course, wether Ronnie will show up remains to be seen… he has a very difficult first match against Neil Robertson. Should he withdraw, he would likely be replaced by Chris Wakelin, currently ranked 17th, with a decent “cushion” of points ahead of Jak Jones, 18th.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 