Ronnie O’Sullivan and John Higgins will meet in a blockbuster opening round clash at the Masters, but warm up for that with an exhibition match in China just days earlier.
The Rocket and the Wizard are part of an eye-catching line-up at an exhibition event in Hangzhou from 1-3 January.
Judd Trump, Mark Williams, Ding Junhui, Xiao Guodong and Jack Lisowski are all also involved in the CBSA Snooker Superstar Invitational Tournament as they all see in the start of 2025 in China.
Nothing is on the line at the exhibition event, but O’Sullivan and Higgins playing each other just 10 days before their meeting at Alexandra Palace may add a little spice to the contest.
Higgins is also playing Williams, while the Rocket’s other match in the event is against Ding Junhui.
O’Sullivan has travelled to Hangzhou from Macau, where he won all five of his games at another exhibition event, the Macau Masters.
The seven-time world champion beat Lisowski, Marco Fu, Si Jiahui, Kyren Wilson and Stuart Bingham in the competition which got underway on Christmas Day.
O’Sullivan spoke of his globe-trotting festive season at the Riyadh Season Snooker Championship earlier this month, admitting it might not be ideal Masters preparation.
‘I get back maybe 3 or 4 of January,’ said O’Sullivan in Saudi. ‘I’m here [Riyadh], then Macau for a week, then China for 3-4 days then I’m coming home.
‘I think it’s probably not an ideal situation coming here at Christmas and then going to China, but [last season] I did so well winning Shanghai, the UK Championship and I can’t remember what else I’ve done, but I really played a lot of snooker, so it didn’t matter.
‘But at the moment I’ve literally played hardly any matches since August, it is what it is. Take the long view, it might not happen at the Masters this year, or next year. Just keep on playing, enjoying it, having fun and see what happens.’
Professional events get underway in 2025 with the Invitational Championship League, with Group One played on 3-4 January.
Chris Wakelin and Gary Wilson will be warming up for their Masters campaigns in Group One, alongside Jak Jones, Hossein Vafaei, Pang Junxu, Ryan Day and Elliot Slessor.
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