Benson & Hedges Championship
Masters Qualifying Tournament |
| Non-Ranking Events open to players ranked outside the top 16 only |
Brief
History of the Benson & Hedges Championship and the Masters Qualifying
Event
For the 1990 Masters at Wembley, Benson & Hedges had added two
wild cards and for the following season they introduced a qualifying
competition for one of those wild cards. Originally called the B & H Satellite
Championship it began at the somewhat appropriately named Masters Club in Glasgow and it was a local
player, Alan McManus who took the title.
Normally played in October, it was open to any professional other
than those ranked in the top 16, who automatically receive an invite to the
Masters but, for one season only, in 1992/93 it was designated as a minor
ranking event and open to all pros but with only ten per cent of the usual
ranking points available, many of the top players did not bother.
After four years in Glasgow the event moved to Edinburgh in 1994
for three years and then to the Willie Thorne Club in Malvern where it remained
for a further four years before moving to Mansfield.
Alan McManus is the only player to have appeared in two finals and
one of four winners who have gone on to win the Masters
itself in later years. The other three are Ronnie O’Sullivan, Mark Williams and
Matthew Stevens.
The ending of tobacco sponsorship forced the withdrawal of Benson &
Hedges after the 2002/03 season but the Masters continued and a new Masters
Qualifying Event was established. This had a field of 128. The top 16 were
excluded as they automatically qualified for the main event and they and any
other Main Tour player who did not enter, were replaced by the top players from
the Challenge Tour Order of Merit. The winner would not receive any prize money
at this stage but, as before, would go forward to play in the Masters itself.
No such event was held in 2004 but it returned in 2005 but there were only 48
entries. Stuart Bingham won and also recorded the event’s first maximum break
along the way. The following season Stuart became the first player to win a Masters
qualifying tournament twice.
©Chris Turner 2008
Roll of Honour
BENSON & HEDGES CHAMPIONSHIP
| Season |
Venue |
Winner
|
Runner Up |
Score |
1st Prize |
| 1990/1 |
Masters Club, Glasgow |
Alan McManus |
James Wattana |
9-5 |
£3,000 |
| 1991/2 |
Masters Club, Glasgow |
Ken Doherty |
Darren Morgan |
9-3 |
£3,000 |
| 1992/3 |
Masters Club, Glasgow |
Chris Small |
Alan McManus |
9-1 |
£5,000 |
| 1993/4 |
Masters Club, Glasgow |
Ronnie O'Sullivan |
John Lardner |
9-6 |
£5,000 |
| 1994/5 |
JP Snooker Centre, Edinburgh |
Mark J. Williams |
Rod Lawler |
9-5 |
£5,000 |
| 1995/6 |
JP Snooker Centre, Edinburgh |
Matthew Stevens |
Paul McPhillips |
9-3 |
£5,000 |
| 1996/7 |
JP Snooker Centre, Edinburgh |
Brian Morgan |
Drew Henry |
9-8 |
£5,000 |
| 1997/8 |
Willie Thorne Snooker Centre, Malvern |
Andy Hicks |
Paul Davies |
9-6 |
£5,000 |
| 1998/9 |
Willie Thorne Snooker Centre, Malvern |
David Gray |
Dave Harold |
9-6 |
£5,000 |
| 1999/00 |
Willie Thorne Snooker Centre, Malvern |
Allister Carter |
Simon Bedford |
9-4 |
£5,000 |
| 2000/1 |
Willie Thorne Snooker Centre, Malvern |
Shaun Murphy |
Stuart Bingham |
9-7 |
£5,000 |
| 2001/2 |
Towers Snooker Club, Mansfield |
Ryan Day |
Hugh Abernethy |
9-5 |
£5,000 |
| 2002/3 |
Towers Snooker Club, Mansfield |
Mark Davis |
Mehmet Husnu |
9-6 |
£6,000 |
Maximum Breaks
| Terry Murphy * |
1993 |
Round 1 v. Robert Thallon |
| Karl Burrows |
1999 |
Round 2 v. Adrian Rosa |
| David McLellan |
2000 |
Round 3 v. Steve Meakin |
| Shaun Murphy |
2001 |
Last 32 v. Adrian Rosa |
| Tony Drago |
2002 |
Last 32 v. Stuart Bingham |
*not officialy recognised for record purposes
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Masters Qualifying Tournament
| Season |
Venue |
Winner
|
Runner Up |
Score |
1st Prize |
| 2003/4 |
World Snooker Centre, Pontins Prestatyn |
Neil Robertson |
Dominic Dale |
9-5 |
none |
| 2004/5 |
not held |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
| 2005/6 |
World Snooker Centre, Pontins Prestatyn |
Stuart Bingham |
Allister Carter |
9-1 |
none |
| 2006/7 |
English Institute of Sport, Sheffield |
Stuart Bingham |
Mark Selby |
9-6 |
none |
| 2007/8 |
English Institute of Sport, Sheffield |
Barry Hawkins |
Kurt Maflin |
9-5 |
none |
| 2008/9 |
English Institute of Sport, Sheffield |
Judd Trump |
Mark Joyce |
6-1 |
none |
| 2009/10 |
World Snooker Centre, Pontins Prestatyn |
Rory McLeod |
Andrew Higginson |
6-1 |
£2,000 |
Maximum Breaks
| Stuart Bingham |
2005/6 |
Quarter Final v. Marcus Campbell |
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©Chris Turner 2008
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