Ken Doherty is an Irish professional snooker player, commentator and radio presenter.
Ronald Antonio O'Sullivan is an English professional snooker player, and current world number one. Widely recognised as one of the most talented and accomplished players in the sport's history, he has won the World Snooker Championship seven times, a modern-era record he holds jointly with Stephen Hendry. He has also won a record seven Masters and a record eight UK Championship titles for a total of 22 Triple Crown titles, the most achieved by any player. He holds the record for the most ranking titles, with 40, and has held the top ranking position multiple times.
Raymond Reardon is a Welsh retired professional snooker player. He turned professional in 1967 aged 35 and dominated the sport in the 1970s, winning the World Snooker Championship six times and more than a dozen other tournaments. Reardon was World Champion in 1970, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976 and 1978, and runner-up in 1982. He won the inaugural Pot Black tournament in 1969, the 1976 Masters and the 1982 Professional Players Tournament.
Clifford Charles Devlin Thorburn is a Canadian retired professional snooker player. Nicknamed "The Grinder" because of his slow, determined style of play, he won the World Snooker Championship in 1980, defeating Alex Higgins 18–16 in the final. He is generally recognised as the sport's first world champion from outside the United Kingdom—since Australian Horace Lindrum's 1952 title is usually disregarded—and he remains the only world champion from the Americas. He was runner-up in two other world championships, losing 21–25 to John Spencer in the 1977 final and 6–18 to Steve Davis in the 1983 final. At the 1983 tournament, Thorburn became the first player to make a maximum break in a World Championship match, achieving the feat in his second-round encounter with Terry Griffiths.
The Masters is a professional invitational snooker tournament. Held every year since 1975, it is the second-longest-running professional tournament after the World Snooker Championship. It is one of the three Triple Crown events, and although not a ranking event, it is regarded as one of the most prestigious tournaments on the circuit. and is currently televised by the BBC as part of its agreement with World Snooker to broadcast the prestigious Triple Crown events. The reigning champion is Judd Trump.
The 1995 Masters is a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that took place between 5 and 12 February 1995 at the Wembley Conference Centre in London, England.
The 1996 Masters was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that took place between 4 and 11 February 1996 at the Wembley Conference Centre in London, England. The last 16 and quarter-final rounds were extended from 9 to 11 frames while the final was extended from 17 to 19 frames, which has remained the match format ever since.
The 1997 Masters was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that took place between 2 and 9 February 1997 at the Wembley Conference Centre in London, England.
The 1998 Masters was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that took place between 1 and 8 February 1998 at the Wembley Conference Centre in London, England.
The 1999 Masters was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that took place between 7 and 14 February 1999 at the Wembley Conference Centre in London, England. The wild-card matches were extended from 9 to 11 frames.
The 2000 Masters was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that took place between 6 and 13 February 2000 at the Wembley Conference Centre in London, England.
The 2002 Masters was a professional invitational snooker tournament held at the Wembley Conference Centre, London from 3 to 10 February 2002. It was the 28th edition of The Masters, a Triple Crown event, and the penultimate invitational event in the 2001–02 snooker season. It followed the 2001 Scottish Masters and preceded the 2002 Irish Masters. Sponsored by the cigarette company Benson & Hedges, the event featured the top 16 from the snooker world rankings and two wild cards. The competition had a total prize fund of £650,000, with £175,000 going to the winner.
The 2003 Masters was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that took place between 2 and 9 February 2003 at the Wembley Conference Centre in London, England.
The Triple Crown in professional snooker refers to winning the sport's three longest-running and most prestigious tournaments: the World Snooker Championship, the invitational Masters, and the UK Championship. In January 2020, the three tournaments were formally named the Triple Crown Series.
The Irish Professional Championship was an invitational professional snooker tournament for mostly Irish and Northern Irish snooker players.
The 1994 Masters was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that took place between 6 and 13 February 1994 at the Wembley Conference Centre in London, England.
The 1997–98 snooker season was a series of snooker tournaments played between August 1997 and May 1998. The following table outlines the results for ranking events and the invitational events. This was the first season since 1987–88 that Stephen Hendry failed to win at least one Triple Crown title, although he did reach two of the three Triple Crown finals.
The 1998 Irish Masters was the twenty-fourth edition of the professional invitational snooker tournament, which took place from 24 to 29 March 1998. The tournament was played at Goffs in Kill, County Kildare, and featured twelve professional players.
The 2001 Irish Masters was a professional invitational snooker tournament which was held at the Citywest Hotel in Saggart, Dublin, from 27 March to 1 April. It was the 24th Irish Masters and the fifth and final World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association invitational event in the 2000–01 snooker season. The tournament was co-sponsored by the Health Promotion Unit and the Office of Tobacco Control of the Department of Health and Children and hotel group Citywest.
The 2002 Irish Masters was a professional invitational snooker tournament which was held at the Citywest Hotel in Saggart, Dublin, from 19 to 24 March. It was the 25th edition of the Irish Masters and the fourth and final World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) invitational event of the 2001–02 season; it followed the third invitational event, the 2002 Masters, held in February. The tournament was co-sponsored by the Citywest hotel group and the Department of Health and Children and broadcast by RTÉ.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 
