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2008 Masters (snooker)
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2008 Masters (snooker)
The 2008 Masters (officially the 2008 SAGA Insurance Masters) was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that took place from 13 to 20 January 2008 at the Wembley Arena in London, England. The second Triple Crown event of the 2007–08 season, following the 2007 UK Championship and preceding the 2008 World Snooker Championship, the tournament was the 34th edition of the Masters, which was first held in 1975. Organised by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, the event was sponsored by Saga Insurance. The winner received £150,000 from a total prize fund of £460,000.
The defending champion, Ronnie O'Sullivan, lost to Stephen Maguire in the first round; it was the first time since 2003 that O'Sullivan did not make it to the final. Debutant Mark Selby won the tournament by defeating Stephen Lee 10–3 in the final. In the last frame, he tied Ken Doherty for the highest break of the tournament, recording a total clearance of 141. The tournament produced a total of 23 century breaks, with a further 27 made in the qualifying stages.
The 2008 Masters was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that took place from 13 to 20 January 2008 at the Wembley Arena in London, England. It was sponsored by Saga Insurance. The second Triple Crown event of the 2007–08 season, following the 2007 UK Championship and preceding the 2008 World Snooker Championship, the tournament was the 34th edition of the Masters, which was first held in 1975 for ten invited players at the West Centre Hotel in London. John Spencer won the inaugural event, defeating Ray Reardon on a re-spotted black in the deciding frame of the final. The second-oldest professional snooker tournament, after the World Snooker Championship, the Masters had been staged at the Wembley Arena since 2007. As of 2008, Stephen Hendry was the most successful player in the tournament's history, having won the title six times. Ronnie O'Sullivan held the record as the tournament's youngest winner, having won his first title in 1995, aged 19. Reardon stood as the oldest winner, as he was 43 when he prevailed in the 1976 final.
Defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan was the number 1 seed with World Champion John Higgins seeded 2. Places were allocated to the top 16 players in the world rankings. Players seeded 15 and 16 played in the wild-card round against the winner of the qualifying event, Barry Hawkins (ranked 19), and wild-card selection Marco Fu (ranked 27). Mark Selby was making his debut in the Masters.
The winner of the event received £150,000 from a total prize fund of £460,000. The breakdown of prize money for the event is shown below:
The wild-card-round matches were played as the best of 11 frames. In his match against Barry Hawkins, Ryan Day potted fifteen reds and was on course for a maximum break, but lost position and missed the fifteenth black. He went on to win 6–2. Marco Fu compiled a century break and four further half-centuries to defeat Steve Davis 6–2. "I was capitalising more on Steve [Davis]'s errors than creating good chances of my own," Fu said.
The first-round matches were played as the best of 11 frames. Stephen Maguire faced Ronnie O'Sullivan, who was the defending champion and had defeated him 10–2 in the final of the 2007 UK Championship a month earlier. Maguire produced breaks of 103 and 84 as he moved into a 4–1 lead. O'Sullivan made breaks of 112 and 72 as he reduced the deficit and went on to force a decider. In the final frame, O'Sullivan missed the final blue when he was clearing the table and allowed Maguire to get back in and clinch victory with blue and pink. "I had my chance and I didn't take it. If you don't take your chances then don't expect another one," O'Sullivan lamented. It was the first time since 2003 that O'Sullivan did not reach the final of the event. The runner-up in the previous edition, Ding Junhui, was 1–3 and 3–4 in arrears to John Higgins, but took three frames on the spin to win 6–4. Stephen Lee won 6–5 over Graeme Dott. Shaun Murphy, who was feeling unwell, faced Ali Carter. Carter took the first frame on the final black and doubled his lead in the next, but Murphy levelled at 2–2 and 3–3. Murphy went on to win 6–3. "Ali [Carter] was poorly through the match as well. He said he wasn't feeling very well, so we both struggled," Murphy said afterwards.
Mark Williams took a 2–0 lead against Ken Doherty with breaks of 118 and 69. Doherty replied with breaks of 101, 89, 53 and 68 to win six consecutive breaks and advance into the quarter-finals. Out of the top 32 and facing the possibility of having to play in the qualifying stages of the following World Championship, Williams admitted after the defeat he has contemplating retiring from professional snooker. "I'll mull over my situation in the summer. There are plenty of things to do outside snooker, but hopefully I won't have to think about that," he said. Peter Ebdon compiled breaks of 92, 76, 52 and 50 as he built a 4–2 lead against Day. Day levelled the match with back-to-back 50 breaks, but Ebdon also won two on the spin to seal a 6–4 victory. Neil Robertson made breaks of 63 and 118 to take the two first frames of his match against Fu. Fu, winner of the 2007 Grand Prix, replied with breaks of 89, 71, 69 and 100 to go 4–2 in front. The match went to a decider, which Fu won on the colours. Stephen Hendry met Mark Selby in a match which, according to Sam Lyon's report for BBC Sport, was characterised "by missed pots and poor safety play". Hendry took a 5–3 lead with a break of 105, but Selby won three consecutive frames to win the match. "I feel I'm too good not to come back. People keep saying that Hendry's gone but that's all rubbish. One good performance and I'll be back," Hendry said afterwards.
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2008 Masters (snooker)
The 2008 Masters (officially the 2008 SAGA Insurance Masters) was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that took place from 13 to 20 January 2008 at the Wembley Arena in London, England. The second Triple Crown event of the 2007–08 season, following the 2007 UK Championship and preceding the 2008 World Snooker Championship, the tournament was the 34th edition of the Masters, which was first held in 1975. Organised by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, the event was sponsored by Saga Insurance. The winner received £150,000 from a total prize fund of £460,000.
The defending champion, Ronnie O'Sullivan, lost to Stephen Maguire in the first round; it was the first time since 2003 that O'Sullivan did not make it to the final. Debutant Mark Selby won the tournament by defeating Stephen Lee 10–3 in the final. In the last frame, he tied Ken Doherty for the highest break of the tournament, recording a total clearance of 141. The tournament produced a total of 23 century breaks, with a further 27 made in the qualifying stages.
The 2008 Masters was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that took place from 13 to 20 January 2008 at the Wembley Arena in London, England. It was sponsored by Saga Insurance. The second Triple Crown event of the 2007–08 season, following the 2007 UK Championship and preceding the 2008 World Snooker Championship, the tournament was the 34th edition of the Masters, which was first held in 1975 for ten invited players at the West Centre Hotel in London. John Spencer won the inaugural event, defeating Ray Reardon on a re-spotted black in the deciding frame of the final. The second-oldest professional snooker tournament, after the World Snooker Championship, the Masters had been staged at the Wembley Arena since 2007. As of 2008, Stephen Hendry was the most successful player in the tournament's history, having won the title six times. Ronnie O'Sullivan held the record as the tournament's youngest winner, having won his first title in 1995, aged 19. Reardon stood as the oldest winner, as he was 43 when he prevailed in the 1976 final.
Defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan was the number 1 seed with World Champion John Higgins seeded 2. Places were allocated to the top 16 players in the world rankings. Players seeded 15 and 16 played in the wild-card round against the winner of the qualifying event, Barry Hawkins (ranked 19), and wild-card selection Marco Fu (ranked 27). Mark Selby was making his debut in the Masters.
The winner of the event received £150,000 from a total prize fund of £460,000. The breakdown of prize money for the event is shown below:
The wild-card-round matches were played as the best of 11 frames. In his match against Barry Hawkins, Ryan Day potted fifteen reds and was on course for a maximum break, but lost position and missed the fifteenth black. He went on to win 6–2. Marco Fu compiled a century break and four further half-centuries to defeat Steve Davis 6–2. "I was capitalising more on Steve [Davis]'s errors than creating good chances of my own," Fu said.
The first-round matches were played as the best of 11 frames. Stephen Maguire faced Ronnie O'Sullivan, who was the defending champion and had defeated him 10–2 in the final of the 2007 UK Championship a month earlier. Maguire produced breaks of 103 and 84 as he moved into a 4–1 lead. O'Sullivan made breaks of 112 and 72 as he reduced the deficit and went on to force a decider. In the final frame, O'Sullivan missed the final blue when he was clearing the table and allowed Maguire to get back in and clinch victory with blue and pink. "I had my chance and I didn't take it. If you don't take your chances then don't expect another one," O'Sullivan lamented. It was the first time since 2003 that O'Sullivan did not reach the final of the event. The runner-up in the previous edition, Ding Junhui, was 1–3 and 3–4 in arrears to John Higgins, but took three frames on the spin to win 6–4. Stephen Lee won 6–5 over Graeme Dott. Shaun Murphy, who was feeling unwell, faced Ali Carter. Carter took the first frame on the final black and doubled his lead in the next, but Murphy levelled at 2–2 and 3–3. Murphy went on to win 6–3. "Ali [Carter] was poorly through the match as well. He said he wasn't feeling very well, so we both struggled," Murphy said afterwards.
Mark Williams took a 2–0 lead against Ken Doherty with breaks of 118 and 69. Doherty replied with breaks of 101, 89, 53 and 68 to win six consecutive breaks and advance into the quarter-finals. Out of the top 32 and facing the possibility of having to play in the qualifying stages of the following World Championship, Williams admitted after the defeat he has contemplating retiring from professional snooker. "I'll mull over my situation in the summer. There are plenty of things to do outside snooker, but hopefully I won't have to think about that," he said. Peter Ebdon compiled breaks of 92, 76, 52 and 50 as he built a 4–2 lead against Day. Day levelled the match with back-to-back 50 breaks, but Ebdon also won two on the spin to seal a 6–4 victory. Neil Robertson made breaks of 63 and 118 to take the two first frames of his match against Fu. Fu, winner of the 2007 Grand Prix, replied with breaks of 89, 71, 69 and 100 to go 4–2 in front. The match went to a decider, which Fu won on the colours. Stephen Hendry met Mark Selby in a match which, according to Sam Lyon's report for BBC Sport, was characterised "by missed pots and poor safety play". Hendry took a 5–3 lead with a break of 105, but Selby won three consecutive frames to win the match. "I feel I'm too good not to come back. People keep saying that Hendry's gone but that's all rubbish. One good performance and I'll be back," Hendry said afterwards.