On January 11, 2022, Beijing time, the snooker Masters ended the second matchday competition, following Yan Bingtao, another Chinese rising star Zhao Xintong was also out, he failed to continue the previous strong state, losing to Higgins 2-6. In addition, world champion Sean Murphy lost five consecutive sets to lose 2-6 to Barry Hawkins.
This year's Masters, two new stars are highly anticipated, that is, Yan Bingtao and Zhao Xintong. Yan Bingtao was the defending champion of the Masters and played well in the opener, but he met the fiery Mark Williams and eventually lost 4-6. After Yan Bingtao was out, Zhao Xintong shouldered the heavy responsibility, and Chinese fans hoped that he would continue to break through in the three major competitions and become another leading figure of China's snooker.
Zhao Xintong's opponent in the first round is Higgins, although the opponent is strong, but Zhao Xintong has won Higgins 3 consecutive games, and the previous British Championship is to reverse Higgins and win the championship in one fell swoop. On the psychological level, Zhao Xintong should not be afraid of his opponents. However, this game day Zhao Xintong failed to continue the fiery offensive feel, but Higgins was in excellent shape, and there were almost no active mistakes in the whole game.
In the game, Zhao Xintong played a single shot to break the hundred in the second set, but it became the only highlight of the whole game, while Higgins played two shots to break the hundred and one shot 70+, showing strong defensive strength at key moments. The defense is exactly the short board of Zhao Xintong, several times the difficult defense, Zhao Xintong left Higgins a lot of offensive opportunities. In the end, Zhao Xintong lost 2-6 to Higgins, and the Masters debut suffered a round trip.
In another game, 39-year-old world champion Sean Murphy faced Barry Hawkins, who scored a 69-point shot in the second inning to take a 2-1 lead in the first three innings. After that, Barry Hawkins suddenly went on to shoot 67, 60, 103 and 69 consecutive shots to win the match point 5-2. In the eighth set, Barry Hawkins seized the opportunity in the chaotic battle, winning the set 70-14, and Barry Hawkins, who won five consecutive sets, eliminated Sean Murphy 6-2.
So far, the Masters have decided four quarter-finals, belonging to Mark Williams, Neil Robertson, Higgins and Barry Hawkins. Higgins and Mark Williams will be in direct dialogue in the quarter-finals, with Neil Robertson facing the winner between O'Sullivan and Lisowski, Barry Hawkins facing the winner between Selby and Stephen Maguire, and there are no Chinese players for the remainder of the Masters matchday!