Although not a ranking event, The Masters is still regarded as one of snooker’s iconic “triple crown” of tournaments alongside the World Championship and the UK Championship. In short, it’s one that all aspiring snooker players want to win.
From the famous crystal trophy to the handsome prize fund of £725,000, there are plenty of reasons to want to add your name to the list of Masters snooker winners.
But as is the case for most professional sportsmen and women, the chance to enter snooker’s infinite legacy is the most captivating reason of all…
Here is the list of winners and runners-up since 1975:
- 2024 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (ENG) beat Ali Carter (ENG) 10-7 at Alexandra Palace
- 2023 – Judd Trump (ENG) beat Mark Williams (WAL) 10-8 at Alexandra Palace
- 2022 – Neil Robertson (AUS) beat Barry Hawkins (ENG) 10-4 at Alexandra Palace
- 2021 – Yan Bingtao (CHI) beat John Higgins (SCO) 10-8 at Alexandra Palace
- 2020 – Stuart Bingham (ENG) beat Ali Carter (ENG) 10-8 at Alexandra Palace
- 2019 – Judd Trump (ENG) beat Ronnie O’Sullivan (ENG) 10-4 at Alexandra Palace
- 2018 – Mark Allen (IRE) beat Kyren Wilson (ENG) 10-7 at Alexandra Palace
- 2017 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (ENG) beat Joe Perry (ENG) 10-7 at Alexandra Palace
- 2016 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (ENG) beat Barry Hawkins (ENG) 10-1 at Alexandra Palace
- 2015 – Shaun Murphy (ENG) beat Neil Robertson (AUS) 10-2 at Alexandra Palace
- 2014 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (ENG) beat Mark Selby (ENG) 10-4 at Alexandra Palace
- 2013 – Mark Selby (ENG) beat Neil Robertson (AUS) 10-6 at Alexandra Palace
- 2012 – Neil Robertson (AUS) beat Shaun Murphy (ENG) 10-6 at Alexandra Palace
- 2011 – Ding Junhui (CHI) beat Marco Fu (HON) 10-4 at Wembley Arena
- 2010 – Mark Selby (ENG) beat Ronnie O’Sullivan (ENG) 10-9 at Wembley Arena
- 2009 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (ENG) beat Mark Selby (ENG) 10-8 at Wembley Arena
- 2008 – Mark Selby (ENG) beat Stephen Lee (ENG) 10-3 at Wembley Arena
- 2007 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (ENG) beat Ding Junhui (CHI) 10-3 at Wembley Arena
- 2006 – John Higgins (SCO) beat Ronnie O’Sullivan (ENG) 10-9 at Wembley Conference Centre
- 2005 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (ENG) beat John Higgins (SCO) 10-3 at Wembley Conference Centre
- 2004 – Paul Hunter (ENG) beat Ronnie O’Sullivan (ENG) 10-9 at Wembley Conference Centre
- 2003 – Mark Williams (WAL) beat Stephen Hendry (SCO) 10-4 at Wembley Conference Centre
- 2002 – Paul Hunter (ENG) beat Mark Williams (WAL) 10-9 at Wembley Conference Centre
- 2001 – Paul Hunter (ENG) beat Fergal O’Brien (IRE) 10-9 at Wembley Conference Centre
- 2000 – Matthew Stevens (ENG) beat Ken Doherty (IRE) 10-8 at Wembley Conference Centre
- 1999 – John Higgins (SCO) beat Ken Doherty (IRE) 10-8 at Wembley Conference Centre
- 1998 – Mark Williams (WAL) beat Stephen Hendry (SCO) 10-9 at Wembley Conference Centre
- 1997 – Steve Davis (ENG) beat Ronnie O’Sullivan (ENG) 10-8 at Wembley Conference Centre
- 1996 – Stephen Hendry (SCO) beat Ronnie O’Sullivan (ENG) 10-5 at Wembley Conference Centre
- 1995 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (ENG) beat John Higgins (SCO) 9-3 at Wembley Conference Centre
- 1994 – Alan McManus (SCO) beat Stephen Hendry (SCO) 9-8 at Wembley Conference Centre
- 1993 – Stephen Hendry (SCO) beat James Wattana (THA) 9-5 at Wembley Conference Centre
- 1992 – Stephen Hendry (SCO) beat John Parrott (ENG) 9-4 at Wembley Conference Centre
- 1991 – Stephen Hendry (SCO) beat Mike Hallett (ENG) 9-8 at Wembley Conference Centre
- 1990 – Stephen Hendry (SCO) beat John Parrott (ENG) 9-4 at Wembley Conference Centre
- 1989 – Stephen Hendry (SCO) beat John Parrott (ENG) 9-6 at Wembley Conference Centre
- 1988 – Steve Davis (ENG) beat Mike Hallett (ENG) 9-0 at Wembley Conference Centre
- 1987 – Dennis Taylor (IRE) beat Alex Higgins (IRE) 9-8 at Wembley Conference Centre
- 1986 – Cliff Thorburn (CAN) beat Jimmy White (ENG) 9-5 at Wembley Conference Centre
- 1985 – Cliff Thorburn (CAN) beat Doug Mountjoy (WAL) 9-6 at Wembley Conference Centre
- 1984 – Jimmy White (ENG) beat Terry Griffiths (WAL) 9-5 at Wembley Conference Centre
- 1983 – Cliff Thorburn (CAN) beat Ray Reardon (WAL) 9-7 at Wembley Conference Centre
- 1982 – Steve Davis (ENG) beat Terry Griffiths (WAL) 9-5 at Wembley Conference Centre
- 1981 – Alex Higgins (IRE) beat Terry Griffiths (WAL) 9-6 at Wembley Conference Centre
- 1980 – Terry Griffiths (WAL) beat Alex Higgins (IRE) 9-5 at Wembley Conference Centre
- 1979 – Perrie Mans (SAF) beat Alex Higgins (IRE) 8-4 at Wembley Conference Centre
- 1978 – Alex Higgins (IRE) beat Cliff Thorburn (CAN) 7-5 at New London Theatre
- 1977 – Doug Mountjoy (WAL) beat Ray Reardon (WAL) 7-6 at New London Theatre
- 1976 – Ray Reardon (WAL) beat Graham Miles (ENG) 7-3 at New London Theatre
- 1975 – John Spencer (ENG) beat Ray Reardon (WAL) 9-8 at West Centre Hotel, London
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Who Has Won the Most Masters Snooker Tournaments?
Inaugurated in 1975, The Masters is the most prestigious of the invitational events in snooker.
Originally ringfenced for the top ten players in the world, the tournament has slowly expanded – today, the top 16 in the official world rankings prior to the start of the event each January are invited to take their place in the field.
The Masters has always been held in London, with the Wembley Conference Centre and Wembley Arena hosting the event for a number of years. As of 2023, the Alexandra Palace has become the permanent home of the competition.
Between 1975 and 2024, 25 names were added to The Masters snooker list of winners, with 11 of them lifting the trophy on more than one occasion.
The Masters snooker winners’ table sees Ronnie O’Sullivan take top spot with eight victories. His first came in 1995 when, having just turned 20, the youthful Englishman defeated another star of the future in John Higgins from Scotland by a scoreline of 9-3.
The Rocket would have to wait another decade to re-enter his name in The Masters snooker winners hall of fame – losing three finals in the meantime. But O’Sullivan prevailed in 2005, again defeating Higgins (10-3), before tightening his grip on the trophy with victories in 2007 (Ding Junhui from China, 10-3) and 2009 (Mark Selby from the UK, 10-8).
The new decade saw the Rocket add three more Masters titles to his collection, with Selby, Barry Hawkins (UK), and Joe Perry those on the receiving end of an O’Sullivan masterclass. His eighth and most recent triumph came in 2024 at Alexandra Palace, with the Rocket defeating countryman Ali Carter 10-7 in the final. Will O’Sullivan make it nine titles in 2025?
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Also towards the top of the list of Masters snooker winners is Stephen Hendry, who dominated the sport in the 1990s in a reign of terror that netted him seven World Championship titles, five UK Championship crowns, and six Masters triumphs.
The Scot’s primary victim was John Parrott, whom he beat in the finals of the 1989 (9-6), 1990 (9-4), and 1992 (9-4) tournaments. Hendry survived a last-frame shootout with Mike Hallett in 1991, while James Wattana was downed 9-5 in 1993 – completing a remarkable fifth straight win for the seemingly unstoppable Hendry in The Masters.
He secured his place at the top of the Masters snooker winners’ history in 1996 by defeating O’Sullivan 10-5 in the final, although that would be the last time that Hendry would get his hands on the trophy before hanging up his cue – O’Sullivan, of course, would later overtake him as the most decorated champion in the tournament.
Four players have cemented their name in the annals of snooker Masters winners with three victories apiece. Cliff Thorburn racked up his hat-trick of wins in the mid-1980s, defeating Ray Reardon (9-7), Doug Mountjoy (9-6), and home favourite Jimmy White (9-5) between 1983 and 1986.
Steve Davis, considered to be one of the greatest players ever to pick up a cue, surprisingly “only” won The Masters on three occasions. He defeated Terry Griffiths 9-5 in 1982 before whitewashing Hallett 9-0 in 1988. There would follow a nine-year absence from the final at the Alexandra Palace, until he returned in 1997 to show O’Sullivan the benefit of experience in a 10-8 triumph.
The late Paul Hunter was also a member of the club for the three-time winners of the Masters snooker. He went back-to-back in 2001 and 2002, defeating Fergal O’Brien and Mark Williams in a pair of nervy final frame deciders. And then, in 2004, Hunter showed his tremendous resilience under pressure to win another 10-9 final, this time against O’Sullivan.
The most recent inductee into the three-time winners’ club has been Mark Selby. He hoisted the crystal trophy in 2008 (Stephen Lee, 10-3) and 2010 (Ronnie O’Sullivan, 10-9), before outgunning the Australian, Neil Robertson, 10-6 in 2013. The Jester from Leicester, of course, still has the power to add more Masters titles given his status as one of the best players on the planet.
And you can wager on Selby – or any other player – for The Masters or to add another world title to his collection: place your snooker bets here.
Who Won the Snooker Masters in 2024?
So who won the Masters snooker in 2024?
The answer is Ronnie O’Sullivan, who secured his eighth Masters title with an impressive win against Ali Carter. In 25 previous meetings between the two, Carter had only beaten O’Sullivan twice, and the Rocket had won all previous Triple Crown Final meetings between the two.
After the first session, Carter surprised many by leading 5-3, extending his lead to 6-3 in the first of the evening session, with O’Sullivan lacking his usual composure. But as ever, Ronnie recovered and. Carter’s missed pot on a red ball in the 17th frame invited Ronnie to sweep things up to win his eighth Masters title by a scored of 10-7.
Masters Winners FAQs
Which Player Has Played the Most Masters’?
No player has appeared in more editions of The Masters than John Higgins. He made his debut in 1995 aged 19, before going on to contest the tournament 30 times, his most recent appearance in the 2024 competition.
What is the Prize Money for the Masters Snooker Winner?
As well as being one of snooker’s most prestigious tournaments, The Masters is also one of the sport’s richest prizes. The total prize fund is a whopping £725,000, with the winner going home with a cheque for some £250,000. The losing finalist walks away with £100,000.
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