The history of the Wembley Masters

The Wembley Masters is named after the place where it is held. This event started in 1975 and has a longer history than the British Championship. The first event was held at the West Central Hotel in Fulham, London. BBC Beware Cautiously, only the finals were edited and broadcast, and the impact was very limited. The next year, the Gallagher Group moved the event to the New London Theatre. The venue was wider and the location was closer to the city. Joe Davis, the originator of snooker, was invited to the scene, and the Masters received more attention. Much attention. In 1979, the Masters moved to the Wembley Convention Center. The huge capacity of more than 2,500 people made this event shine and quickly established its position in the industry. In 1980, the final between Terry Griffiths and Hurricane Higgins attracted 2,323 spectators, almost a full house, setting a record for snooker spectators at the time. The Wembley Convention Center is also the largest snooker venue to date.

In 2006, the Wembley Convention Center was demolished. The 2007 Masters moved to Wembley Arena, where it was held for 5 times. In 2011, the Masters changed venue again - Asia. Alexandra Palace – to the present day. Although the Wembley Masters is not among the ranking events, in fact only the top 16 players last season can be invited to participate in the competition. The level and influence of the event are very high.

When the Masters was first established, only 10 players were invited to participate. In 1981, the number of invited players increased from 10 to 12, and in 1983 it was changed to 16. Since 1984, the Masters has implemented a high-standard admission system: only the top 16 players in the world can participate. The competition period has also been determined to be one week. The prize money has become richer year by year. The BBC has broadcast the entire event live. Since then, Sri Lanka has Knock has entered the most beautiful golden era, and the "Masters Tournament" has become a veritable highest-level invitational tournament. In 1991, the Masters established a wild card system. The winner of the Masters qualifying tournament and another non-top 16 player with outstanding performance will participate with wild cards. The world's 15th and 16th players and two other players will compete first. There are 2 seats in the first round, and the winner will form the top 16 with the players ranked 1st to 14th for the first round. In 2011, the wild card system was abolished.