🎱 Shanghai Masters Snooker Tips and Betting Guide

Shanghai Masters 2023: Draw, Results and round previews

Final (21 frames)

Ronnie O'Sullivan 11 v Luca Brecel 9

Ronnie O'Sullivan won an amazing fourth consecutive Shanghai Masters and now has gone eighteen matches undefeated in this event.

Five previous matches between these two players with the head to head at 3-2 in favour of O'Sullivan. Brecel won the match that mattered most when the Belgium player won the last seven frames to win the last World Championship Quarter-Final, 13-10. In terms of Finals, O'Sullivan has won four out of the last five finals he has played in. Brecel has won three of the last five finals he has played in, including the last World Championships. O'Sullivan has been the heavier scorer in the earlier rounds having six centuries compared to Brecel's two.

Semi Finals (21 frames)

Ronnie O'Sullivan 10 v Mark Selby 7 

The two great rivals clashed once again and Selby took a 5-4 lead after the first session. Frames were exchanged in the second session until the score hit 7-7 but then O'Sullivan went into overdrive with breaks of 69, 109 and 118. 

Luca Brecel 10 Neil Robertson 7 

A first victory for Brecel over Robertson, with the World Champion losing his four previous meetings with the Australian. Brecel raced into a 3-0 lead and maintained a lead throughout the rest of the match.

Quarter Finals

Ronnie O'Sullivan 6 John Higgins 5

O'Sullivan maintained his record of beating Higgins in all their meetings in the Shanghai Masters with a tense 6-5 victory after being 5-2 down. Four centuries in the match.

Mark Selby 6 Judd Trump 1

A surprisingly comfortable victory for Selby who has picked up where he left off with his form in China. Selby's five breaks over fifty were far too good for Trump who has to wait for another year for his first Shanghai Masters title.

Neil Robertson 6 Fan Zhengyi 1

Another conmfortable victory but this one was perhaps more expected than Selby's over Trump. Robertson didn't need to be at his best to overcome Fan and the Australian managed two 50+ breaks and a century break to clinch the match

Luca Brecel 6 Robert Milkins 3

Luca Brecel seems to be finding the mantle of being World Champion very much to his liking and he did well to come through 6-2 against Milkins after being 2-0 down. Three breaks over 50 for the Belgium player.

Round 2

Ronnie O'Sullivan 6 Ali Carter 3 (O'Sullivan hit brakes of 101, 74 and 81 from 3-3 to win the match 6-3)

John Higgins 6 Kyren Wilson 3 (Wilson recorded breaks of 120 and 129 but it wasn't enough as Higgins runs out a comfortable winner)

Mark Selby 6 Hossein Vafaei 5 (Selby was in typical grinding form, going through 6-5 against Vafaei after the Iranian player came back from 5-3 down)

Judd Trump 6 Jack Lisowski 5 (Lisowski faught back from 5-2 down to 5-5 but ultimately lost out to his great friend)

Fan Zhengyi 6 Mark Allen 3 (Perhaps the first real shock of the event but an impressive performance from Fan to beat the current UK Champion)

Neil Robertson 6 Ding Junhui (A topsy turvy match with Robertson taking a 3-1 lead before Ding fought back to go 5-3 in front but the Australian took the last three frames to snatch a 6-5 victory)

Robert Milkins 6 Shaun Murphy 5 (Another final frame decider after Murphy led 4-2. Both players made centuries but eventually Milkins goes through to the quarter-final)

Luca Brecel 6 v Mark Williams 4 (four breaks over fifty, including a century, for the new World Champion)

Round 1

Ali Carter 6 Dong Zihao 2

John Higgins 6 Deng Hauhui 0

Hossein Vafaei 6 Gong Chanzhi 1

Jack Lisowski 6 v Zhou Yeulong 5

Fan Zhengyi 6 Gary Wilson 2

Ding Junhui 6 Si Jiahui 2

Robert Milkins 6 v Bai Yulu 1

Mark Williams 6 v Pang Junxu 1

Shanghai Masters 2023: High breaks

The players that are still in the tournament are listed below with details of their 50+ breaks, 100 breaks and highest breaks from Round two onwards:

Shanghai Masters 2023: Pre-tournament preview

Ronnie O'Sullivan is undoubtedly the big draw as the Shanghai Masters returns to the snooker rota for the first time since 2019. Four time winner O'Sullivan will be playing his first competitive snooker of the season, having not played since losing to Luca Brecel in the World Championships quarter-final in April. O'Sullivan has entered this tournament eight times, winning four (including the last three renewals) and made the Final on one other occasion.

Judd Trump will undoubtedly have his eye on winning this big event, together with the £210,000 prize money offered to the winner. Trump has a mixed record in the Shanghai Masters having made the Final on three occasions (in 2012, 2015 and 2017) but also losing in the first round on five occasions and twice going out in pre-tournament qualifying.

Mark Selby was definitely the player to follow in China before the break due to Covid, having won six big titles since 2015, three more than any other player in that time. 

To find out which players have previously done well in China check out our Player Form In China since 2015 blog.

Shaun Murphy made it to the Final the last time the Shanghai Masters was played but didn't progress past the semi-finals in eleven other appearances.

Thirteen appearances in the Shanghai Masters for Neil Robertson with a best return of two appearances in a semi-final. Robertson has won four events in China but only one since 2014.

Surprisingly, only three of John Higgins' thirty-one ranking titles have come in China so perhaps the Scot finds playing in Asia not to his liking.

One of new World Champion Luca Brecel's four ranking titles came in China (China Championship 2017) so the Belgian player could go well this week. It will be fascinating to see how Brecel fairs this season now that he will be the player everyone wants to beat.  

Ding Junhui has won the Shanghai Masters on two previous occasions (2013 and 2016) and remains the big draw for the home fans, despite an indifferent few recent seasons.

Mark Allen was the player of last season winning the Northern Ireland Open, the UK Championship and the World Grand Prix. Allen's first two ranking event wins came in China (World Open 2012 and 2013) so the Northern Irish player will be looking forward to getting back to playing in China. Despite his successes last season Allen appears to still be understimated by the bookies who regularly have in the betting behind players such as Higgins and Robertson who have not been winning anywhere near as much in recent seasons.

Shanghai Masters Format

• Matches played up to and including the Quarter Finals will be played over eleven frames
• The semi-finals will be played over nineteen frames
• The final will be played over twenty-one frames

All the current tips on OLBG for the Shanghai Masters and other snooker events can be found on the snooker best tips page.

Shanghai Masters History

Dominic Dale won the second of his two ranking events when taking the very first Shanghai Masters in 2007. Dale beat fellow Welshman, Ryan Day 10-6 in the Final.

The following year, Ronnie O'Sullivan made the first of his five appearances in the Final, but this was the only occasion where he didn't lift the trophy. O'Sullivan was beaten 10-8 by Ricky Walden, who was winning his first ranking event.

O'Sullivan rectified matters the following year when defeating Liang Wenbo 10-5 in the 2009 Final. O'Sullivan would go on to three more Shanghai Masters' victories in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

Apart from O'Sullivan, Ding Junhui is only player to win the Shanghai Masters more than once with victories in 2013 and 2016.

Shanghai Masters: Last Ten Winners

Ronnie O'Sullivan has won the last three renewals of the Shanghai Masters: