Snooker fans have voiced their delight at seeing Ronnie O’Sullivan being drawn to face old foe John Higgins in a blockbuster first round tie at the 2025 Masters.
The two ‘Class of ’92’ stars have been competing against each other for three decades at the top of the sport and they’ve faced off 79 times as professionals.
O’Sullivan holds a slender advantage over Higgins in their head-to-head record having won 41 of their encounters.
But they’ve only met four times at the Masters, three of which have come in the final.
Ronnie O’Sullivan will face John Higgins
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Their last meeting came back in 2021 when Higgins defeated O’Sullivan 6-3 on his way to the final where he lost to Yan Bingtao.
The duo will now face off for a fifth time at the Triple Crown event in the New Year in a mouthwatering first-round fixture.
The draw went down a treat with snooker fans who are looking forward to seeing the two old rivals go toe-to-toe once again.
One fan replied: “O’Sullivan v Higgins – absolute classic in the making.”
Another said: “O’Sullivan Higgins Masters 2025 INCREDIBLE.”
A third posted: “Class of 1992. Class draw that!”
One simply wrote: “Cracking draw.”
Another excited viewer said: “We are just so lucky that 33 years on, and that Ronnie v Higgins still happens in the masters. Incredible.”
Ronnie O’Sullivan is the defending Masters champion
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O’Sullivan is the reigning Masters champion after he defeated Ali Carter in last year’s final 10-7.
The Masters usually throws up some huge clashes with the world’s top-16 the only players in the draw.
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John Higgins and Ronnie O’Sullivan have faced off for decades
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Last year’s runner-up Carter has been drawn to face Mark Selby while Judd Trump will face Barry Hawkins in a repeat of this year’s UK Championship final.
Reigning world champion Kyren Wilson goes up against Anda Zhang with Luca Brecel facing Chris Wakelin.
Mark Allen vs Si Jiahui, Mark Williams vs Din Junhui and Shaun Murphy vs Gary Wilson makes up the remaining first-round fixtures.