The Shanghai Masters begins with three-time champion Ronnie O’Sullivan in the field

The fear of withdrawal may seem real because O’Sullivan played into the European Masters by canceling his entry on the day he was supposed to be at the table.…

However, no one has ever done anything like traveling to the other end of the world and not even starting a race. Maybe that would be an exaggeration even on his part. Steve DavisSomething similar happened to him, but he suffered a serious injury, as his head hit the door jamb… Fortunately, the world number one is shorter.

So it arrives on Tuesday afternoon (1:30pm Hungarian time). Ronnie O’Sullivan To the Shanghai Grand Theater and to Eurosport 2. His opponent Ali Carter Either will be a Chinese free card player.

O’Sullivan has won the last three editions of the Shanghai Masters. He won in 2017, the last time it was a points competition, and in 2018 and 2019, when the event was by invitation. Since then, neither the Shanghai Masters nor any other Chinese tournament has been held. O’Sullivan is therefore a three-time defending champion and, since lifting the trophy in 2009, a four-time champion of this competition.

From previous winners Dominic Dale, Ricky Walden And Stuart Bingham They are missing from this year’s field, as they are not members of the top 16. However, the two-time champion will be there Ding JunhuiCarter mentioned, as well Mark Selby, John Huggins OKJorn Wilson As former champions. And of course the other top players who have yet to win the Shanghai Masters: three-time finalist Shanghai Judd TrumpThree-time world champion Mark WilliamsThree-time winner in the UK Neil Robertsonthe three stomped Sean MurphyBeside Mark AllenAnd the reigning world champion, Luca Brecel also. The one who said before the European Masters that he was trying to hone his game for this competition, and who also got the nod for the World Championships.

In addition to the top 16 players in the world rankings, eight Chinese players are participating in the tournament. So the total is nine, with Deng ranked 15th in the world. Among the eight “free cards” there are very strong players, such as Chu Yuelong And Shi Jiahui, and the real free card players who aren’t household names, have never been professionals. All four of them are snooker players under the age of 21, and are the only ones he has actually heard of Bai Yulu, who is the 2019 World Junior Champion and a finalist at the 2023 Women’s World Championship. The top eight are seeded in the world rankings, so they do not play in the first round. As an opener, the world ranking is 9-16. The placed players face each other with a free card. The winners of these duals play in the second round against the top eight seeds. Matches continue until six frames have been won, except for the semi-finals, where there will be 10, and the final, where 11 frames must be won.

The events will be held at two tables until the end of the quarter-finals. You can watch the matches live on Eurosport, Eurosport 2 and eurosport.hu. Matches start at 8:30 a.m. Hungarian time (8:00 a.m. on Wednesday) and at 1:30 p.m. There will also be matches on Monday and Tuesday at 3:30 a.m., which will not be shown on television, but will be shown online.