| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Venue | World Snooker Centre |
| Location | Prestatyn |
| Country | Wales |
| Established | 1990 |
| Organisation(s) | World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association |
| Format | Non-ranking event |
| Final year | 2009 |
| Final champion |  Rory McLeod |
The Masters Qualifying Event was a professional snooker tournament, which ran from 1990 to 2009. Each season, the winner of the event was awarded a wild-card to play at the Masters.
At the 1990 Masters two wild-cards were added to the tournament and the following season a qualifying tournament was established for one of these wild-cards. The tournament was named Benson & Hedges Championship. The event was held in Glasgow and Alan McManus became the inaugural champion. [1]
In the 1992/1993 season it became one of the minor-ranking events along with the three Strachan Challenge events. These events carried one-tenth of the ranking points of other tournaments. [2] but most of the top players did not enter, so it lost ranking status from the next season. The event was then moved to Edinburgh in 1994/1995 for three years, to Malvern in 1997/1998 for four years and to Mansfield in 2001/2002 for two years. [1]
In 2003/2004 the event was renamed to Masters Qualifying Event due to restrictions on tobacco advertising in the United Kingdom. The event was held in Prestatyn; the top 16 players were excluded from the event and other non-participating Main Tour members were replaced by top players from the Challenge Tour Order of Merit. After a season away, the Masters Qualifying Event returned to the calendar in 2005/2006, and was moved to the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield next season for three years. The event was last held in Prestatyn during the 2009/10 season. [1]
There has been five official maximum breaks during the history of the tournament. Karl Burrows made the first against Adrian Rosa in 1999. The second was made in 2000 by David McLellan against Steve Meakin, the third in 2001 by Shaun Murphy against Adrian Rosa and the fourth in 2002 by Tony Drago against Stuart Bingham. The last came at the 2005 event by Bingham against Marcus Campbell. [3] [4] There was one further maximum break by Terry Murphy against Robert Thallon but it was not officially ratified due to the match being played on one of the outside non-templated tables. [5]
The Irish Masters was a professional snooker tournament. It was founded in 1978, following on from the successful Benson & Hedges Ireland Tournament. The final champion of the tournament was Ronnie O'Sullivan.
The Strachan Open was a professional snooker tournament held between 1992 and 1994. It had varying ranking status during its history.
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 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 1996–97 snooker season was a series of snooker tournaments played between September 1996 and May 1997. The following table outlines the results of the finals for ranking events and the invitational events.
The 1992 Masters was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that took place between 2 and 9 February 1992 at the Wembley Conference Centre in London, England.
The 1993 Masters was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that took place between 7 and 14 February 1993 at the Wembley Conference Centre in London, England.
The 1992–93 snooker season was a series of snooker tournaments played between August 1992 and May 1993. The following table outlines the results for ranking, minor-ranking and the invitational events.
The 1993–94 snooker season was a series of snooker tournaments played between August 1993 and May 1994. The following table outlines the results for ranking events and the invitational events.
The 1994–95 snooker season was a series of snooker tournaments played between August 1994 and May 1995. The following table outlines the results for ranking events and the invitational events.
The 1995–96 snooker season was a series of snooker tournaments played between August 1995 and May 1996. The following table outlines the results for the ranking and the invitational events.
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 1998–99 snooker season was a series of snooker tournaments played between June 1998 and May 1999. The following table outlines the results for the ranking and the invitational events.
The 1999–2000 snooker season was a series of snooker tournaments played between 23 July 1999 and 28 May 2000. The following table outlines the results for ranking events and the invitational events.
The 2002–03 snooker season was a series of snooker tournaments played between 27 August 2002 and 22 May 2003. Due to a legal ban, this was the final season to have events sponsored by tobacco companies. The following table outlines the results for the ranking events and the invitational events. Mark Williams won all three triple crown events - the last player to do so in a single season.
The 1991–92 snooker season was a series of snooker tournaments played between 30 May 1991 and 31 May 1992. The following table outlines the results for ranking and the invitational events.
The 1990–91 snooker season was a series of snooker tournaments played between August 1990 and May 1991. The following table outlines the results for ranking and the invitational events.
| Tournaments | |
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| Related articles | |
Active professional snooker tournaments | |
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| Ranking events | |
| Non-ranking events | |
| Seniors events |
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| Tours and series | |
| Related lists | |
