| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 1–8 February 1998 |
| Venue | Wembley Conference Centre |
| City | London |
| Country | England |
| Organisation(s) | WPBSA |
| Format | Non-ranking event |
| Total prize fund | £535,000 |
| Winner's share | £145,000 |
| Highest break | 142 |
| Final | |
| Champion | Mark Williams |
| Runner-up | Stephen Hendry |
| Score | 10–9 |
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The 1998 Benson and Hedges Masters professional non-ranking snooker tournament took place between 1 and 8 February 1998 at the Wembley Conference Centre, London, England.
The final frame between Mark Williams and Stephen Hendry turned into a re-spotted black in the final for the first time since Ray Reardon and John Spencer in the first ever final in 1975. Hendry had led 9–6 before Williams tied it to 9–9. Williams was then trailing 56–34 in the final frame when he potted the brown and the remaining colours to tie the scores in the match. They then played seven shots on the black in a match similar to the 1985 World Championship final between Dennis Taylor and Steve Davis. Hendry then missed an easy black in the middle pocket before Williams potted it on the top left pocket in to claim his first Masters title.
After winning the £145,000 prize money, it was sent to another player named Mark Williams by mistake before it came to the champion. This led to him officially becoming known as Mark J. Williams. The highest break of the tournament was 142 made by Andy Hicks.
Contents |
Winner: £145,000
Runner-up: £75,000
High Break: £16,000
Total: £535,000
In the preliminary round, the wildcard players played the 15th and 16th seeds:[1]
| Match | Score | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| WC1 | Darren Morgan | 5–4 | Andy Hicks |
| WC2 | Stephen Lee (16) | 5–1 | Jimmy White |
| Round of 16 | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | |||||||||||
| Stephen Hendry | 6 | |||||||||||||
| Stephen Lee | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Stephen Hendry | 6 | |||||||||||||
| Nigel Bond | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Nigel Bond | 6 | |||||||||||||
| 7 February | ||||||||||||||
| Peter Ebdon | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Stephen Hendry | 6 | |||||||||||||
| Ken Doherty | 5 | |||||||||||||
| Ken Doherty | 6 | |||||||||||||
| Tony Drago | 4 | |||||||||||||
| Ken Doherty | 6 | |||||||||||||
| James Wattana | 1 | |||||||||||||
| James Wattana | 6 | |||||||||||||
| 8 February | ||||||||||||||
| John Parrott | 5 | |||||||||||||
| Stephen Hendry | 9 | |||||||||||||
| Mark Williams | 10 | |||||||||||||
| Ronnie O'Sullivan | 6 | |||||||||||||
| Alain Robidoux | 5 | |||||||||||||
| Ronnie O'Sullivan | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Steve Davis | 6 | |||||||||||||
| Steve Davis | 6 | |||||||||||||
| 7 February | ||||||||||||||
| Darren Morgan | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Steve Davis | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Mark Williams | 6 | |||||||||||||
| Anthony Hamilton | 6 | |||||||||||||
| John Higgins | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Anthony Hamilton | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Mark Williams | 6 | |||||||||||||
| Mark Williams | 6 | |||||||||||||
| Alan McManus | 4 | |||||||||||||
| Final: Best of 19 frames. Referee: Alan Chamberlain Wembley Conference Centre, London, England, 8 February 1998[1] |
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| Stephen Hendry (1) Scotland |
9–10 | Mark Williams (4) Wales |
| Afternoon: 72–63, 34–68 (64), 79–45, 98–0 (98), 36–82, 121–0 (120), 70–6 (70), 66–80 Evening: 26–64, 1–104 (100), 106–0 (67), 2–87, 69–1, 73–44 (69), 78–0 (78), 60–72 (Hendry 54), 20–70 (69), 23–52, 56–63 |
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| 120 | Highest break | 100 |
| 1 | Century breaks | 1 |
| 7 | 50+ breaks | 3 |
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