As an invitational tournament that only the top 16 players in the world ranking can be invited to participate in, the quality of the Masters and the excitement of the event atmosphere are second to none on the Tour. This Sunday, as the first "three competitions" of the year, the Masters are back at Alexandria Palace, and this article will take you back to the wonderful moments of the last five Masters finals.
2017 – Ronnie O'Sullivan 10:7 Joe Perry
Ronnie O'Sullivan won the Masters for the seventh time in history, making him the most successful player in the history of the tournament. However, in the final with Joe Perry, O'Sullivan was also forced into a difficult situation before breaking out to win the championship.
Prior to this final, O'Sullivan had won six Masters titles to tie with Stephen Hendry. When he trailed Perry 1-4 at the start, the seventh title didn't seem to be so solid. O'Sullivan then counter-attacked, ending the first stage 4-4. In the evening match, O'Sullivan won 6 of the 9 innings to win the championship.
For runner-up Perry, this is his first time in the final of the "Three Majors" and a landmark week. The £90,000 runner-up prize is still second only to the £100,000 he won at the 2015 Players Championship, the second-highest single prize money in Perry's career.
O'Sullivan said: "It was probably the best win of my life. Considering the temporary replacement of the club skin (which he had to do in the semi-final with Fu Jiajun), I could only manage to maintain the feel of use under the most extreme pressure. I didn't get to play the good game I wanted to play, I just had to keep at it and I'm proud to be able to do that. ”
"Joe is a great player. If you're not a real top player, you're not going to make it to the final of the Masters. Even if everything is going well for me, I still hope that I can win. ”
2018 – Mark Allen 10:7 Karen Wilson
Northern Ireland's Mark Allen beat Karen Wilson in a competitive final for the biggest victory of his career so far.
Allen defeated Three strong opponents, Luca Braiser, Ronnie O'Sullivan and John Higgins, on his way to the final. This is his second appearance in the final of the "Big Three" after losing 8-10 to Judd Trump at the 2011 British Championship.
Winning in 2018 means Allen became the third Masters title from Northern Ireland after Alex Higgins and Dennis Taylor.
Runner-up Wilson was left in tears of disappointment after the game. However, Wilson's performance in the final of the "three major competitions" for the first time is still remarkable. Wilson previously narrowly defeated Judd Trump 6-5 after falling behind 2-5 in the semifinals.
In the final, Wilson also had a chance to strike back, and he narrowed the point difference to 7-8 from 5:7 behind, and the horn of counterattack seemed to have been blown. However, Allen played at his best in the next two innings, scoring 69 and 71 points, without giving Wilson any more chances, and lifting the Paul Hunt Trophy steadily.
Allen said: "The final is a pretty long process. To be honest, I was never sure if I would win the title, I had hoped and approached it incredibly close, but now I can say that I won the 'three majors'. ”
"Karen Wilson is an excellent competitor. He's the best player you can meet and he also has a great family. I know what it's like to sit in that position after losing an important final, I lost to Judd in the 2011 British Championship final, but you see how well Wilson has developed in the last two years."
"He (Wilson) will definitely be in the finals of the contest in the coming years. I felt calm all week, except for the first quarter of the final, when I was very nervous. It felt like I was getting stronger as the race went on, I felt at home and was in control of the game in my own way for the whole week. ”
2019 – Judd Trump 10:4 Ronnie O'Sullivan
Judd Trump defeated opponent Ronnie O'Sullivan in the final to win the Masters trophy for the first time with a great victory.
This was Trump's first appearance in the Masters final, but he still had a comfortable performance in the final, where Trump shot a total of 8 strokes of 50+.
This is Trump's second "Three Competitions" title after winning the 2011 British Championship. A few months later, Trump beat John Higgins 18-9 in the final to win the World Championship title for the first time.
Trump's victory over O'Sullivan in this match also marked a turnaround in their competitive relationship. Since then, Trump has won three of his last four encounters and gained the upper hand with a record of 13 wins and 11 totals.
Trump took an absolute 7-1 lead after the first quarter and didn't have the slightest bit of frustration in the late game, taking a 9-3 lead before half-time. O'Sullivan then scored 109 points, the 991st 100 percentile in his career. O'Sullivan had a consecutive scoring opportunity in the 14th inning, but only scored 16 points to leave the powder ball in the bag, and Trump scored 53 points to win the 14th set.
Trump said: "In the end I was calm. I think I played well today and that gave me confidence throughout the game. I always believed in myself throughout the race. I knew Ronnie wouldn't surrender easily, but I persevered and seized my chance. ”
"Against Ronnie, you have to play your absolute advantage to get close to him, so obviously I was very surprised to take a 7-1 lead. I haven't won a major event in a long time. It takes a lot of effort, a lot of sacrifice, but I think the rewards are there because I've done a lot of practice in the last four or five months. Hopefully, this will be an important turning point in my career where I can really make a difference. ”
2020 – Stuart Bingham 10:8 Ali Carter
Stewart Bingham, 43, beat fellow countryman Ali Carter from Essex County in a fierce final, surpassing the record set by Ray Lilton in 1976 to become the oldest Masters champion of all time.
It was Bingham's second "Three Series" winner, having beaten Sean Murphy 18-15 in the final at the 2015 World Championships to win his only World Championship trophy to date.
The tournament was Carter's first Masters final and third "Big Three" final, and it was only because of Ronnie O'Sullivan's retirement that Carter was able to make up for it. Carter lost to O'Sullivan at the 2008 and 2012 World Championships, twice finishing runners-up.
It's a game where both sides play. Bingham took a 5-3 lead in the first quarter, taking the lead. However, in the late season, Carter won four consecutive innings, scoring 95 and 133 points, giving him a 7-5 lead in midfield.
Bingham unleashed his indestructible abilities in the final stages, hitting 64, 85, 58 and 88 in four consecutive innings to win the match point 9-7. Carter showed his toughness, responding with a one-shot 77 to bring the score to 8:9. Bingham wasn't overwhelmed by Carter, who scored 109 runs in the 18th inning to win the championship cleanly.
Bingham said: "In the end, I was able to get that trophy more than anything. At half-time I was ready to give a runner-up speech. Ali played very well, and it would not be surprising if he could win the championship. I drank a cup of coffee and ate a Mars chocolate bar, which seemed to calm me down. Ali conceded a few goals, but I played better and better. ”
"I always played with a smile and enjoyed everything about the scene. The atmosphere is on par with a single-time limited time game, and if you can get the audience involved, you're invisibly giving yourself extra points. I would feel like the game was an exhibition for the audience to participate in, and I would imagine buba Watson (a golfer) making the audience cheer for the goal. ”
2021 – Yan Bingtao 10:8 John Higgins
China's Yan Bingtao surprised the snooker arena as soon as he appeared, and he defeated John Higgins with an outstanding performance to win the Masters championship.
At just 20 years old, Yan Bingtao became the youngest champion since Ronnie O'Sullivan won the Masters in 1995 when he was 19 years old. He also became the second Asian player to win the "three major competitions" after compatriot Ding Junhui. Since then, Zhao Xintong has followed in their footsteps and won last month's British Championship.
Yan Bingtao showed perseverance along the way to the final, beating Neil Robertson, Stephen Maguire and Stuart Bingham 6:5, and defeating two-time Masters champion Higgins in the final.
It was an unacceptable defeat for Higgins. Since winning the World Championships in 2011, Higgins has not won the "Three Competitions" in ten years. Higgins last won the Masters in 2006, when he beat Ronnie O'Sullivan 10-9 in an epic final.
At the end of the first quarter of the final, Higgins led 5:3 and continued to be strong in the late matches, taking a 7-5 lead. Yan Bingtao always maintained his composure and returned to the game.
Yan Bingtao won the 13th and 15th sets with a black ball to chase the score to an 8:8 draw. Yan Bingtao then won the game with 70 points and 64 points.
Yan Bingtao said: "My heart was about to jump out when I played the last red ball, I was so close to victory, and Higgins kept putting pressure. That was the moment when I felt the most stressed. ”
"I just told myself to keep trying and not to give up. I controlled the mother ball, and after playing the red ball, I just slowly finished the last three or four colored balls. ”