1979 Masters (snooker)

1979 Benson & Hedges Masters
Tournament information
Dates22–26 January 1979 (1979-01-22 – 1979-01-26)
VenueWembley Conference Centre
CityLondon
CountryEngland
FormatNon-ranking event
Total prize fund£8,000
Winner's share£3,000
Highest break Alex Higgins (NIR) (132)
Final
Champion Perrie Mans (RSA)
Runner-up Alex Higgins (NIR)
Score8–4
← 1978
1980 →

The 1979 Masters (officially the 1979 Benson & Hedges Masters) was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that took place from Monday 22nd to Friday 26 January 1979 at the Wembley Conference Centre in London, England, which would host the tournament until the venue's demolition in 2006. 10 players were invited for the tournament.

Perrie Mans of South Africa won the first Masters tournament held at the Wembley by defeating Alex Higgins 8–4 in the final. Notably Perrie Mans won the event without making a break above 50.[1]

Overview

The 1979 Masters was staged at the New London Theatre in Drury Lane, London, with ten invited players and was the fifth edition of the Masters after its establishment in 1975.[2] It was organised by representatives of the sponsors, cigarette brand Benson & Hedges, and sanctioned by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association.[2]

Alex Higgins was the defending champion, having defeated Cliff Thorburn 7–5 in the 1978 final.[3]

Ten players were invited to participate.[4] Following his 1978 World Amateur Snooker Championship victory, Cliff Wilson was invited and would have been the first amateur to play in the Masters, but he withdrew due to a threatened boycott by the professional players.[5] Wilson was replaced by David Taylor, who mae his debut appearance at the Masters.[1]

The final received coverage on BBC2, and highights were broadcast as part of Grandstand on BBC1 the next day, with commentary by Ted Lowe for both.[6][7]

Prize fund

The winner of the event received £3,000 from a total prize fund of £8,000. The breakdown of prize money is shown below.[1][4] £10,000 would have been awarded to any player making a maximum break.[4][8]

  • Winner: £3,000
  • Runner-up: £1,500
  • Semi-finals: £750
  • Quarter-finals: £400
  • First round: £200
  • Total: £8,000

Summary

First round

Patsy Fagan using a rest
Patsy Fagan playing with a rest in 2026

First round matches were played on 22 and 23 January as the best-of-nine frames.[4] Fred Davis moved into a 2-1 lead against Doug Mountjoy with a break of 69 in the third frame.[8] According to Clive Everton in The Guardian, Davis "always looked slightly uneasy with his game", and Mountjoy won the match by taking the next four frames.[8]

From late 1978, following a car accident, Patsy Fagan started to experience a psychological block when using the rest. This version of the "yips" caused him to spend a long time cueing and then usually miscueing; because of this, he would play left-handed rather than using the rest where possible.[9][10] This problem affected his match against David Taylor.[11][12] In what Snooker Scene described as "a match of singularly poor quality", Fagan built a 4-2 lead before taylor took three successive frames to win 5-4.[1]: 16 

Quarter-finals

The quarter-finals were played from 22 to 24 January as the best-of-nine frames.[4]

Alex Higgins was still asleep in his hotel at the start time of his match with Eddie Charlton.[8] Tournament officials sent a message to wake him up, and the match started 30 minutes late.[8] Higgins won the first frame 91-14, and led 3-1 by the end of the first session.[8] In the first frame of the second session, Higgins made a break of 132, surpassing the Masters record of 97 set by Charlton in 1976.[13] Charlton won the next frame aided by a break of 45, but Higgins sealed victory at 5-2 with a 42 break in frame seven.[1]

Doug Mountjoy, who had defeated John Spencer in three of their previosu four contests, won the first frame 138-0 with breaks of 27 and 111 and won the next by 85 points.[14] By this stage, Spencer had only potted three balls.[14] Everton commented in his match report in the Guardian that Mountjoy was potting well and "showing a fine touch in his positional play".[14] Mountjoy won the next three frames to complete a 5-0 whitewash.[14]

Perrie Mans led Cliff Thorburn 4-1, but Thorburn went on to level at 4-4.[14] In the deciding frame, Mans fluked the green when escaping from a snooker, and clear the rest of the colours up to the pink to win.[14]

Semi-finals

a head and shoulders picture of Alex Higgins
Alex Higgins (pictured in 1988) finished as runner-up

The semi-finals were held on 25 January as the best-of-nine frames across two sessions.[4].

Mans took a 3-1 lead against Reardon.[15] In the fourth frame, Reardon gained the four snookers he required and cleared the first five colours but then failed to pot the final black; Mans won the frame.[1] Breaks of 50 and 47 respectively in the first two frames of the second session saw Reardon level the match at 3-3.[1] Mans made his highest break of the match, 36, in winning frame seven, and added frame eight to secure his place in the final.[1]

Final

The final between Higgins and Mans was played on 26 January as the best-of-15 frames across two sessions.[4][16] The referee was John Smyth.[16] Higgins won the first frame.[1] After trailing by 37 points in the second frame, he compiled consecutive breaks of 33 and 26, with a tactical safety exchange in between, to win the frame and move 2–0 ahead.[1] At this stage, according to the match report in Snooker Scene, "it was difficult to envisage anything other than a Higgins victory."[1]: 17  From there, however, Higgins appeared to lost his focus.[17] Higgins's biographer John Hennessey wrote that Higgins "could only watch as Mans swarmed all over him".[18] Mans won the next five frames of the afternoon session to lead 5–2 at the interval, with breaks of 36 in both the fifth and sixth frames.[17]

In the second session, Higgins opened with a break of 24 but broke down with an in-off, leaving Mans in to clear to 42 and extend his lead to 6–2.[17][1] Higgins made an early break of 43 in the next frame but, needing the last three colours to tie it, went in-off the middle pocket at an unlikely angle and then lost the frame by going in-off when potting the re-spotted black.[1] Higgins won the last next two frames to close the gap to 4–7 going into the mid-session interval.[17] Mans won the 12th frame 62-38 to complete an 8–4 victory and win the title.[1]

Higgins later wrote, "A poor first session against Perrie Mans in the final cost me that match ... I never really hit my stride till it was too late."[19] In 2007, he reflected that Mans played in a style much like his own and had been "a worthy winner. He smashed his way through the frames by taking long shots and risky pots and it paid off for him."[20]

Main draw

[16][21]

Round 1
Best of 9 frames 		Quarter-finals
Best of 9 frames 		Semi-finals
Best of 9 frames 		Final
Best of 15 frames
 Alex Higgins (NIR) 5
 Eddie Charlton (AUS) 2
 Alex Higgins (NIR) 5
 Doug Mountjoy (WAL) 1
 John Spencer (ENG) 0
 Fred Davis (ENG) 2  Doug Mountjoy (WAL) 5
 Doug Mountjoy (WAL) 5  Alex Higgins (NIR) 4
 Perrie Mans (RSA) 8
 Perrie Mans (RSA) 5
 Cliff Thorburn (CAN) 4
 Perrie Mans (RSA) 5
 Ray Reardon (WAL) 3
 Ray Reardon (WAL) 5
 Patsy Fagan (IRL) 4  David Taylor (ENG) 2
 David Taylor (ENG) 5

Final: details and frame scores

Final[1][16]
Best of 15 frames. Referee: John Smyth
Wembley Conference Centre, London, England, 26 January 1979.
 Perrie Mans (RSA) 8–4  Alex Higgins (NIR)
First session: 28–97, 43–69, 75–60, 69–37, 97–38, 72–29, 71–23
Second session: 87–28, 74–67, 21–90, 36–76, 62–38
42 Highest break 43

Century breaks

the following century breaks were made duing the tournament:

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 "Perrie Mans wins Benson and Hedges Masters". Snooker Scene. March 1979. pp. 16–17.
  2. 1 2 Turner, Chris. "The Masters". Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. Archived from the original on 7 January 2012. Retrieved 1 March 2011.
  3. ↑ Everton, Clive (11 February 1978). "Higgins the master". The Guardian. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Benson and Hedges Masters Snooker Tournament (advertisement)". The Evening Standard. 11 January 1979. p. 23 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "Boycott of Wembley world snooker is averted". Harrow Observer. 22 December 1978. p. 28 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "International Snooker". BBC Programme Index. BBC. Retrieved 20 August 2026.
  7. ↑ "Grandstand". BBC Programme Index. BBC. Retrieved 20 August 2026.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Everton, Clive (23 January 1979). "Mountjoy stops at red". The Guardian. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ Karnhem, Jack (1982). World Snooker with Jack Karnehm No. 2. Pelham Books. pp. 84–85. ISBN 978-0-72071398-5.
  10. ↑ Howard, Paul (26 November 1995). "How the shooting stars of snooker fell to earth". Sunday Tribune. Dublin. p. 18.
  11. ↑ Smith, Terry (1 February 1979). "Patsy's in need of a rest cure!". Daily Mirror. p. 27 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ Everton, Clive (24 January 1979). "Fagan's rest". The Guardian. p. 16 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ "Higgins has a dream night!". The Daily Mirror. 23 January 1979. p. 24 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Everton, Clive (25 January 1979). "Spencer's dream turns to nightmare". The Guardian. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ Everton, Clive (26 January 1979). "'Hurricane' storms on". The Guardian. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. 1 2 3 4 "Benson & Hedges Masters". snooker.org. Retrieved 20 August 2026.
  17. 1 2 3 4 Everton, Clive (27 January 1979). "Commanding lead for Mans". The Guardian. p. 16 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ↑ Hennessey 2013, 1386.
  19. ↑ Higgins & Patmore 1981, p. 83.
  20. ↑ Higgins 2007, p. 124.
  21. ↑ "The Masters". Snooker Scene. Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 8 August 2012.

Books

  • Borrows, Bill (2009) [2002]. The Hurricane: The Turbulent Life & Times of Alex Higgins (Revised ed.). London: Atlantic. ISBN 978-1-84354-863-8.
  • Hennessey, John (2013) [2000]. Alex Higgins: Snooker Legend: Eye of the Hurricane (epub ed.). Mainstream Publishing. ISBN 978-1-78057-825-5.
  • Higgins, Alex; Patmore, Angela (1981). 'Hurricane' Higgins' Snooker Scrapbook. London: Souvenir Press. ISBN 978-0-285-62486-3.
  • Higgins, Alex (2007). From the Eye of the Hurricane: My Story. London: Headline. ISBN 978 0 7553 1661 8.
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