Masters 2021 draw: Stuart Bingham v Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, Ronnie O'Sullivan v Ding Junhui

Defending champion Stuart Bingham will face debutant Thepchaiya Un-Nooh in the first round of the Masters at London's Alexandra Palace next month.

Record seven-time winner and world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan plays China's Ding Junhui, while world number one Judd Trump faces David Gilbert.

Neil Robertson plays Yan Bingtao and Mark Selby faces Stephen Maguire.

The event will see the return of fans to snooker, with organisers hoping to allow up to 1,000 in for each session.

All tournaments so far this season have been played in a bio-secure bubble at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes without fans in attendance.

The last event to feature spectators was the World Championship final in August, when about 300 people were allowed in for the showpiece at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre.

The 1997 world champion Ken Doherty said on BBC Two: "Ronnie v Ding, what a match that will be - and John Higgins v Mark Allen will be great too. It is good to see Thepchaiya in there making his debut in the tournament.

"You need crowds at sporting events and to have them back in January will be brilliant for the players. They need to feed off the adrenaline of the supporters and it inspires them."

2021 Masters draw in full:

John Higgins v Mark Allen

Stuart Bingham v Thepchaiya Un-Nooh

Ronnie O'Sullivan v Ding Junhui

Kyren Wilson v Jack Lisowski

Shaun Murphy v Mark Williams

Neil Robertson v Yan Bingtao

Judd Trump v David Gilbert

Mark Selby v Stephen Maguire

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