For seven sensational days between Sunday, January 7 and Saturday, January 14, the world's 16 best snooker players will descend on Alexandra Palace in London for the 50th edition of the Masters. The second major tournament of the Triple Crown Series is set to be a cracker, with major contenders in red-hot form and several outsiders also showing promise in what's been a thrilling circuit so far in 2023-24.
First played between 10 invitees in 1975, the Masters has become one of the jewels in snooker's Triple Crown and, after the World Snooker Championship, is the second-oldest professional competition in the sport that is still played today.
The tournament was expanded from a top 10 to the top 16 players in the world in 1984, and has followed a straight knockout format ever since. The 21 editions between 1990 and 2010 also including a wildcard round, in which usually the next two highest-ranked players would face seeds 15 and 16 for a place in the top 16.
The Masters has been played in a variety of venues since its inception, all but one of which have been in London. Alexandra Palace, known colloquially as 'Ally Pally' to snooker and darts fans alike, has been the host venue since 2011, aside from the 2021 tournament which was played in Milton Keynes.
When is the 2024 Masters?
Taking place over seven days, the 2024 Masters begins with the first round breaks between Sunday, January 7, and Wednesday, January 10, followed by the quarterfinals on January 11 and 12, the semifinals on Saturday, January 13, and culminating on Sunday, January 14 when the top two play off for the Paul Hunter Trophy in the final.
| Date | Match Start Times (GMT) | US (ET) | Canada (ET) | Australia (AEDT) |
| Sunday, January 7 | Brecel vs. Lisowski 1:00 p.m. Murphy vs. Zhang 7:00 p.m. | 8:00 a.m. 2:00 p.m. | 8:00 a.m. 2:00 p.m. | Monday, January 8 - 12:00 a.m. Monday, January 8 - 06:00 a.m. |
| Monday, January 8 | O'Sullivan vs. Ding 1:00 p.m. Williams vs. Carter 7:00 p.m. | 8:00 a.m. 2:00 p.m. | 8:00 a.m. 2:00 p.m. | Tuesday, January 9 - 12:00 a.m. Tuesday, January 9 - 06:00 a.m. |
| Tuesday, January 9 | Trump vs. Wilson 1:00 p.m. Robertson vs. Hawkins 7:00 p.m | 8:00 a.m. 2:00 p.m. | 8:00 a.m. 2:00 p.m. | Wednesday, January 10 - 12:00 a.m. Wednesday, January 10 - 06:00 a.m. |
| Wednesday, January 10 | Allen vs. Higgins 1:00 p.m. Selby vs. Milkins 7:00 p.m. | 8:00 a.m. 2:00 p.m. | 8:00 a.m. 2:00 p.m. | Thursday, January 11 - 12:00 a.m. Thursday, January 11 - 06:00 a.m. |
| Thursday, January 11 | 1st quarterfinal 1:00 p.m 2nd quarterfinal 7:00 p.m. | 8:00 a.m. 2:00 p.m. | 8:00 a.m. 2:00 p.m. | Friday, January 12 - 12:00 a.m. Friday, January 12 - 06:00 a.m. |
| Friday, January 12 | 3rd quarterfinal 1:00 p.m. 4th quarterfinal 7:00 p.m. | 8:00 a.m. 2:00 p.m. | 8:00 a.m. 2:00 p.m. | Saturday, January 13 - 12:00 a.m. Saturday, January 13 - 06:00 a.m. |
| Saturday, January 13 | 1st Semifinal 1:00 p.m. 2nd Semifinal 7:00 p.m. | 8:00 a.m. 2:00 p.m. | 8:00 a.m. 2:00 p.m. | Sunday, January 14 - 12:00 a.m. Sunday, January 14 - 06:00 a.m. |
| Sunday, January 14 | Final - 1:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. | 8:00 a.m. 2:00 p.m. | 8:00 a.m. 2:00 p.m. | Monday, January 15 - 12:00 a.m. Monday, January 15 - 06:00 a.m. |
2024 Masters TV channel, live stream
| TV channel | Live stream | |
| UK | BBC, BBC Red Button, Eurosport | BBC iPlayer, discovery+ |
| Canada | — | matchroom.live |
| US | — | DAZN |
| Australia | — | matchroom.live |
Which players are competing at the 2024 Masters?
Defending champion Judd Trump is on the lookout for a third title at this year's Masters, and in doing so the Englishman would become just the seventh player to have won the tournament more than twice.
Speaking of sevens, that's how many times Ronnie O'Sullivan has lifted the trophy — more than any other player in a record that doesn't look like being broken any time soon.
The last of Mark Selby's three competition victories came back in 2013, while current world number one and 2023 World Snooker Championship winner Luca Brecel is hoping to continue his strong form with a maiden title here. The Belgian is seeded second behind Trump and will face 16th-ranked Jack Lisowski in the tournament's opening frame.
| Seed | Player | Country |
| 1 | Judd Trump | England |
| 2 | Luca Brecel | Belgium |
| 3 | Ronnie O'Sullivan | England |
| 4 | Mark Allen | Northern Ireland |
| 5 | Mark Selby | England |
| 6 | Neil Robertson | Australia |
| 7 | Shaun Murphy | England |
| 8 | Mark Williams | Wales |
| 9 | Kyren Wilson | England |
| 10 | John Higgins | Scotland |
| 11 | Ali Carter | England |
| 12 | Ding Junhui | China |
| 13 | Zhang Anda | China |
| 14 | Robert Milkins | England |
| 15 | Barry Hawkins | England |
| 16 | Jack Lisowski | England |
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