Masters (snooker)

The Masters is a professional invitational snooker tournament. Held every year since 1975, it is the second-longest-running professional snooker tournament after the World Championship. It is one of the three Triple Crown events, along with the UK Championship and the World Championship. Although not a ranking event, it is regarded as one of the most prestigious tournaments on the World Snooker Tour. The reigning champion is Shaun Murphy, who won his second masters title in 2025, defeating Kyren Wilson 10-7. The Masters began in 1975 as an invitational event for 10 top players. The inaugural champion was John Spencer. Since 1984, the standard invitees have been the top 16 players in the world rankings, with the addition of two or three wild-card places in tournaments held between 1990 and 2010. Twelve players have won the tournament more than once. Ronnie O'Sullivan has won a record eight titles. Stephen Hendry has won six titles, including a record five consecutive wins from 1989 to 1993. Steve Davis, Paul Hunter, Mark Selby, and Cliff Thorburn have won three titles each, and Alex Higgins, John Higgins, Shaun Murphy, Neil Robertson, Judd Trump and Mark Williams have won two each. O'Sullivan holds records as both the tournament's youngest and oldest winner, having won his first title in 1995, aged 19 years and 69 days, and his eighth title in 2024, aged 48 years and 40 days. John Higgins has made the most Masters appearances, with 31 as of 2025. In 2016, the Masters trophy was renamed the Paul Hunter Trophy in honour of the former champion, who won the title three times in four years from 2001 to 2004, before he died in 2006 aged 27. Six maximum breaks have been made in the history of the tournament. Kirk Stevens made the first in 1984, Ding Junhui made the second in 2007, and Marco Fu made the third in 2015. Ding and Mark Allen made the fourth and fifth maximums respectively at the 2024 event. Shaun Murphy made the sixth maximum at the 2025 event.