First round The four wildcard players and the four Chinese players ranked outside the top 16 all lost in the first round.
Chris Wakelin, competing in the tournament for the first time, made three breaks as he defeated 17-year-old Zhou Jinhao 6–3, while
Shaun Murphy made five half-centuries as he
whitewashed Han Fuyan.
Ali Carter defeated Qiu Lei 6–1, and
Si Jiahui advanced with a 6–4 win over Wang Xinbo.
Neil Robertson beat
Pang Junxu 6–2, and
Zhang Anda defeated
Yuan Sijun in a .
Last 16 Facing two-time runner-up Murphy, the eighth seed
Mark Selby won the first with a 66 break and took the second on the after Murphy missed the and hit the , conceding a . Selby then made breaks of 115, 81, 73, and 137 as he completed a 6–0 whitewash, with Murphy having scored only 52 points in the match. The match between the third seed
Kyren Wilson and Si produced six century breaks—120, 114, and 114 by Wilson and 124, 139, and 127 by Si—which equalled the record for the most centuries in a best-of-11 match. The record had been set by Neil Robertson and
Judd Trump at the
2016 Masters and previously equalled by Neil Robertson and Selby at the
2020 Champion of Champions. Wilson missed a so-called "no-look" shot on the last black of the match, not realising that it would have set a new record of seven centuries. However, he said afterwards: "You have to have a bit of fun. The crowd appreciate that sort of thing."
(pictured in 2012) made the fourth
maximum break of his career in his last-16 match against
Ding Junhui. The seventh seed
Ding Junhui won four of the first five frames against Zhang, making two centuries, including his 700th career century. In the sixth frame, Zhang made a
maximum break, the fourth of his career, the second of the season, the fourth in the tournament's history, and the 219th official maximum in professional competition. Xiao made three centuries of 104, 111, and 113 as he came from 0–2 behind to defeat the fifth seed
John Higgins 6–4.
Zhao Xintong, playing in his first match since winning the
2025 World Championship, was tied at 2–2 with Wakelin at the mid-session interval. Zhao then made breaks of 103, 65, 73, and 59 as he won four consecutive frames for a 6–2 victory. Facing Hawkins, the five-time winner and sixth seed
Ronnie O'Sullivan made breaks of 94, 94, 54, 90, and 89 as he moved into a 5–3 lead. Hawkins responded with breaks of 88 and 106 to force a deciding frame, but O'Sullivan won the decider with a 67 break. Afterward, O'Sullivan called the performance his best since winning the
2022 World Championship.
Quarter-finals Despite making three centuries of 104, 108, and 102, the defending champion Trump lost 4–6 to Selby, who made a 137 break in frame five. Xiao also made three centuries, 121, 106, and 102, as he took a 5–2 lead over Carter. However, Carter made breaks of 72, 92, and 87 to force a deciding frame, which he won. It was the second consecutive best-of-11 match Carter had won from 2–5 behind. Zhao made three centuries of 134, 132, and 118 as he defeated Ding 6–1 in less than an hour and a half, averaging 17.5 seconds per shot.
Semi-finals (pictured in 2013) replaced
Mark Allen, who withdrew. He came from 2–5 behind in the last 16 and quarter-finals, and from 6–8 behind in the semi-finals, to reach his second Shanghai Masters final. The semi-finals were played as the best of 19 frames over two . Selby won the first two frames of the second session with breaks of 108 and 81, but Carter made a 129 century in frame 12 to tie the scores at 6–6. Selby made breaks of 91 and 62 to lead 8–6, but missed a in the 15th frame that allowed Carter to take the frame with a 66 break. Carter added breaks of 83, 62, and 79 to win four consecutive frames and secure a 10–8 victory. "I love Shanghai, I love the city and I love the tournament," said Carter afterward. The two most recent world champions, Wilson and Zhao, contested the second semi-final. Zhao made a 113 century in frame four to tie the scores at 2–2, and the scores were level again at 3–3 and 4–4. Zhao produced a 121 century in frame nine to end the first session 5–4 ahead. In the second session, Zhao was leading by 23 points in the 10th frame when play was briefly suspended due to a technical issue with the arena's
scoreboard. Wilson won the frame when the players returned, and went on to take six consecutive frames, making breaks including 70, 101, and 51 as he secured a 10–5 victory. Losing to Wilson ended Zhao's 26-match winning streak since his last defeat by Murphy at the
2024 UK Championship. "Snooker in China is booming and you can feel an extra air of expectation every time Zhao turns up for a game," Wilson said afterward. "I knew I had to play well and shut that out."
Final (pictured in 2022) defeated
Ali Carter 11–9 in the final to win his second Shanghai Masters title. The final was played as the best of 21 frames over two sessions on 3 August between the world number 2 Wilson and the world number 17 Carter. Both players were competing in their second Shanghai Masters final, Carter having won the title in
2010 and Wilson in
2015. When the match resumed, Wilson won two consecutive frames, making a 105 century in frame 12, but Carter also won two in a row, making a 76 break in frame 13, as he tied the scores at 7–7. Wilson again moved two frames in front with breaks of 66 and 122, but Carter produced breaks of 140 and 63 as he levelled at 9–9. Wilson made an 86 to move 10–9 ahead. Wilson cleared from the last to win the 20th frame by one point, securing an 11–9 victory and his second Shanghai Masters title. "I knew I had to take out that clearance at the end," Wilson said afterwards. "Fatigue was starting to slip in. I didn't want to face [Carter] in a final frame because his success rate in deciders this week has been fantastic. He is a great champion and made it really difficult all day long." Carter commented: "It was a really tough game. I felt I hung in there all day. I didn't feel I played particularly great, but I was pleased to compete with a World Champion like [Wilson]. I felt if I'd had a bit of a tailwind at some point I'd have probably won." ==Tournament draw==