ADVANCE TO THE MASTERS 2024 | UK PREVIEW.
2024 Masters Race | UK Preview
The MrQ UK Championship is the last opportunity for players to secure prize money before the pivotal cut-off point that determines spots at the Masters in January.
The world’s top 16 players following the UK Championship, as in previous years, will earn a spot in the world’s premier invitational snooker event, which takes place in Alexandra Palace in London from January 7–14, 2024.
All prize money won at ranking events from the 2021 Scottish Open through the 2023 UK Championship is counted toward qualification.
The most recent Race to the Masters standings display the live rankings and the accurate image of each player’s mindset ahead of snooker’s return to York, already accounting for the prize money that has yet to be subtracted from the official world rankings from the 2021 UK Championship.
The defending champion Judd Trump will start as the number one seed in London, as has already been established. Luca Brecel, the current world champion, will be drawn as the second seed in the other half.
The remaining eight seeded positions in the draw are presently held by Ronnie O’Sullivan, Mark Allen, Mark Selby, Neil Robertson, Shaun Murphy, and Mark Williams.
Since the winner of the first Triple Crown Series event of the season will get a hefty first prize of £250,000 in York, all players, even David Lilley, who finished 74th, have the mathematical opportunity to qualify for the Masters by winning the championship.
The top 11 players in the UK Championship have already guaranteed their spots before the first ball is ever struck, with a big £69,000 difference between John Higgins and Jack Lisowski, who is ranked 12th.
With £32,000 separating him and 17th-placed Ding Junhui as the first chaser currently outside of the top 16, Lisowski would therefore be the first player at risk. Lisowski would not be able to compete in the Masters if any one of the following five things happened in his opening match in York:
Barry Hawkins, Robert Milkins, and Zhang Anda make it to the final 16.
Tom Ford advances to the semifinals.
Ryan Day or Ding Junhui advances to the semifinals.
Gary Wilson or Hossein Vafaei advances to the final
The championship can be won by any of the next 45 players.
Zhang Anda, the most recent global ranking event champion in snooker, is next in 13th place. After his breakthrough week at the International Championship, Zhang Anda shot into the top 16 for the first time in his career. If he were to lose his initial match in the UK and one of the following four things were to occur, he would qualify for his first Masters match:
Barry Hawkins or Robert Milkins make it to the last 16
Tom Ford advances to the semifinals.
Ryan Day or Ding Junhui advances to the semifinals.
Tony McGill, Gary Wilson, or Hossein Vafaei advance to the championship round.
The championship can be won by any of the next 44 players.
Three events would have to occur in order to prevent two-time ranking event winner Robert Milkins from qualifying for a third Masters appearance:
Reaching the final 16 is Barry Hawkins.
In the quarterfinals, Tom Ford or Ding Junhui advances.
To the semifinals, either Ryan Day or Hossein Vafaei
Finally, either Chris Wakelin, Anthony McGill, or Gary Wilson
Whoever finishes in the top 44 wins the championship.
Barry Hawkins, a two-time Masters finalist who is ranked 15th going into the UK Championship, is the penultimate player to be taken into consideration. Two of the following plus a last-32 elimination would be sufficient to eliminate him from contention:
In the countback, Tom Ford or Ding Junhui advances to the quarterfinals.
Hossein Vafaei or Ryan Day advances to the semifinals.
Chris Wakelin, Anthony McGill, or Gary Wilson make it to the final
The championship can be won by any of the next 45 players.
Tom Ford, a two-time semi-finalist in the UK Championship, is now “on the bubble” in 16th place and will be aiming to make his Masters debut in January. A loss in York in the final 32 along with one of the subsequent events would cause him to be eliminated:
Ding Junhui makes it to the last 16
Ryan Day advances to the semifinals.
Hossein Vafaei advances to the round of semis.
Stuart Bingham, Chris Wakelin, Gary Wilson, and Anthony McGill make it to the final
The championship can be won by any of the next 51 players.
These prerequisites also serve as the minimum goals for those who are not in the top 16, even if they must first meet the venue requirements in order to advance. The preliminary rounds are scheduled to start on Saturday.
Throughout the last phases of the UK Championship, regular updates on the most recent rankings will be posted online at wpbsa.com.
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