Watch free live World Championship match between Shaun Murphy vs Stephen Hendry at The Crucible Theatre, Sheffield. Session starts 1000 BST.

UK viewers can watch the match from BBC TV Coverage website.

Watch free live World Championship match between Ryan Day vs Mark Allen at The Crucible Theatre, Sheffield. Session starts 1000 BST.

UK viewers can watch the match from BBC TV Coverage website.

Below are the 96 players on the 2008/09 World Snooker Tour. New players to the Tour have been awarded starter points. The Provisional list has been updated after the Welsh Open (ended on 22nd Febuary, 2009).

Rank	Player	Provisional	2007/2008	2008/2009
1	Ronnie O’Sullivan	47275	29700	17575
2	Stephen Maguire	42350	25975	16375
3	Allister Carter	36825	18425	18400
4	Shaun Murphy	36675	23700	12975
5	Marco Fu	32850	18075	14775
6	Ryan Day	32475	19425	13050
7	John Higgins MBE	31825	14825	17000
8	Mark Selby	31075	20050	11025
9	Joe Perry	30775	18250	12525
10	Neil Robertson	26925	12400	14525
11	Mark Allen	25775	15075	10700
12	Stephen Hendry MBE	25625	16900	8725
13	Ding Junhui	25144	15869	9275
14	Mark J Williams MBE	25119	15100	10019
15	Barry Hawkins	23800	12975	10825
16	Dave Harold	23557	12244	11313
17	Peter Ebdon	23000	14975	8025
18	Mark King	22600	13675	8925
19	Stuart Bingham	22044	14775	7269
20	Joe Swail	21519	12975	8544
21	Jamie Cope	21432	12869	8563
22	Matthew Stevens	21407	10463	10944
23	Ricky Walden	21350	10225	11125
24	Steve Davis OBE	21169	9569	11600
25	Liang Wenbo	19575	10500	9075
26	Michael Holt	19025	8950	10075
27	Stephen Lee	18988	9569	9419
28	Dominic Dale	18895	11313	7582
29	Fergal O’Brien	18245	12713	5532
30	Judd Trump	18201	7701	10500

The Masters is snooker’s most prestigious and important invitation tournament. Only the top 16 players in the world qualify automatically – which means that it is confined to an elite field and also gives an added incentive for players to earn a top 16 ranking. Those 16 are joined by one or two wild cards and the winner of a qualifying event. Although not a ranking event, it is regarded as one of the most prestigious tournaments on the circuit, earning more prize money than any other tournament except the World Championship.

The tournament was previously held at Wembley Conference Centre then moved to the nearby Arena. The 2009 Masters snooker tournament will take place between 11 January and 18 January 2009 at the Wembley Arena, London, England.

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Shaun Murphy clinched a dramatic 10-9 victory over Marco Fu to win the UK Championship in Telford.

Murphy had led 5-3 at the interval but his opponent from Hong Kong battled back to level at 6-6 and was within sight of the title when 9-8 in front. But Englishman Murphy held his nerve in a tense and scrappy finish, levelling at 9-9 before clinching the decider thanks to a fluke on the pink.

Murphy, 26, adds the UK crown to the World Championship he won in 2005.

He had been the more consistent of the two finalists, recording breaks of 73, 77, 87 and 99 on the way to victory, but he came up against a resilient opponent. “It’s been a while and I’ve never felt pressure like that,” Murphy told BBC Sport.

Final result:

Shaun Murphy (Eng) 10-9 Marco Fu (HK)
74-38 48-56 99-0 (99) 17-103 (102) 70-4 73-0 (73) 0-143 (69, 74) 66-31 77-1 (77) 51-66 52-74 (47 59) 45-58 109-0 (54) 87-0 (87) 39-73 40-73 23-93 69-1 (69) 69-24

World number three Shaun Murphy set up a UK Championship final against Marco Fu with an emphatic 9-4 semi-final win over Scotland’s Stephen Maguire.

Murphy was always in control of the match after taking a 6-2 lead in the first session, although Maguire hit back with a flourish as he made a 112. A superb 136 from Murphy restored his momentum, and a lengthy 11th frame also went his way to put him on the brink. Maguire made a 115 to stay in the match at 8-4, but Murphy sealed the victory.

Fu, meanwhile, will be looking for his second ranking event victory after his first came in the 2007 Grand Prix in Aberdeen. Final match will be held tomorrow, 21st December, at Telford International Centre from 1500 GMT (1500 GMT – 1800GMT) and 2000 GMT (2000 GMT – 2300GMT). BBC will be streaming final match from BBC Sports section only for UK viewers. Please visit here for more details.
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