The first day at the 2026 Masters didn’t go the way most expected. Two debutants, two Chinese players, were due to play against very experienced and successful English top players, both former winners of this very special event. Not many expected them to do well, never-mind to win their match, but that’s exactly what they did. Wu Yize and Xiao Guodong will meet each other in the quarter-finals at the Palace and hereafter are the reports by WST about their matches and wins.
China’s new sensation Wu Yize enjoyed an outstanding debut at the Johnstone’s Paint Masters as he ended Shaun Murphy’s hopes of back-to-back titles with a 6-2 victory on the opening day at Alexandra Palace.
Murphy, who beat Kyren Wilson in last year’s final, had hoped to become the first player to win this event in consecutive years since Ronnie O’Sullivan in 2016 and 2017. But in front of a packed crowd of 2,200 he was out-foxed by the brilliant 22-year-old Wu, who won his first ranking title at the International Championship in November, a result which boosted him into the world’s top 16 and earned him a first appearance in snooker’s biggest invitation event.
A disappointed Murphy told BBC: “I’ve looked forward to today since last year. It was the worst performance of my season, and maybe my worst ever performance at the Masters. I’m gutted, very below par. Everything I touched went wrong. None of my game performed well, but I’ve got absolutely no idea why. I’ve been working hard on my game, practising hard, playing a lot of snooker since the UK Championship, I didn’t expect to play like that. I’m as shocked as anyone.”
“Wu looked calm, he looked at ease. He’s a wonderful talent; he played really well today. He fully deserved his win, and he’ll be a handful for whoever he plays next.”
Wu dominated the opening exchanges, winning the first three frames with a top break of 137. Murphy, who also won this event in 2015, pulled one back but made a crucial error in frame five as an attempted safety on the last red left it over a baulk corner, handing Wu the chance to clear for 4-1.
Murphy dominated frame six, but Wu’s run of 56 in the seventh put him 5-2 ahead. Leading 50-23 in the eighth, Murphy ran out of position and played safe, and could only sit and watch as Wu cracked in a superb long red to set up a match-winning 44 clearance. He goes through to face Xiao Guodong or Mark Selby in the quarter-finals.
Wu said: “Coming down the stairs at the start of the match, it was exactly the stage I had dreamed of as a child. I felt proud of myself, to say the least. I was a bit lost in that moment. I don’t think Shaun played well either today. I played some good shots, but there were also some terrible mistakes. When it came down to crucial moments, I think my consistency gave me a slight edge in a few situations, and helped me to win. I just keep practising, staying in form, while waiting for my next match, and not putting too much pressure on myself.“
Mark Selby became the second multiple champion to lose to a debutant on the opening day of the Johnstone’s Paint Masters as he was beaten 6-2 by Xiao Guodong.
Following Wu Yize’s victory over Shaun Murphy earlier today, China’s Xiao followed up with an equally impressive win over an English all-time great. Having won the Wuhan Open in each of the last two seasons, Xiao has climbed into the elite top 16, and he proved his class tonight at Alexandra Palace with a century and four more breaks over 60 as he outplayed three-time Masters king Selby.
Xiao and Wu will now clash in the quarter-finals in London. It’s the first time since 2009 that two debutants have won their opening match in this event – on that occasion Mark Allen and Ricky Walden were the successful first-timers.
Selby looked the man to beat this week having won the Champion of Champions and UK Championship before Christmas, but his hopes of landing an 11th Triple Crown title were prematurely quashed.
Xiao, age 36, was near-flawless in the early stages as breaks of 95, 62, 76 and 77 put him 4-0 ahead. After the interval the momentum changed and Selby battled back to 4-2 with runs of 101 and 76. But the four-time World Champion missed a routine blue to centre early in frame seven which handed the initiative back to Xiao as a superb 118 made it 5-2.
Selby had a chance to snatch frame eight from 33-7 behind but missed a difficult final yellow along the baulk cushion, handing Xiao the opportunity to make a winning clearance which included an excellent pot on the brown to a centre pocket.
“When the draw came out I knew this would be a very tough game, especially as Mark has recently won two big tournaments,” said Xiao. “Perhaps nobody thought I could win. I just told myself to be confident and enjoy it. In the first four frames I put Mark under pressure and didn’t miss many balls. But I knew he would come back. The seventh frame was very important and when he missed the blue I made a century. At 4-3 it would have been very different.
“When Wu Yize first came to the UK for the first time we played together every day, we are good friends. One of us will go through to the semi-finals so it’s great for Chinese players.”
Selby said: “I didn’t have many chances in the first four frames, Xiao played really well. Then at 4-2 at I was trying to grip the blue to hold for the red, flicked a bit of side on it and missed it. If I had won that frame I would have fancied winning the match because I had the momentum. But Xiao did what he did all night, punished my mistakes. I am gutted because I came here feeling good and playing well. Even though I have lost I still feel good about my game.”
I like both of them. I got to meet Xiao many times and I always admired his mindset. I know that I wrote this before but, for not everyone is reading this blog every day for years, so I’ll say it again. Xiao arrived in the UK not speaking English at all. I met him at the South West Snooker Academy back then. He was a hard worker from the start, but he was also the one Chinese player who invested himself into learning the local language and socialise outside the “Chinese group”. He’s also someone who always tries to react positively to setbacks. One year, after losing at the World Qualifiers he was extremely disappointed but instead of retreating into himself, he went out and got his hair dyed in bright pink. He then came back to the venue, to watch and support the other Chinese lads who were still in the competition. I never met Wu but I like his game and his demeanour around the table. Yesterday I was disappointed though … what happened to your mullet, Wu? 💔
What pleased me about the results was that both broadcasters (BBC and ES/D+/TNT) had invested so much in building up Shaun Murphy and Mark Selby, with pre-match interviews, interval features and one-sided punditry. They did acknowledge that Wu and Xiao were ‘good players’, but in general the impression was that the matches were a foregone conclusion. It’s good if they are reminded that there are actually two players, and that the Masters field is so strong than any result is reasonable.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 
What pleased me about the results was that both broadcasters (BBC and ES/D+/TNT) had invested so much in building up Shaun Murphy and Mark Selby, with pre-match interviews, interval features and one-sided punditry. They did acknowledge that Wu and Xiao were ‘good players’, but in general the impression was that the matches were a foregone conclusion. It’s good if they are reminded that there are actually two players, and that the Masters field is so strong than any result is reasonable.