World No. 1 Selby to open snooker Masters against Williams

LONDON, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- World No. 1 Mark Selby will face Mark Williams in the opening match of the snooker Masters to be held at Alexandra Palace on Sunday afternoon.

Selby, who won the title three times, also met two-time winner Williams in the first round last year, when Selby edged a 6-5 win thanks to a break of 89 in the last frame.

Selby said: "Mark was one of the players I wanted to avoid in the draw because he has been playing well. We had a great match in the first round last year and I'm sure it will be the same this time.

"Alexandra Palace is one of the best venues on the circuit and all the players strive to play in the big tournaments in front of big crowds."

The Masters runs from January 14 to 21 featuring 16 of the world's top stars, with a top prize of 200,000 pounds up for grabs.

Schedule:

Sunday, 14 January

Mark Selby, England, vs Mark Williams, Wales

Mark Allen, Northern Ireland, vs Luca Brecel, Belgium

Monday, 15 January

Ding Junhui, China, vs Ryan Day, Wales

Judd Trump, England, vs Liang Wenbo, China

Tuesday, 16 January

Ronnie O' Sullivan, England, vs Marco Fu, Hong Kong, China

Barry Hawkins, England, vs Kyren Wilson, England

Wednesday, 17 January

Shaun Murphy, England, vs Ali Carter, England

John Higgins, Scotland, vs Anthony McGill, Scotland

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