2020 Masters Snooker: Who will ‘go all the way’ at Alexandra Palace?

The 2020 Masters is well underway, with several shocks already witnessed after just one round of action.

The prestigious event returns to Alexandra Palace in London, and has been held there since 2012. The competition sees the world’s top 16 snooker players come together.

But seven-time champion Ronnie O’Sullivan has opted against appearing at the tournament this time around.

He’s been replaced by world number 17 Ali Carter, who has already upset the odds by beating world number four Mark Selby in the first match of the competition.

In a long list of shocks, defending champions Judd Trump has also been knocked out.

The world number one beat O’Sullivan in last year’s final, but lost to Shaun Murphy in this year’s round of 16.

Joe Perry also caused an upset by beating Junhui Ding 6-3, with David Gilbert beating 2018 Masters champions Mark Allen 6-1 in their best of 11 frames meeting.

Scotland’s John Higgins then beat Barry Hawkins by the same scoreline, after his fellow Scot Stephen Maguire added to the shocks to overcome Neil Robertson.

World number 15 Maguire used all his experience and talents to edge out the Australian 6-5 in a thrilling encounter.

And in the final games of the opening round, Kyren Wilson beat fellow Englishman Jack Lisowski, while Stuart Bingham overcame Mark Williams.

The quarter-finals get underway on Thursday, with the first match pairing together England duo Murphy and Perry.

Murphy is currently 1/2 win the match, with his opponent available at 13/8.

The other quarter-final encounters include Carter against Higgins, and Maguire against Gilbert.

Carter is currently 15/8 to win his game, with Higgins 2/5 to come out on top. Maguire is 11/10 to progress, with Gilbert currently 8/11.

Also meeting are Wilson and Bingham. They are both 9/10 to win the game.

The semi-finals of the historic tournament take place on Saturday, where it will be best of 11 frames. With the draw already made, the winner of Murphy/Perry will take on the winner of Carter/Higgins. And it’s Maguire/Gilbert who will take on Wilson/Bingham.

The final then involves eight frames in the first session on Sunday afternoon, with Sunday evening hosting the remaining frames in the best of 19 frames meeting.

And it’s currently 3/1 for favourite Higgins to go all the way and win the tournament, with Carter currently 14/1. Murphy can be backed at 7/2 to lift the trophy, while Perry is available at 16/1.

Maguire is currently 8/1 to clinch success at the 2020 event.

Masters debutant Gilbert finds himself at 13/2 to secure overall victory, with Wilson and Bingham both available at 11/2.