One man who has embraced Barry Hearn’s walk on music initiative at this year’s Masters is Mark King.

The world number 16 strode out to the dulcet tones of Ice Cube’s ‘You Can Do It (Put Your Back Into It)’ in his matches against Jimmy White and Stephen Maguire, but his 6-3 defeat to the latter last night signals the end of anymore ostentatious entrances at The Masters.

Maguire will now face the winner of Ryan Day vs Joe Perry, while King will no doubt reflect on what could have been, as he had enough chances to wrap up victory over the Scot.

Shaun Murphy and Mark Williams both chalked up wins at Wembley Arena on Monday.

2005 World champion, Murphy, beat Stephen Hendry 6-4 in what was the closest match yet of this year’s Masters, while Mark Williams overcame Rory McLeod 6-2 to book his place in round 2.

Murphy faces the winner of Mark Williams’ clash with Ali Carter next up, while for Hendry his search for a first title in 5 years goes on…

It didn’t take long for new Snooker supremo Barry Hearn to flex his marketing muscles and secure a brand new snooker for The Masters.

Leading online poker site, Pokerstars.com, will sponsor the upcoming Wembley event and Hearn had this to say about the new deal – “This is another fantastic boost for snooker and it feels as if things are really turning around for our sport.”

Official snooker rankings

1. Ronnie O’Sullivan
2. Stephen Maguire
3. Shaun Murphy
4. John Higgins MBE
5. Allister Carter
6. Ryan Day
7. Mark Selby
8. Marco Fu
9. Neil Robertson
10. Stephen Hendry MBE
11. Mark Allen
12. Joe Perry
13. Ding Junhui
14. Peter Ebdon
15. Mark Williams MBE
16. Mark King

17. Barry Hawkins
18. Jamie Cope
19. Dave Harold
20. Ricky Walden
21. Stuart Bingham
22. Joe Swail
23. Steve Davis OBE
24. Michael Holt
25. Stephen Lee
26. Matthew Stevens
27. Liang Wenbo
28. Graeme Dott
29. Nigel Bond
30. Judd Trump
31. Fergal O’Brien
32. Gerard Greene
Provisional snooker rankings
RANK              PROV. 2009/2010    2008/2009    2009/2010
POS    NAME         TOT RANK PTS    RANK PTS    RANK PTS
1    John Higgins MBE   …

Ken Doherty has admitted that he was surprised to learn of Sir Rodney Walker’s revolutionary plan to restructure the snooker calendar in 2010.

“It came as a big surprise and, without being too cynical, I hope it’s not just a ploy to get a few votes because of our AGM, which is on next week” said the 1997 world champion.

Walker’s proposal could see snooker visiting countries such as Brazil, Poland, Romania and Australia next year, but Doherty has questioned the timing of the announcement…

I want one and I want one now! We’ve stumbled across what has to be one of the best pieces of snooker memorabilia ever listed on Ebay.

It combines two of our most enjoyable hobbies playing snooker and slouching. The 1970’s snooker sofa was made by Pierce upholsterers of Accrington and Riley and is a must have for die-hard snooker enthusiasts.

World Snooker have confirmed that the 2009 UK Championship will once again he held at the Telford International Centre this December.

A World Snooker spokesman said: “We have been delighted with the success of the tournament at Telford over the past two years and we are looking forward to returning in December.”

The line-up for next season’s Premier League has been finalised with rising young star Judd Trump completing the seven man field.

The youngster from Bristol came through the Championship League Snooker to book his spot in the Sky Sports event and can now look forward to games against Ronnie O’Sullivan, Shaun Murphy, John Higgins, Marco Fu, Neil Robertson and Stephen Hendry.