Ronnie O’Sullivan reveals he was ‘on phone to Samaritans’ at snooker world championships
Judd Trump’s Masters title defence continues at Alexandra Palace this afternoon as he faces Ali Carter in an intriguing quarter-final clash.
Trump lifted the Masters trophy for the second time in his career 12 months ago, when he beat Mark Williams 10-8 in the final, although his defence looked destined to end at the first hurdle when he trailed Kyren Wilson 3-0 in the first round earlier this week.
The Bristolian then reeled off five frames on the spin to move to the brink of glory before Wilson hit back to force a decider at 5-5 and looked set to triumph when he got in first, only to break down and allow Trump to pinch victory 6-5 with a superb counter-clearance.
Carter, meanwhile, very handily defeated last year’s finalist Williams 6-4 in his opening match and now takes a crack at the reigning champ, with a semi-final spot against either Mark Allen or Mark Selby tomorrow awaiting the winner.
Follow live coverage of the quarter-final below:
What is the Masters prize money?
Here’s how much the players will earn at Ally Pally this week:
Highest break prize: £15,000
Total prize pot: £725,000
Luke Baker12 January 2024 12:27
When is the Masters and how to watch?
When is the tournament?
The Masters begins on Sunday 7 January at Alexandra Palace, and the final will be played on Sunday 14 January.
How to watch
The entire tournament will be broadcast on Eurosport and Discovery+, which are the rights holders in Ireland and the rest of Europe. Some matches will also be shown on BBC TV channels.
Viewers can stream the action online via the BBC Sport and BBC iPlayer websites and apps, as well as the Eurosport and Discovery+ website and apps.
Luke Baker12 January 2024 12:21
Masters snooker schedule and order of play today
Snooker returns to our screens in 2024 with the Masters at Alexandra Palace, one of the sport’s jewels in the Triple Crown.
The Masters is always a special event as the world’s best 16 players go up against one another in a straight knockout format.
There are several other past winners in this year’s tournament. Mark Selby has three Masters titles; John Higgins, Neil Robertson and Williams have all won it twice; Ding Junhui, Shaun Murphy, Mark Allen and Trump all have one title each.
Here is everything you need to know about the 2024 Masters.
Luke Baker12 January 2024 12:15
Judd Trump v Ali Carter
Good afternoon and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of the Masters snooker from Alexandra Palace. The dart boards have been packed away and the snooker table erected at Ally Pally for the first event of the year.
Ronnie O’Sullivan defeated Barry Hawkins in yesterday’s afternoon session to book a semi-final spot and we’ve got another cracking match coming up today as the reigning champion, Judd Trump, squares off against Ali Carter in the latest quarter-final.
Stick with us for full live coverage throughout the afternoon.
Luke Baker12 January 2024 12:09
