Hosted at a massive Wembley arena, and competed in by only the top ranked players in the sport, the tournament is swamped with prestige, and down the years, we've enjoyed golden moments on the baize.When the Masters hits our television screens, you can always guarantee high class snooker and a fantastic atmosphere.
This year will be no different...
We often talk about potential champions among the top 16 in snooker. Now, I believe there are more players capable of winning titles than ever. I'd never write a player off winning a tournament. There have been many shocks in sport, and more will come.
But hand on heart looking at this year's field, there are only four players who I would be shocked to see lifting the trophy. I don't mean any disrespect, but at this moment , I think becoming 2011 Masters champion is a bridge too far for only Jamie Cope, Stephen Hendry, Peter Ebdon and Mark Kin.
The other 12 players, in my opinion, can all realistically win this trophy. That's why my eyes will be glued to the action.
That thought alone makes this year a special tournament, but there are many more sub plots.
Some of the biggest questions are: Can Mark Selby take back-to-back titles? Can Higgins build on his UK success? Can Ronnie dazzle at a tournament he historically plays well in?
In many tournament's, we talk in the build-up about form. Looking solely at Telford, you'd have to say Mark Williams, Shaun Murphy and Mark Allen are the other top players in the best nick, but such is the amount of snooker being played this season, that everyone has shown glimpses of their best, as well as shades of their worst.
That's what makes snooker so difficult to judge.
But let's face it, never has it been so entertaining.
They said...
After such an impressive televised UK Championship, anticipation for this year's Masters has been bigger than for many years.
Reigning champion Selby has the chance emulate the great Paul Hunter with victory at this year's competition. Talking in the London Evening Standard tonight, he said: “Paul obviously won three times in four visits to Wembley and hopefully I can do the same.
He was a great guy and I'm sure he would have won a lot more Masters titles by now.
“It's a real shame that he's no longer with us but all I can say is that it would be great to be put in the same bracket as someone with Paul's talent in Masters history.”
World number two Neil Robertson will be hoping to get his hands on the title too, even if for entirely different reasons. After seeing his beloved Australia losing the Ashes, he told Sky Sports: "Australia are struggling a little bit in the overall sporting scheme, although Mark Webber did pretty well in Formula One.
"It's just me and him waving the flag, where there's usually 20 or 30 Australians with world titles. It hasn't been the case the last couple of years."Now I'll have to motivate everyone and show Australians that we can actually still play sport."
One of the tournament's main focal points will be Higgins. After winning the UK title in Telford, it'll be interesting to see if he can follow it up. Talking to World Snooker, he admitted: "I've always been overawed by the atmosphere at Wembley.
"It's such a big arena and if you are playing badly it can be exaggerated.
"I can't say I've got a terrible record because I've won it twice, but I've bombed out so many times in the first round. It's such a fabulous tournament and I would love to be able to play better there, but I've not often produced my best."
Last time out...
I'll never get tired of talking about last year's final. From 9-6 down, Selby staged a remarkable comeback to steel the crown from Ronnie. The final just had it all. Centuries, terrific safety and misses under pressure.
It was one of the finals of the decade. Here's the deciding frame for you to enjoy once more...
For all the greatness of the final though, there were other great stories in last year's event too.
Jimmy White was famously awarded a wildcard place by Barry Hearn, before playing Mark King in front a packed Wembley crowd.
One of the matches of the competition though saw Selby beat Mark Allen 6-5 in a thrilling second round match, after the Northern Ireland man had put pay to world champion Higgins in the opening round.
OnCue tip...
All eyes are on Ronnie, Higgins, defending champion Selby and in-form Williams, but I've got a feeling for Robertson.
I thought he was unlucky in Telford.He's not shown any signs of being fazed as world champion, and his standard of play is always so consistently high.
While some of the other players have expectation to deal with, Robbo can just go about his usual business.
He'll relish the Wembley atmosphere too.
OnCue dark horse...
Dott faces Higgins again here. I think it's time for revenge.
He's one of the top four players in the world in terms of temperament, so you can't write him off.
OnCue flop...
It's difficult to predict a player to flop. With all the players competing ranked so high in the world, there's no such thing as a shock result at the Masters. So instead of picking a player to underachieve, I'll attempt to pick four players who suffer first round exits.
And I'll go for, Ding Junhui, Hendry, Marco Fu and Ebdon.At the bookmakers...
Surprise, surprise, it's Ronnie who's the favourite again. He's a 7/2 player to beat with the tournament sponsors. He's produced some fine snooker at Wembley down the years, but it won't be a real shock if it goes wrong for him.
Just behind him is Higgins at 11/2, then Robertson at 6/1.
Holding champion Selby is an 8/1 shot, Williams, Murphy and Ding all sit at 10/1, while Hendry isn't fancied at 66/1 alongside King.
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