The 2025 Masters (officially the 2025 Johnstone's Paint Masters) was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 12 to 19 January 2025 at Alexandra Palace in London, England. The second Triple Crown event of the 202425 season, following the 2024 UK Championship and preceding the 2025 World Snooker Championship, the tournament was the 51st edition of the Masters, which was first held in 1975. Organised by the World Snooker Tour and sponsored by Johnstone's Paint, the event was broadcast by the BBC domestically, by Discovery+ and Eurosport in Europe, and by other broadcasters worldwide. The winner received £350,000 from a total prize fund of £1,015,000.
The top 16 players in the snooker world rankings, as they stood after the 2024 UK Championship, were invited to the event. Ronnie O'Sullivan, who had defeated Ali Carter 107 in the previous year's final to win a eighth Masters title, withdrew on medical grounds and was replaced in the draw by Neil Robertson, who had been ranked 17th after the UK Championship. Si Jiahui and Chris Wakelin made their Masters debuts at the event. By reaching the , Judd Trump broke O'Sullivan's record for the most prize money earned in a single season.
Shaun Murphy won the tournament, defeating Kyren Wilson 107 in the final to secure his second Masters title and fourth Triple Crown title. He became the 12th player to win the Masters multiple times. The tournament produced 20 century breaks, of which the highest was a maximum break by Murphy in his match against Mark Allen. It was the sixth maximum break in Masters history and the ninth of Murphy's professional career.
Overview
The 2025 Masters was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 12 to 19 January 2025 at Alexandra Palace in London, England. The second Triple Crown event of the 202425 season, following the 2024 UK Championship and preceding the 2025 World Snooker Championship, the tournament was the 51st edition of the Masters, which was first held in 1975 for 10 invited players at the West Centre Hotel in London. John Spencer won the inaugural event, defeating Ray Reardon on a in the deciding frame of the final. The professional snooker tournament, after the World Snooker Championship, the Masters had been staged at Alexandra Palace since 2012.
As of 2025, Ronnie O'Sullivan was the most successful player in the tournament's history, having won the title eight times. O'Sullivan also held records as both the tournament's youngest and oldest winner, having won his first title in 1995, aged 19, and his eighth title in 2024, aged 48.
In 2016, the Masters trophy was renamed the Paul Hunter Trophy to honour the late champion, who won the title in 2001, 2002, and 2004. Hunter died of cancer in 2006, aged 27.
Participants, draw and format
The original invitees to the event were the top 16 players in the snooker world rankings, as they stood after the 2024 UK Championship. Si Jiahui and Chris Wakelin, who both entered the top 16 for the first time in the 202425 season, made their Masters debuts. Neil Robertson, ranked 17th after the UK Championship, was set to miss the tournament for the first time since 2018. However, O'Sullivan, who had won his eighth Masters title at the previous year's event by defeating Ali Carter 107 in the final, withdrew from the tournament on medical grounds. Robertson replaced O'Sullivan in the draw.
The draw for the tournament was made during the final of the 2024 UK Championship, where the top eight seeds were drawn at random against players seeded 9 through 16. Matches were played as the best of 11 until the final, which was played as the best of 19 frames, held over two .
Broadcasters and viewership The tournament was broadcast in the United Kingdom by the BBC, BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and in Europe (including the UK and Ireland) by Eurosport and Discovery+. It was broadcast in China by CCTV5, Huya, the Academy WeChat Channel and the Academy Douyin. It was broadcast in Hong Kong by Now TV, in Malaysia and Brunei by Astro SuperSport, in Taiwan by Sport Cast, in Thailand by TrueVisions, and in the Philippines by Premier Sports. In all other territories, the event was streamed by WST Play.
The event achieved 41.9 million live viewer hours across the BBC and Eurosport coverage in the UK, a 4 percent increase over the previous year. The BBC coverage achieved 39.9 million live viewer hours over 72.5 linear broadcast hours. Across mainland Europe, the Eurosport coverage attracted 23.7 million viewers, a 20 percent increase over the previous year. The BBC Two coverage of the evening session of the final was watched by an average of 1.5 million viewers, with a peak of 2 million viewers.
Prize money The winner of the event received the Paul Hunter Trophy and £350,000 from a total prize pool of £1,015,000, an increase of £290,000 over the previous year and the first time in the tournaments' history that the total prize pool exceeded £1 million. The breakdown of prize money for the event is shown below:
Winner: £350,000 Runner-up: £140,000 Semi-finals: £75,000 Quarter-finals: £40,000 Last 16: £25,000 Highest : £15,000
Total: £1,015,000
Summary First round
The first-round matches were played from 12 to 15 January as the best of 11 frames. Neil Robertson, who replaced Ronnie O'Sullivan in the draw, faced John Higgins, who made a 31st consecutive appearance at the event. It was the first time the two players had met at the Masters. Robertson won the first frame, but Higgins made six breaks as he took a 51 lead. However, Robertson made breaks including 63, 118, and 80 as he tied the scores at 55 and then won the after Higgins missed a pot while on a break of 35. Robertson's victory marked only the sixth time in the tournament's history that a player had recovered from 1–5 behind to win 6–5. It was Higgins's 16th defeat at the Masters and the ninth time he had lost a deciding frame at the tournament, out of 11 played. "I don't think [Higgins] did a lot wrong. I played at my absolute best," Robertson said afterwards. Shaun Murphy faced Gary Wilson, who made his second Masters appearance and his first at Alexandra Palace. Murphy produced breaks including 69, 56, and 64 as he took a 40 lead at the interval. Wilson then won three consecutive frames, making breaks including 101 and 92, as he reduced Murphy's lead to one at 43. However, Murphy took the eighth frame with a century break of 102 and also won the ninth to secure a 63 victory. Commenting afterwards on Wilson's comeback, Murphy said: "When it got to 43 it wasn't red alert, but it was yellow alert. So I was pleased to make a good break for 53." Wilson spoke about his ongoing struggle with the yips, saying "I couldn't even enjoy the occasion because I'm frustrated with the way I'm playing." He commented that "I'm getting to the end of my tether," saying: "My game's shot. My cue action's shot."
In the match between Mark Williams and Ding Junhui, the scores were tied at 22 at the interval. Williams took the fifth frame with a break of 70. Ding won frames six and seven with breaks of 60 and 64, but Williams produced a 136 century in the eighth to tie the scores at 44. Ding established a lead in the ninth but missed a , after which Williams cleared the table to win the frame by one point and lead 54. However, Ding won the tenth frame and then made a 90 break in the decider to secure a 65 victory and reach his eighth Masters . "My concentration and confidence [were] good after the interval. I didn't think too much about winning or losing," said Ding afterwards. Mark Selby played the previous year's Ali Carter. Selby won the first frame, helped by a 62 break, and won the second frame after a safety exchange on the final . He then made breaks of 108 and 92 as he moved into a 40 lead at the interval. After , Selby almost managed to force a in the fifth, but Carter won the frame after Selby missed the final . In the sixth frame, Selby made his second century of the match, a 126, and went on to win the match 61 with a 53 in the seventh. "I felt a bit edgy at the start but winning the second frame was huge," said Selby afterwards. "I kicked on after that and felt comfortable." Carter called his own performance "absolute rubbish."
Judd Trump, the world number one, played Barry Hawkins, whom he had defeated 108 in the 2024 UK Championship final the previous month. Trump moved into a 50 lead, twice taking advantage of foul shots that Hawkins committed while attempting to the reds. Hawkins made a 70 break to win the sixth, but Trump made a 112 century in the seventh for a 61 victory. Trump's win meant that he had reached the in 19 of his last 20 tournaments. "I didn't do a lot wrong and punished his mistakes, I didn't miss anything easy," said Trump afterwards. Hawkins commented: "[Trump] is playing some great stuff and every time I made a mistake he capitalised." Facing Masters debutant Si Jiahui, Mark Allen won the opening frame following a safety battle on the last red. Si took the second with a 103 century, but Allen made breaks of 111 and 70 to lead 31 at the interval. Si won the fifth, but Allen made a 94 break to win the sixth and also took the seventh to move one frame from victory at 52. After Si missed a red to a corner pocket in frame eight, Allen sealed a 62 victory with an 80 break, advancing to his tenth Masters . "I played well, my safety was very good and I made it tough for him," commented Allen afterwards.
The reigning World Champion, Kyren Wilson, faced Zhang Anda, who was making his second Masters appearance. Wilson won the opening frame after a safety battle on the colours. Zhang leveled with an 85 break in the second, but Wilson took the third. Zhang established a advantage in the fourth frame before running out of position, and Wilson produced a 69 clearance to lead 31. Following the interval, Wilson failed to score for over 40 minutes as Zhang made breaks of 65 and 83, tying the scores at 33. Wilson made a 69 break to win frame seven, but Zhang responded with a 141 , his first century at the Masters and the highest break of the first round, to draw level again at 44. Leading by 52 points in frame nine, Wilson missed a pot on the blue to a corner pocket. However, Zhang missed a black off its spot while on a break of 26, allowing Wilson to secure the frame and move one from victory at 54. With three reds remaining in the tenth frame, Wilson potted a red to a middle pocket and made a 38 break to secure a 64 victory. Wilson potted fewer balls in the match than his opponent, who outscored him cumulatively by 712 points to 437. Wilson said afterwards: "I feel like I managed to pinch the key frames." He praised Zhang, calling him "fantastic" and saying: "I have never seen such a consistent display of long potting." Zhang commented: "I needed a very strong performance and I was a little bit unlucky." Wilson advanced to his fifth Masters and his first in three years, following defeats in 2023 and 2024.