The Masters

Nicknames from past and present

The Warrior - Kyren Wilson
Ace in the pack - Judd Trump
The Angry Farmer - David Gilbert
The Force - Peter Ebdon
The Sheriff of Pottingham - Anthony Hamilton
Stamina Man - Ricky Walden
Wizard of Wishaw - John Higgins
The Captain - Ali Carter
Basildon - Nigel Bond
The Pistol - Mark Allen
The Grinder - Cliff Thorburn
Licensed to thrill - Anthony McGill
Angles - Alan McManus
The Outlaw - Joe Swail
Starship Trooper - Kirk Stevens
Scoobie - Alain Robidoux

And my personal fave:
Duchess of Doom - Allison Fisher

They don't hang about...

A lot of potential close calls in that first round draw. Difficult to pick one stand out match as a lot of them are absolute belters.

David Gilbert has been awarded a spot in The Masters at Alexandra Palace after the suspension of Yan Bingtao.
This is due to Gilbert being next in line at 17th in the rankings at the cut off point.
He will face Mark Williams in round one.

If Yan Bingtao has been suspended for allegations of match fixing has Ding Junhui also suffered ther same fate?

Due to the suspension of Zhao Xintong an amendment has now been made to the opening round draw.

Hossein Vafaei takes up the slot in the draw and will face Mark Selby on Sunday.

Today it's

Neil Robertson v Shaun Murphy

Mark Selby v Hossein Vafaei

Tubs Murphy beat Robbo fairly comfortably.

Day One.

Shaun Murphy bt Neil Robertson 6-4

Hossein Vafaei bt Mark Selby 6-2

Ronnie O'Sullivan has completed a 6-1 victory over Luca Brecel to reach the quarter finals.
Brecel had chances in frames 2 and 3 but careless errors allowed O'Sullivan to lead 3-0.
The Belgian rolled in a century before the mid session interval but the Rocket responded with a pair of sublime centuries of his own before wrapping up a comfortable win.

This evening features the match between John Higgins and Jack Lisowski.