Have you ever wondered how much the top snooker professionals get rewarded for their amazing skills? If so, then you’ll be surprised to know the answer.
The winner of the prestigious Snooker Masters Tournament bags a whopping sum of prize money. In this article, we unveil exactly how much the winner takes home. You won’t believe your eyes!
The Masters snooker tournament is one of the oldest and most respected events in professional snooker. It is an invitational event which has been held annually since 1975, and in its current format, 16 players compete for a share of the substantial prize fund.
The 2019 Masters tournament will take place from 12th to 19th of January at Alexandra Palace, London. In this article, we’ll be taking a look at how much money the winner can expect to take home as well as some other interesting facts about the competition.
History of Snooker Masters
The Snooker Masters is an annual professional snooker tournament that was established in 1975. It is the second-longest running snooker event and one of the three Triple Crown events, alongside the UK Championship and The World Championship. It has been held at more than one venue during its history and is now played at the Alexandra Palace, often referred to simply as “the Ally Pally.”
It has a long list of champions including former world number 1’s such as Ronnie O’Sullivan and Steve Davis, as well as modern stars such as Judd Trump and Mark Selby. The current champion of the Snooker Masters is Mark Selby who beat defending champion Neil Robertson 10–5 in 2020.
The prize money for the event is £425,000 with the winner taking away a massive £200,000. This amount makes it one of the most lucrative events in all of snooker with only The World Championship having a higher prize fund (£500,000).
How Much Does the Winner of Snooker Masters Get
The winner of the 2020 Snooker Masters tournament was held at Alexandra Palace in London, England. The event was organised by World Snooker, the professional governing body for snooker, and sponsored by Microgaming. It offered a total prize fund of £625,000 with the winner receiving a cheque for £250,000.
This is an increase from the 2019 Snooker Masters which offered prize money of £500,000 with the winner receiving a cheque for £200,000. This makes it one of the most lucrative tournaments on the snooker calendar with many of the world’s top players vying for top spot and the chance to become world champion.
Other Benefits for the Winner
In addition to the prize money, winners of the snooker Masters get many other rewards. These include an invitation to a special celebration dinner, a one-off trophy to keep for life, an engraved ring and a replica trophy presented at their home town.
The winner is also guaranteed a place in the World Championship and he/she will receive a professional ranking system boost for one year. Finally, the winner will have their name inducted into the International Billiards and Snooker Federation’s Roll of Honour.
Previous Winners of Snooker Masters
Since its inauguration in 1975, the Snooker Masters tournament has consistently offered a £250,000 prize fund with the 2019 champion taking home a prize of £200,000. Previous winners of this prestigious event have included six-time winner Stephen Hendry and five-time winner Steve Davis.
Other players who have triumphed include seven other players who have won the tournament at least twice: Mark Williams, John Higgins, Jimmy White, Mark Selby Marcelo Masucci and Ronnie O’Sullivan. Other notable champions include Ken Doherty (1987), Peter Ebdon (2002), Graeme Dott (2006) and Neil Robertson (2012). The prestigious title has also been awarded to a number of famous snooker players who achieved the win on just one occasion including Dennis Taylor (1984), Cliff Thorburn (1980) and Terry Griffiths (1979).
Sponsorship Opportunities for the Winner
As one of the most prestigious tournaments in the world, the Masters has a number of opportunities available to its winner. Aside from the honor and prestige, winners also stand to gain from sponsorship opportunities that come with being crowned champion. Companies looking for brand exposure want their products to be associated with the Masters and consequently often offer lucrative deals to players. The sponsorship money can range anywhere from £25,000 to £50,000 depending on the size of brand that a player manages to secure a deal with. In addition, if broadcast contracts are included in the agreement, then this can further increase a players earnings.
Snooker Masters Tournament Format
The Snooker Masters is one of the most prestigious tournaments in the game. Taking place over seven days, the tournament features 16 players. This is divided into 8 groups of two, with each player playing against every other and all matches are best-of-five (first to three frames). At the end of these group stages, two players from each group progress to a single-elimination knockout stage, which follows a best-of-eleven format. This lasts until only one player is left standing and crowned champion.
The winner of the Snooker Masters receives a significant prize money payout, typically worth hundreds of thousands of British Pounds Sterling (£). In addition to this cash reward, winners receive a prestigious trophy as well as an invitation to participate in certain other lucrative tournaments throughout the season. The prize money for 2020 was 220,000 British Pounds Sterling (~$280,000 USD) for the winning champion with other rewards based on performance during individual rounds.
The winner of the Masters snooker tournament will receive a prize of £200,000 – the largest amount in ranking event history. This prize money is split between the top 16 players on the one year ranking list. The winner will also receive a coveted Paul Hunter Trophy, which is engraved with their name for posterity. There are secondary prizes available for runners-up and losing players at various stages of the tournament as well, ranging from £2,500 all the way up to £20,000 depending on how far each player manages to progress.
