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Ronnie O'Sullivan will take on Ding Junhui at the Masters

Ronnie O'Sullivan, a seven-time Masters champion, will take on China's Ding Junhui in the first round of the tournament at Alexandra Palace; Stuart Bingham will be out to defend his title against the rest of the world's top 16 with the tournament welcoming snooker fans back in 2021

Monday 7 December 2020 12:15, UK

Ronnie O'Sullivan plays a shot during his match against Ding Junhui in the fourth round of the Betway UK Championship at The Barbican on December 05, 2019 in York, England.
Image: Ronnie O'Sullivan will face Ding Junhui at The Masters next month

Ronnie O'Sullivan will face Ding Junhui when he returns to the Masters at Alexandra Palace next month.

Snooker chiefs are planning for up to 1,000 fans to attend each session following a relaxation of the Government's lockdown rules.

O'Sullivan, a record seven-time Masters champion, skipped the tournament last season and his replacement Ali Carter reached the final, where he was beaten by Stuart Bingham.

Ding Junhui (L) of China and Ronnie O'Sullivan of England look toward the table on January 15, 2012 during the first round match of the BGC Masters snooker tournament at Alexandra Palace in north London.
Image: Ding Junhui (left) has yet to beat O'Sullivan at the tournament

The Essex cueman has won all four of his previous meetings with Ding at the tournament, including the 2007 final and 2019 semi-final.

Bingham starts against Masters debutant Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, Judd Trump will take on last year's semi-finalist David Gilbert and Neil Robertson plays Yan Bingtao with the winner receiving £250,000.

Stuart Bingham poses for a photo with the Paul Hunter Trophy after victory in the Final of the Dafabet Masters between Stuart Bingham and Ali Carter at Alexandra Palace on January 19, 2020 in London, England.
Image: Stuart Bingham poses with the Paul Hunter Trophy

Masters draw

Stuart Bingham vs Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (Monday January 11 at 1pm)
Shaun Murphy vs Mark Williams (Monday January 11 at 7pm)
Mark Selby vs Stephen Maguire (Tuesday January 12 at 7pm)
Neil Robertson vs Yan Bingtao (Tuesday January 12 at 1pm)
Judd Trump vs David Gilbert (Sunday January 10 at 1pm)
Kyren Wilson vs Jack Lisowski (Sunday January 10 at 7pm)
John Higgins vs Mark Allen (Wednesday January 13 at 7pm)
Ronnie O'Sullivan vs Ding Junhui (Wednesday January 13 at 1pm)

Quarter-final schedule
QF1 (Bingham or Un-Nooh v Murphy or Williams): Thursday January 14 at 7pm
QF2 (Selby or Maguire v Robertson or Yan): Friday January 15 at 7pm
QF3 (Trump or Gilbert v Wilson or Lisowski): Thursday January 14 at 1pm
QF4 (Higgins or Allen v O'Sullivan or Ding): Friday January 15 at 1pm

Also See:

Semi-final schedule
SF1: Saturday January 16 at 1pm
SF2: Saturday January 16 at 7pm

Final
Sunday January 17 at 1pm and 7pm

For those on the move, we will have the Snooker & Pool season covered via our website skysports.com/more-sports, our app for mobile devices, or our Twitter account @skysportspool for latest news and reports.

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