O'Sullivan to face Higgins at Masters
Ronnie O'Sullivan won his first Masters title in 1995
- Published
Defending champion Ronnie O’Sullivan will face two-time winner John Higgins in the first round as he bids for a record extending ninth Masters title next month.
O'Sullivan and Higgins are both part of snooker's famed 'Class of 92' and their meeting will be a repeat of the 2005 and 2006 finals, with the Englishman and the Scot, winning one each.
The prestigious invitational tournament, one of snooker’s Triple Crown events, will take place at London's Alexandra Palace between 12-19 January.
The draw for the first round took place during the UK Championship final with Barry Hawkins and Judd Trump, the world number one, selected to face each other again at the Masters.
World champion Kyren Wilson will play Zhang Anda, while three-time Crucible winner Mark Williams will face Ding Junhui.
The Masters features the top 16 players in the world rankings at the end of the UK Championship.
Masters - first round matches
Ronnie O’Sullivan v John Higgins
Kyren Wilson v Zhang Anda
Judd Trump v Barry Hawkins
Mark Selby v Ali Carter
Mark Allen v Si Jiahui
Mark Williams v Ding Junhui
Luca Brecel v Chris Wakelin
Shaun Murphy v Gary Wilson