Why Chris Wakelin will probably need another late withdrawal from Ronnie O'Sullivan to play in 2026 Masters snooker

Chris Wakelin is unlikely to be making a second straight appearance at the 52nd Masters in London next month despite moving up to 14th in the end-of-year world rankings after his Scottish Open victory. Wakelin lost 6-3 to Luca Brecel in the first round on his Masters debut last year, but was outside the top 16 when the draw was finalised following the completion of the UK Championship in York.

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Chris Wakelin is set to miss the Masters at Alexandra Palace in London next month despite winning the Scottish Open in the final ranking event of 2025.

A 9-2 win over Chang Bingyu in Sunday's title match in Edinburgh saw Wakelin earn £100,000 and move up to 14th in the sport's end-of-year standings.

Yet it was not enough for the former Shoot Out winner to earn a Masters invite for a second straight year, with the top 16 after the UK Championship in York a fortnight earlier securing their respective spots at the sport's biggest invitational event, which will take place from January 11-18, and is live on TNT Sports and discovery+.

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"I had Ronnie O’Sullivan say a few months ago, I would win a big tournament," said Wakelin after clutching the Stephen Hendry Trophy.

"For other people to say it is lovely, but you have to back it up."

Wakelin finished 35,100 points behind Gary Wilson, who claimed the 16th and final place at the Masters despite suffering an early exit at the Scottish Open, losing 4-1 to Lan Yuhao in the first round.

As the player in 17th spot, Wakelin will be first reserve if anybody decides not to play at Alexandra Palace with record eight-time winner O'Sullivan yet to disclose if he will appear at the event.

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Wakelin is pencilled in to return to action on the opening day of the invitational Championship League event in Leicester on January 2-3, in Group 1 alongside Elliot Slessor, Tom Ford, Pang Junxu, Joe O’Connor, Hossein Vafaei and Jackson Page.

But O'Sullivan also has form for skipping the Masters after sitting it out in 2013 and 2020 when Ali Carter reached the final, losing 10-8 in the final to Stuart Bingham, as a last-minute replacement.

Neil Robertson then benefited from O'Sullivan's decision to withdraw only two days before his opener with John Higgins this year after smashing his cue at the Championship League in Leicester.

The Australian trailed Higgins 5-1 before reeling off five straight frames to complete a 6-5 win before losing 6-2 to last year's winner Shaun Murphy in the quarter-finals.

Robertson has been drawn with O'Sullivan in the round of 16, with O'Sullivan's fellow seven-time world champion Hendry suggesting the schedule indicates he will appear this time.

The match between Robertson and O'Sullivan is due to take place on the evening of Wednesday, January 14, the final match of the first round.

‘Well he is playing," said Hendry on his YouTube channel. "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?"

While it may seem harsh on Wakelin, Wu Yize suffered a similar scenario in missing out on the cut-off point for the Champion of Champions event last month, only days after winning the International Championship with a 10-6 win over Higgins.

His spot at the Champion of Champions has been held over until next year.