The Irish Masters was a professional snooker tournament. It was founded in 1978, following on from the successful Benson & Hedges Ireland Tournament (alternatively known as the Benson & Hedges Ireland Championship). The final champion of the tournament was Ronnie O'Sullivan.
History Early events The event started out in 1975 as the Benson & Hedges Challenge Match between Alex Higgins and John Spencer. The match initially carried a £250 prize for the winner and £150 for the runner-up, but both players agreed to a "winner-takes-all" format. Spencer scored two centuries (a 121 and a 109) and despite Higgins leading 7–5, Spencer won four frames in a row to win. In 1976 and 1977 it was expanded to a four-man invitational event, called the Benson & Hedges Ireland Tournament.
Irish Masters In 1978 the tournament was renamed the Irish Masters and continued as an ever-present fixture on the snooker calendar until 2005. Benson & Hedges continued their sponsorship with the tournament being played at Goffs, County Kildare. After tobacco sponsorship was outlawed in the Ireland in 2000, the Irish government funded the event from 2001 and it was subsequently relocated to the Citywest Hotel, Saggart, County Dublin. The tournament was staged on an invitational basis for most of its existence but became a ranking tournament from the 2002/03 season. The event was dropped from the calendar in the 2005/2006 season. In 2007, a three-day invitational event known as the Kilkenny Irish Masters was staged with 16 players. It attracted a strong field with 9 of the world's top 16 players taking part, with Ronnie O'Sullivan winning the title.
The tournament was dominated most of all by Steve Davis, who won it eight times. It was won by Irish players on two occasions, Alex Higgins in 1989 and Ken Doherty in 1998. Doherty claimed the title despite losing in the final 3–9 against Ronnie O'Sullivan, as O'Sullivan subsequently failed a drugs test after testing positive for cannabis. There was only one official maximum break in the history of the tournament. John Higgins made it in the quarter-finals of the 2000 event against Jimmy White. There has been one further maximum break in 2007 by O'Sullivan, but it is not included in the list of official maximum breaks, as the table was not to the required standards used on the professional circuit.
Winners
Year Winner Runner-up Final score Venue Season Benson & Hedges Challenge Match (non-ranking) 1975 John Spencer Alex Higgins 9–7 Dublin 1974/75 Benson & Hedges Ireland Tournament (non-ranking) 1976 John Spencer Alex Higgins 5–0 Dublin 1975/76 1977 Alex Higgins Ray Reardon 5–3 Dublin (Leopardstown) 1976/77 Irish Masters (non-ranking) 1978 John Spencer Doug Mountjoy 5–3 Kill 1977/78 1979 Doug Mountjoy Ray Reardon 6–5 Kill 1978/79 1980 Terry Griffiths Doug Mountjoy 9–8 Kill 1979/80 1981 Terry Griffiths Ray Reardon 9–7 Kill 1980/81 1982 Terry Griffiths Steve Davis 9–5 Kill 1981/82 1983 Steve Davis Ray Reardon 9–2 Kill 1982/83 1984 Steve Davis Terry Griffiths 9–1 Kill 1983/84 1985 Jimmy White Alex Higgins 9–5 Kill 1984/85 1986 Jimmy White Willie Thorne 9–5 Kill 1985/86 1987 Steve Davis Willie Thorne 9–1 Kill 1986/87 1988 Steve Davis Neal Foulds 9–4 Kill 1987/88 1989 Alex Higgins Stephen Hendry 9–8 Kill 1988/89 1990 Steve Davis Dennis Taylor 9–4 Kill 1989/90 1991 Steve Davis John Parrott 9–5 Kill 1990/91 1992 Stephen Hendry Ken Doherty 9–6 Kill 1991/92 1993 Steve Davis Alan McManus 9–4 Kill 1992/93 1994 Steve Davis Alan McManus 9–8 Kill 1993/94 1995 Peter Ebdon Stephen Hendry 9–8 Kill 1994/95 1996 Darren Morgan Steve Davis 9–8 Kill 1995/96 1997 Stephen Hendry Darren Morgan 9–8 Kill 1996/97 1998 Ken Doherty * Ronnie O'SullivanDisqualified Kill 1997/98 1999 Stephen Hendry Stephen Lee 9–8 Kill 1998/99 2000 John Higgins Stephen Hendry 9–4 Kill 1999/00 2001 Ronnie O'Sullivan Stephen Hendry 9–8 Saggart 2000/01 2002 John Higgins Peter Ebdon 10–3 Saggart 2001/02 Irish Masters (ranking) 2003 Ronnie O'Sullivan John Higgins 10–9 Saggart 2002/03 2004 Peter Ebdon Mark King 10–7 Saggart 2003/04 2005 Ronnie O'Sullivan Matthew Stevens 10–8 Saggart 2004/05 Kilkenny Irish Masters (non-ranking) 2007 Ronnie O'Sullivan Barry Hawkins 9–1 Kilkenny 2006/07
See also Irish Open Irish Professional Championship 2011 Alex Higgins International Trophy
Notes
.O'Sullivan failed a drugs test after testing positive for cannabis. Doherty was awarded the title.
References