The 2025-26 Snooker Triple Crown began on November 29, 2025, with the first players competing at the 2025 Victorian Plumbing UK Championship. The other events in the series are the Masters and the World Championship in April and May. The Masters features the top 16 players in the snooker world rankings following the UK Championship, which wrapped up on December 7. The upcoming event takes place at Alexandra Palace in London, England.
Shaun Murphy is the Snooker Masters defending champion. The 43-year-old defeated Kyren Wilson 10–7 in the 2025 final. He also won The Masters in 2015 and placed second in 2012. Wilson is a two-time runner-up. He also placed second in 2018.
Ronnie O’Sullivan is the all-time leader in wins at The Masters with 8. Mark Selby is the second-most successful active player, having won The Masters three times. O’Sullivan’s most recent victory in the event came in 2024 when he defeated Ali Carter 10-7 in the final. O’Sullivan did not play in the 2025 event. He withdrew from the tournament for medical reasons.
Below, we look at the betting odds, picks, and predictions for the 2026 version of The Masters snooker tournament.
| To Win 2026 Snooker Masters |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Judd Trump | +325 | +350 | +325 |
| Ronnie O'Sullivan | +500 | +600 | +500 |
| Zhao Xintong | +500 | +400 | +500 |
| Kyren Wilson | +700 | +900 | +700 |
| Mark Selby | +700 | +700 | +700 |
| Neil Robertson | +1000 | +800 | +1000 |
| Shaun Murphy | +1100 | +800 | +1100 |
| John Higgins | +1200 | +1400 | +1200 |
| Luca Brecel | +1400 | TBA | +1400 |
| Mark Allen | +1400 | +1400 | +1400 |
| Ding Junhui | +1600 | +1800 | +1600 |
| Mark Williams | +1600 | +1400 | +1600 |
| Barry Hawkins | +1800 | +1800 | +1800 |
| Jack Lisowski | +2500 | TBA | +2500 |
| Si Jiahui | +2500 | +2500 | +2500 |
| Wu Yize | +2500 | +1200 | +2500 |
| Xiao Guodong | +2500 | +2000 | +2500 |
Judd Trump has two Masters win on his record. The 36-year-old English player first took home the title in 2019 with a win over Ronnie O’Sullivan. The win marked Trump’s first trip to the Masters’ Finals. He returned to the finals in 2023 and once again won the event, beating Mark Willians 10-8. Trump made it to the quarterfinals in 2024 and semifinals in 2025. Last year, he fell to Wilson, 6-3.
Trump is perennially among the top-ranked players in the game. He currently sits in the No. 1 spot in the rankings. Trump also ranks No. 3 all-time in prize money winners in snooker with over £9.5 million in career winnings. He follows O’Sullivan and John Higgins in the money rankings. Both men are 14 years older than Trump.
Trump is coming off a runner-up performance at the UK Championship.
The legendary Ronnie O’Sullivan won The Masters in back-to-back years in 2016 and 2017. He reached the final again in 2019, but between 2021 and 2023, the seven-time champ did not advance past the quarterfinals. He ended that drought in 2024 with his eighth victory, beating Ali Carter 10-7. However, O’Sullivan withdrew from the 2025 tournament the week of the event.
O’Sullivan, who celebrated his 50th birthday on December 5, did not win an event in 2025. He made it to the final of the 2025 Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters, but fell 10-9 to Neil Robertson. The last time O’Sullivan went a calendar year without a title was 2015, a year he did not play an event after April. O’Sullivan turned pro in 1992 and won a title every year from 1993 through 2014. He then had a run from 2016 through 2024. His most recent win was the 2024 World Masters of Snooker in Saudi Arabia in March of that year.
Despite his winless year, O’Sullivan is ranked No. 5. His £15.06 million in career winnings are by far the most in snooker history.
O’Sullivan was eliminated from the recent UK Championship via a 6-4 first-round loss to Zhou Yuelong.
The 28-year-old Zhao Xintong turned pro in 2019. He faced a 20-month ban in 2023 over allegations of match-fixing. He was ranked No. 6 at the time. Zhao returned to competition in 2024, winning the World Championship in his return to play, beating Mark Williams 18-12 in that event.
Xintong has been active during the 2025 snooker season, he has reached the semifinals four times and the finals once. He won that event, the 2025 Riyadh Season Snooker Championship, beating Neil Robertson 5-2.
Zhoa was eliminated in the second round of the recent UK Championship, falling 6-2 to Mark Selby.
Zhao has only played in The Masters once. He was eliminated in the first round of the 2022 event, losing 6-2 to John Higgins. He is the No. 11 ranked player and has £1.76 million in career winnings.
Judd Trump is the betting favorite for a reason, he is incredibly consistent and playing at a high-level right now, coming off a 10-8 loss to Mark Selby in the final of the UK Championship.
The betting pick is for Judd Trump to win the 2026 Snooker Masters tournament.
Once you are all up to speed on the latest snooker news and information, make sure to check out the fantastic array of resources for you over at SBS. Of course, for even more analysis on the topic covered here, you should bookmark our list of the best betting sites. Additionally, for those on the go, another fantastic page to familiarize yourself with is the best betting apps breakdown, which goes over all of the nuances of mobile betting sites and beyond. Finally, for those interested in maximizing their wagers, look no further than the best bonus betting sites guide, which contains a catalog of the latest and greatest welcome bonus offers.
About the Author
Trent's your man when it comes to all things sports. He covers a wide range of sports for Sports Betting Sites, and has been published in some pretty reputable outlets, such as USA Today Sports, Vice, Bloody Elbow, Fight! Magazine, UFC 360, and Narratively. Trent's got the inside track on all the happenings in the world of sports.
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