Snooker - The Masters
The most important invitation tournament on the circuit, The Masters is second only to the World Championship in its longevity.
It is the only major event held in London. Only the top 16 players in the world rankings qualify. The first tournament was held in the West Centre Hotel with 10 players taking part, a format that continued from 1976-78 at the New London Theatre.
The growing popularity of the sport took The Masters to the Wembley Conference Centre in 1979, its home right through to 2006 - the year of its demolition. In 1981 the tournament was extended to 12 players before growing to a 16-strong invited field in 1983. The first time The Masters was restricted to the top 16 in the rankings was 1984 and a further development came in 1990, with the introduction of two `wildcards` who played preliminary round matches against the 15th and 16th ranked players. One of these wildcards was the winner of the Masters qualifying event and the other was invited.
From 2007 to 2011 the event was held at the Wembley Arena, moving to Alexandra Palace for the first time in 2012, reverting to a 16-man format. In 2021, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Masters was staged behind closed doors at the Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes, England.
From 2017, the silver frame of balls, the prize for winning the event, has been called "The Paul Hunter Trophy" in honour of the three-time Masters champion who died from cancer in 2006 at the age of 27.
It is the only major event held in London. Only the top 16 players in the world rankings qualify. The first tournament was held in the West Centre Hotel with 10 players taking part, a format that continued from 1976-78 at the New London Theatre.
The growing popularity of the sport took The Masters to the Wembley Conference Centre in 1979, its home right through to 2006 - the year of its demolition. In 1981 the tournament was extended to 12 players before growing to a 16-strong invited field in 1983. The first time The Masters was restricted to the top 16 in the rankings was 1984 and a further development came in 1990, with the introduction of two `wildcards` who played preliminary round matches against the 15th and 16th ranked players. One of these wildcards was the winner of the Masters qualifying event and the other was invited.
From 2007 to 2011 the event was held at the Wembley Arena, moving to Alexandra Palace for the first time in 2012, reverting to a 16-man format. In 2021, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Masters was staged behind closed doors at the Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes, England.
From 2017, the silver frame of balls, the prize for winning the event, has been called "The Paul Hunter Trophy" in honour of the three-time Masters champion who died from cancer in 2006 at the age of 27.
| YEAR | WINNER | RUNNER-UP |
| 1975 | JOHN SPENCER (Eng) | R Reardon (Wal) |
| 1976 | RAY REARDON (Wal) | G Miles (Eng) |
| 1977 | DOUG MOUNTJOY (Wal) | R Reardon (Wal) |
| 1978 | ALEX HIGGINS (Nir) | C Thorburn (Can) |
| 1979 | PERRIE MANS (RSA) | A Higgins (Nir) |
| 1980 | TERRY GRIFFITHS (Wal) | A Higgins (Nir) |
| 1981 | ALEX HIGGINS (Nir) | T Griffiths (Wal) |
| 1982 | STEVE DAVIS (Eng) | T Griffiths (Wal) |
| 1983 | CLIFF THORBURN (Can) | R Reardon (Wal) |
| 1984 | JIMMY WHITE (Eng) | T Griffiths (Wal) |
| 1985 | CLIFF THORBURN (Can) | D Mountjoy (Wal) |
| 1986 | CLIFF THORBURN (Can) | J White (Eng) |
| 1987 | DENNIS TAYLOR (Nir) | A Higgins (Nir) |
| 1988 | STEVE DAVIS (Eng) | M Hallett (Eng) |
| 1989 | STEPHEN HENDRY (Sco) | J Parrott (Eng) |
| 1990 | STEPHEN HENDRY (Sco) | J Parrott (Eng) |
| 1991 | STEPHEN HENDRY (Sco) | M Hallett (Eng) |
| 1992 | STEPHEN HENDRY (Sco) | J Parrott (Eng) |
| 1993 | STEPHEN HENDRY (Sco) | J Wattana (Tha) |
| 1994 | ALAN MCMANUS (Sco) | S Hendry (Sco) |
| 1995 | R'NIE O'SULLIVAN (Eng) | J Higgins (Sco) |
| 1996 | STEPHEN HENDRY (Sco) | R O'Sullivan (Eng) |
| 1997 | STEVE DAVIS (Eng) | R O'Sullivan (Eng) |
| 1998 | MARK WILLIAMS (Wal) | S Hendry (Sco) |
| 1999 | JOHN HIGGINS (Sco) | K Doherty (Rir) |
| 2000 | MATTHEW STEVENS (Wal) | K Doherty (Rir) |
| 2001 | PAUL HUNTER (Eng) | F O'Brien (Rir) |
| 2002 | PAUL HUNTER (Eng) | M Williams (Wal) |
| 2003 | MARK WILLIAMS (Wal) | S Hendry (Sco) |
| 2004 | PAUL HUNTER (Eng) | R O'Sullivan (Eng) |
| 2005 | R'NIE O'SULLIVAN (Eng) | J Higgins (Sco) |
| 2006 | JOHN HIGGINS (Sco) | R O'Sullivan (Eng) |
| 2007 | R'NIE O'SULLIVAN (Eng) | Ding J (Chn) |
| 2008 | MARK SELBY (Eng) | S Lee (Eng) |
| 2009 | R'NIE O'SULLIVAN (Eng) | M Selby (Eng) |
| 2010 | MARK SELBY (Eng) | R O'Sullivan (Eng) |
| 2011 | DING JUNHUI (Chn) | M Fu (Hkg) |
| 2012 | NEIL ROBERTSON (Aus) | S Murphy (Eng) |
| 2013 | MARK SELBY (Eng) | N Robertson (Aus) |
| 2014 | R'NIE O'SULLIVAN (Eng) | M Selby (Eng) |
| 2015 | SHAUN MURPHY (Eng) | N Robertson (Aus) |
| 2016 | R'NIE O'SULLIVAN (Eng) | B Hawkins (Eng) |
| 2017 | R'NIE O'SULLIVAN (Eng) | J Perry (Eng) |
| 2018 | MARK ALLEN (Nir) | K Wilson (Eng) |
| 2019 | JUDD TRUMP (Eng) | R O'Sullivan (Eng) |
| 2020 | STUART BINGHAM (Eng) | A Carter (Eng) |
| 2021 | YAN BINGTAO (Chn) | J Higgins (Sco) |
| 2022 | NEIL ROBERTSON (Aus) | B Hawkins (Eng) |
| 2023 | JUDD TRUMP (Eng) | M Williams (Wal) |
| 2024 | R'NIE O'SULLIVAN (Eng) | A Carter (Eng) |
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