Shaun Murphy and Mark Selby, two of the top players in snooker, have been knocked out of the 2026 Masters tournament on its opening day. The reigning champion, Murphy, lost to China's Wu Yize with a score of 6-2, while the current UK title holder, Selby, was defeated by Xiao Guodong also from China with the same score.
Murphy's exit was unexpected, as he had been looking forward to his victory for over a year and had worked hard to prepare for the tournament. He struggled throughout the match, losing the opening three frames and failing to take control of the game despite winning frame four. Wu Yize, on the other hand, played well and made several key breaks, including one of 137 in frame two.
Selby's defeat was a surprise, as he had won the UK Championship just last month and was considered a strong contender for the title. However, Xiao Guodong played some outstanding snooker, making breaks of 95, 62, 76, and 77 to take control of the game. Despite coming back from a 4-2 deficit, Selby ultimately fell short.
Xiao Guodong will now face Wu Yize in the quarter-finals on Thursday. The Chinese player is just 22 years old and has already won his first ranking title this year. He impressed throughout his match against Murphy and Selby, making key breaks and showing great composure under pressure.
Murphy's exit was unexpected, as he had been looking forward to his victory for over a year and had worked hard to prepare for the tournament. He struggled throughout the match, losing the opening three frames and failing to take control of the game despite winning frame four. Wu Yize, on the other hand, played well and made several key breaks, including one of 137 in frame two.
Selby's defeat was a surprise, as he had won the UK Championship just last month and was considered a strong contender for the title. However, Xiao Guodong played some outstanding snooker, making breaks of 95, 62, 76, and 77 to take control of the game. Despite coming back from a 4-2 deficit, Selby ultimately fell short.
Xiao Guodong will now face Wu Yize in the quarter-finals on Thursday. The Chinese player is just 22 years old and has already won his first ranking title this year. He impressed throughout his match against Murphy and Selby, making key breaks and showing great composure under pressure.
Shaun Murphy's exit from the Masters was defo a shocker! 
I thought for sure he'd take down Wu Yize, but that Chinese kid is on fire 
! Wu Yize played so well, made some sick breaks and took control of the game. Xiao Guodong too, did amazing stuff against Selby, those long pot breaks were insane 
! Now we gotta see what these two are gonna do in the quarters 
what happened to all that skill and strategy? it's like they just throw some balls at each other now 
but seriously, chinese players are on fire right now! Wu Yize is looking sharp and Xiao Guodong is making waves with those crazy breaks 
. He was on fire after winning that UK title and I thought for sure he'd make a deep run in this tournament.
The kid's got skills for days! Making those incredible breaks and staying calm under pressure? Yessss please! 22 years old and already a ranking title winner? That's insane! 
Can't wait to see him take on Wu Yize in the quarter-finals, this is gonna be some serious snooker action 
! Can't believe Shaun Murphy got knocked out by Wu Yize 
. I mean, he had been preparing for like a year, must've thought he was gonna take the title home 
... but I guess old habits die hard 
. And Mark Selby too, didn't see that coming 
. Xiao Guodong's form is on 
. Chinese snooker's looking strong! 
, and shaun murphy too... he was so hyped to win the masters this year 
. i didn't expect wu yize to beat him that easily either 
️. Bring it on for Thursday's quarter-finals, I want to see more of that amazing snooker action! 
Wu Yize is like a snooker prodigy 
it's gonna be so much fun watching them battle it out in the quarter-finals can't wait to see who wins it all 
] Oh man... Murphy and Selby's exit is like when you finally get the hang of a tricky recipe and then realize you left the stove on 
chinese snooker is on fire right now 
. and mark selby's defeat is a total head-scratcher 
The excitement of possibly witnessing an all-Chinese final is building up, isn't it? 
... I mean, Shaun Murphy and Mark Selby are supposed to be the best of the best, but they got beat by some young Chinese player 
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But hey, at least Wu Yize & Xiao Guodong are on fire