Xiao makes a break of 62 after a 95 in frame one, but it is not enough yet. He misses a red into the middle and there’s still enough points in play for Selby to save this frame.

Mark Selby left half a chance when going safe and that was all Xiao Guodong needs to get going in frame two. Could be 0-2 here.

Xiao Guodong had never played at Alexandra Palace before today. He’s making himself feel at home.

Mark Selby gets his first point of the match with a fine long red and that leads to him scoring 21, but he has no luck when going into the pack of reds and has to go safe as a result.

What a start for Xiao as he takes the opening frame with a superb display of potting after a fluke red to get going.

He makes a break of 95, but can’t get a century in his first frame at Alexandra Palace as he misses a slow rolled red into the middle.

The first chance of the night goes to Xiao after a bit of a fluke to get started, but there are plenty of points available here.

I hope John Higgins wins it this year. He’s been at the top for many years but hasn’t seen Triple Crown success for a while now. I’d love to see him on a winning run again!

Daz, Kent

Away we go with our evening entertainment. We have already seen one Chinese debutant record a fantastic victory today, will the same happen tonight?

Mark Selby looked back to his formidable best at the UK Championship and is arguably the favourite to win his fourth Masters title, despite only being seeded eighth.

Only Ronnie O’Sullivan (23), Stephen Hendry (18) and Steve Davis (15) have won more Triple Crown events than Selby, who when on song, is virtually unplayable.

The Englishman, has also reached three semi-finals, two quarter-finals and won the Champion of Champions this term.

He is way ahead of Xiao Guodong, when it comes to pretty much every metric this season and has the better head-to-head record.

But the 42-year-old has not gone beyond the last eight at the Masters since 2014, so this well be an intriguing contest against debutant Xiao, who won the Wuhan Open earlier this term.

Click the ‘Contact form’ to share your thoughts, reactions and your predictions for the 2026 Masters champion

BBC Four

We are live on BBC Four and you can watch all the action by pressing the watch live tab at the top of the page.

We’re back for the evening session on day one of the 2026 Masters as Mark Selby takes on Xiao Guodong.

What a way to start this year’s Masters with 2025 champion Shaun Murphy heading home after a 6-2 loss to China’s Wu Yize.

We’re going to be pausing this page for a bit now, before the evening session starts at 19:00 GMT as reigning UK champion Mark Selby faces Xiao Guodong.

See you then.

This was how Wu Yize completed his 6-2 win over 2025 Masters champion Shaun Murphy.

Let’s hear from this afternoon’s winner now…

“I felt a bit of pressure when I entered the stadium because it was the first time I’ve played in such a big stadium and the fans were so enthusiastic,” said Wu Yize.

“After the first frame I felt a bit more relaxed and I totally enjoyed the atmosphere. It’s definitely a great achievement for myself, my first time playing at the Masters and the first time beating Shaun Murphy.”

For 43-year-old Shaun Murphy, who reached the semi-final of the UK Championship last month, it was a disappointing afternoon with him failing to register a single break of 50.

“I’ve been looking forward to today for a year, walking out as champion, but I enjoyed the first 10 minutes,” said Murphy. “I didn’t play well, certainly the worst performance of my season, maybe the worst in the Masters.

“I’m very disappointed. None of it was there, I felt everything I touched was not there. I’ve been working very hard, practicing hard, playing a lot of snooker so I didn’t expect to play like that and I’m as shocked as anyone.

“Wu looked calm, looked at ease and fully deserved his win. He will be a handful for anyone he plays.”

Reigning Masters champion Shaun Murphy was eliminated on day one of the 2026 event, losing 6-2 to China’s Wu Yize in the first round.

Murphy, who beat Kyren Wilson to win the Triple Crown event for a second time a year ago, lost all of the opening three frames and, despite taking frame four, then lost the fifth on a black-ball finish.

Wu, 22, is ranked 13th in the world and picked up his first ranking title in November when he won the International Championship in Yanjing in his home country, beating world champions Judd Trump, Zhao Xintong and John Higgins along the way.

On his Alexandra Palace debut, Wu made a superb clearance of 137 in frame two and a break of 56 in frame seven.

He will play either current UK champion Mark Selby or China’s Xiao Guodong in the quarter-finals on Thursday.

Shaun Murphy gets to 49, his best break of the day, but then runs out of position at 50-23 ahead with four reds left on the baize.

A lifeline for Shaun Murphy as Wu Yize, 23-1 in front, misses a red into the middle.