Will Ronnie O’Sullivan play at the Masters? Stephen Hendry reveals all

Stephen Hendry says Ronnie O’Sullivan will be playing at the Masters next month, after the Rocket had cast doubt on his participation.

The 50-year-old has been drawn to play Neil Robertson in a blockbuster opening round at Alexandra Palace in January.

The draw came after there were mixed messages from O’Sullivan on the tournament, initially saying he was unlikely to play.

Speaking to talkSPORT in September, he said: ‘I probably won’t play the Masters this year.

‘I moved to Dubai, a lot of my work is in China and the Middle East so it made sense to be near. The jet lag was crucifying. It’s not that easy to just get on a plane and come back to the UK.

‘I think I’m just going to play the UK Championship, hopefully the Tour Championship if I’ve done enough, which I think I have because I did well in Saudi. Then the World Championship, it would be nice to win that one more time before I snap another cue.’

The Rocket played at the UK Championship last week but suffered a first round exit at the hands of Zhou Yuelong.

Asked after the defeat if he would play at Alexandra Palace, he told the BBC: ‘I’ll have a nice Christmas, enjoy that and see how I feel come January.’

Asked the same question in a press conference, he said: ‘Hopefully. I’d like to. We’ll see.’

It now seems that the Rocket will land in north London, with Hendry firm that we will see the O’Sullivan vs Robertson clash on January 14.

Asked on his Cue Tips YouTube channel if O’Sullivan will be playing at the Masters, Hendry said: ‘Well he is playing. He requested to play late, I think, so he’s playing Neil on Wednesday night.

‘So yeah, Ronnie is playing in the Masters. If he doesn’t play the tournament is lacking, isn’t it?’

In what has been a difficult campaign so far for O’Sullivan, he will face a huge test in Robertson in the opening round at Ally Pally.

The Thunder from Down Under beat the Rocket in the final of the Saudi Arabia Masters in August, which was the only event in which O’Sullivan has been beyond the quarter-finals this campaign.

After the eye-catching draw, Robertson posted on X: ‘Weird. After the Masters draw, my phone blew up asking for tickets🤷‍♂️😂😂😂 🌩️ 🚀’

O’Sullivan withdrew from the 2025 Masters after snapping his cue shortly before the event out of frustration with his game.

If he does play next month then it will be the first time playing in the tournament since he won it for an eighth time in 2024, beating Ali Carter in the final.

Stephen Hendry is closest to O’Sullivan’s record Masters tally, with six wins, while no other player has won the event more than three times.