The 1994 Masters (officially the 1994 Benson & Hedges Masters) was a professional non-
ranking
A ranking is a relationship between a set of items such that, for any two items, the first is either "ranked higher than", "ranked lower than" or "ranked equal to" the second.
In mathematics, this is known as a weak order or total preorder of o ...
snooker
Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sports, cue sport played on a Billiard table#Snooker and English billiards tables, rectangular table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six Billiard table#Pockets 2, pockets, one at each corner and o ...
tournament that took place between 6 and 13 February 1994 at the
Wembley Conference Centre
Wembley Conference Centre was a conference centre in Wembley Park, London, England, that existed from 1977 to 2006, located next to Wembley Arena.
History
In the later 1970s, modern multi-purpose halls began opening in British towns and cities. ...
in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
.
Defending champion
Stephen Hendry
Stephen Gordon Hendry (born 13 January 1969) is a Scottish professional snooker player who dominated the sport during the 1990s, becoming one of the most successful players in its history. After turning professional in 1985 at age 16, Hendry ...
met
Alan McManus
Alan McManus (born 21 January 1971) is a Scottish retired professional snooker player and current commentator who works for Eurosport. A mainstay of the world's top sixteen during the 1990s and 2000s, he has won two ranking events, the 1994 Du ...
in the final. Hendry had won the previous five Masters tournaments and was undefeated in 23 matches since making his debut in 1989. By comparison McManus had lost all six of the important finals he had contested since his first final, the 1992
Asian Open. The previous week he had lost to
Steve Davis
Steve Davis (born 22 August 1957) is an English retired professional snooker player who is currently a Sports commentator, commentator, musician, DJ, and author. He is best known for dominating professional snooker during the 1980s, when he rea ...
in the final of the
Welsh Open. McManus won the first three frames, but Hendry won the next three to level the match, including a break of 115 in frame 5, Hendry's first century of the tournament. McManus won the 7th frame to take a 4–3 lead at the end of the afternoon session. Hendry had breaks of 80, 49, 62 and 58 to win four of the first five frames in the evening and take a 7–5 lead. McManus had missed a simple black to lose frame 10 after he had needed three snookers. McManus levelled the match again by winning the next two frames before losing frame 15 and winning a tense frame 16. In the deciding frame Hendry missed an ambitious plant after which McManus made a 76 break, Hendry conceding with only 59 on the table. McManus won the first prize of £115,000.
[ He also won a further £10,000 for making the highest break of the tournament, a 132 total clearance in the sixth frame of his first round match against ]Nigel Bond
Nigel Bond (born 15 November 1965) is an English former professional snooker player.
Bond competed on the main tour from 1989 to 2022, and was ranked within the world's top 16 players between 1992 and 1999, peaking at 5th for the 1996–97 s ...
.
Field
Stephen Hendry
Stephen Gordon Hendry (born 13 January 1969) is a Scottish professional snooker player who dominated the sport during the 1990s, becoming one of the most successful players in its history. After turning professional in 1985 at age 16, Hendry ...
, defending champion and World Champion
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
was the number 1 seed. Places were allocated to the top 16 players in the world rankings
A ranking is a relationship between a set of items such that, for any two items, the first is either "ranked higher than", "ranked lower than" or "ranked equal to" the second.
In mathematics, this is known as a weak order or total preorder of o ...
. Players seeded 15 and 16 played in the wild-card round against the winner of the qualifying event
The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA) is a law passed by the U.S. Congress on a reconciliation basis and signed by President Ronald Reagan that, among other things, mandates an insurance program which gives some em ...
, Ronnie O'Sullivan
Ronald Antonio O'Sullivan (born 5 December 1975) is an English professional snooker player who is the current world champion and world number one. Widely recognised as one of the most talented and accomplished players in the sport's history, ...
(ranked 57), and Peter Ebdon
Peter David Ebdon (born 27 August 1970) is an English former snooker player. The winner of the 2002 World Snooker Championship, Ebdon won nine world ranking events, placing twelfth on the all-time list of ranking tournament winners. In addit ...
(ranked 21), who was the wild-card selection. Peter Ebdon
Peter David Ebdon (born 27 August 1970) is an English former snooker player. The winner of the 2002 World Snooker Championship, Ebdon won nine world ranking events, placing twelfth on the all-time list of ranking tournament winners. In addit ...
, David Roe
David Roe (born 11 September 1965) is a former English professional snooker player, and a four-time ranking tournament quarter-finalist.
Career
Roe was born on 11 September 1965 in Derby. He began his professional career for the 1986–87 sno ...
and 18-year-old Ronnie O'Sullivan were making their debuts in the Masters.
Wild-card round
In the preliminary round, the qualifier and wild-card players played the 15th and 16th seeds:
Main draw
Final
Qualifying
Ronnie O'Sullivan
Ronald Antonio O'Sullivan (born 5 December 1975) is an English professional snooker player who is the current world champion and world number one. Widely recognised as one of the most talented and accomplished players in the sport's history, ...
won the qualifying tournament, known as the 1993 Benson & Hedges Championship at the time which took place in Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
between 6 and 10 November 1993.
Century breaks
Total: 7
* 132 Alan McManus
Alan McManus (born 21 January 1971) is a Scottish retired professional snooker player and current commentator who works for Eurosport. A mainstay of the world's top sixteen during the 1990s and 2000s, he has won two ranking events, the 1994 Du ...
* 130, 104 James Wattana
James Wattana (; born January 17, 1970, as วัฒนา ภู่โอบอ้อม ''Wattana Pu-Ob-Orm'', then renamed รัชพล ภู่โอบอ้อม ''Ratchapol Pu-Ob-Orm'' in 2003) is a Thai former professional snooker pl ...
* 119 Ken Doherty
Ken Doherty (born 17 September 1969) is an Irish professional snooker player, commentator and radio presenter.
As an amateur, Doherty won the Irish Amateur Championship twice, the World Under-21 Amateur Championship and the World Amateur C ...
* 115 Stephen Hendry
Stephen Gordon Hendry (born 13 January 1969) is a Scottish professional snooker player who dominated the sport during the 1990s, becoming one of the most successful players in its history. After turning professional in 1985 at age 16, Hendry ...
* 113, 112 Peter Ebdon
Peter David Ebdon (born 27 August 1970) is an English former snooker player. The winner of the 2002 World Snooker Championship, Ebdon won nine world ranking events, placing twelfth on the all-time list of ranking tournament winners. In addit ...
Peter Ebdon's 112 was scored in the wild-card round.
References
{{Snooker season 1993/1994
Masters (snooker)
Masters Snooker
Masters Snooker
February 1994 sports events in the United Kingdom