Playing in his first major televised tournament since taking an eight-month hiatus from professional snooker, Ronnie O'Sullivan reached a record-extending 11th Masters final and won the tournament for a sixth time, equalling Stephen Hendry's record for the most Masters titles.

The defending champion was Shaun Murphy, who won the 2015 Masters with a 10–2 victory over Neil Robertson in the final.

The next six players in the world rankings were seeded and allocated fixed positions in the draw, with the remaining eight participants drawn randomly against the.

Liang Wenbo, who entered the top 16 for the first time after reaching the final of the UK Champion, made his Masters debut,[5] the only player to do so at the 2015 event.

[6] Murphy forfeited the sixth frame under the three-miss rule,[7] but he said he did not have other options rather than to risk it: "I had to man up, take a deep breath and play the right shot.

[6] The 2011 champion, Ding Junhui, and Stuart Bingham, who had won the 2015 World Snooker Championship at the end of the previous season, also shared the first two frames of their first-round encounter.

[8] The following day, Stephen Maguire, four-time semi-finalist, faced Judd Trump, who had lost his first-round match in the Masters for two consecutive years.

[6][9] "My lack of form has put pressure on because I was used to going out there and expecting to play well", said Trump, who wanted to "give snooker four or five years of complete dedication and see what happens".

[11] Playing in his first major televised tournament since taking an eight-month hiatus from professional snooker, Ronnie O'Sullivan reached a record-extending 11th Masters final and won the tournament for a sixth time, equalling Stephen Hendry's record for the most Masters titles.