Draw Made For 2014 Masters

During the mid-session interval of this afternoon’s UK Championship final, we have also seen the draw for the first round of the 2014 Masters made by John Parrott and Jason Ferguson…

The draw in full is as follows:

Mark Selby v Mark Davis
Stuart Bingham v John Higgins
Judd Trump v Marco Fu
Ding Junhui v Shaun Murphy

Neil Robertson v Mark Allen
Stephen Maguire v Joe Perry
Barry Hawkins v Ricky Walden
Ronnie O’Sullivan v Robert Milkins

Immediately jumping out to me is the second quarter, which will see former Masters champion Ding Junhui battle it out with former finalists Marco Fu and Shaun Murphy, not to mention Judd Trump for a place in the semi-finals.

Having qualified for the tournament for the first time, Robert Milkins would have been hoping for an easier draw than Ronnie O’Sullivan, who of course defeated him 6-0 earlier this week, while the fixture between Neil Robertson and Mark Allen looks to be a thriller on paper.

Former champion John Higgins will be hoping to produce better form in London than he has of late and he will have to do so, if he is to defeat the in-form Stuart Bingham in his opener, while fellow Scot Stephen Maguire takes on Joe Perry in his first match.

The action begins on 12th January 2014…