​The first day of competition at The Masters also brought the first surprise: Luca Bresel, the reigning world champion, was defeated in the inaugural round by Jack Lisowski.

Luca Bresel defeated by Jack Lisowski at The Masters

Lisovski (16th in the world) made a great start and took a 4-0 lead. Belgium’s Bresel (4th seed) closed the gap by winning two frames (4-2), but the Englishman was eventually able to prevail 6-2.

Shaun Murphy (6th place) will be Lisovski’s opponent in the quarters, after the Englishman beat China’s Zhang And (13th place) with a score of 6:2.

Masters, round of 16

Ronnie O’Sullivan (1st place) – Ding Junhui (11th place) / Monday, 15:00

Mark Williams (8) v Eli Carter (10) / Monday, 9pm

Judd Trump (2) v Kyren Wilson (9) / Tuesday 3 p.m

Neil Robertson (7) v Barry Hawkins (15) / Tuesday 9pm

Mark Allen (3) v John Higgins (12) / Wednesday 9pm

Mark Selby (5) v Robert Milkins (14) / Wed 9pm.

The Masters takes place from January 7 to 14, and there were 16 players at the start. The tournament is held at Alexandra Palace in London and offers a total prize pool of £725,000 (£250,000 to the winner). Judd Trump (2023) became the titular champion.