# 2008 Masters (snooker)

The 2008 Masters (officially the 2008 SAGA Insurance Masters) was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that took place between 13 and 20 January 2008 at the Wembley Arena in London, England.
Mark Selby won the tournament on his first attempt by defeating Stephen Lee 10–3 in the final. In the final frame, he tied Ken Doherty for the highest break of the tournament, recording a total clearance of 141.
This was the first time since 2003 that Ronnie O'Sullivan had failed to reach the final; the defending champion lost 5–6 to Stephen Maguire in the first round.

## Facts and figures

* Ryan Day potted 15 reds and 14 blacks in his wild-card match against Barry Hawkins before attempting a long black in an attempt to achieve a 147, instead of potting a straightforward brown and getting an almost assured 144.
* Peter Ebdon also was on for a 147, but missed the last-but-one red in his quarter-final match against Stephen Lee.
* Ding Junhui won his match against John Higgins 6–4, needing a snooker in the last frame with the last 5 colours remaining.
* Mark Williams scored his first century of the season (a 118) in winning the first two frames against Ken Doherty, before losing the next six.
* Ken Doherty was 4–1 down to Shaun Murphy, but made three centuries in four frames in winning 6–5.
* Seven matches went to a deciding frame (6–5).
* Two first-round matches went to the last black: Stephen Lee's match against Graeme Dott, where he came from 5–2 down to win 5–6; and Marco Fu also won on the black in defeating Neil Robertson.
* Mark Selby won three deciding-frame matches in reaching the final, coming from 5–3 to beat both Stephen Hendry and Stephen Maguire 6–5, and he also beat Ken Doherty by the same scoreline in his semi-final.
* Michaela Tabb became the first woman to referee a Masters final. She had already refereed the Welsh Open final in 2007.

## Field

Defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan was the number 1 seed with World Champion John Higgins seeded 2. Places were allocated to the top 16 players in the world rankings. Players seeded 15 and 16 played in the wild-card round against the winner of the qualifying event, Barry Hawkins (ranked 19), and wild-card selection Marco Fu (ranked 27). Mark Selby was making his debut in the Masters.

## Prize fund

The breakdown of prize money for this year is shown below:

### Qualifying stage

* Winner: £2,000
* Runner Up: £680
* Semi-final: £250
* Quarter-final: £105
* Total: £3,600

### Televised stage
## Wild-card round

In the wild-card round, the qualifier and wild-card players played the 15th and 16th seeds:
| Match | Date | | Score | |
| WC1 | Monday 14 January | Steve Davis (ENG) (15) | 2–6 | Marco Fu (HKG) |
| WC2 | Sunday 13 January | Ryan Day (WAL) (16) | 6–2 | Barry Hawkins (ENG) |

## Main draw

| Last 16 Best of 11 frames | Last 16 Best of 11 frames | Last 16 Best of 11 frames | Quarter-finals Best of 11 frames | Quarter-finals Best of 11 frames | Quarter-finals Best of 11 frames | Semi-finals Best of 11 frames | Semi-finals Best of 11 frames | Semi-finals Best of 11 frames | | Final Best of 19 frames | Final Best of 19 frames | Final Best of 19 frames |
| 1 | Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG) | 5 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 10 | Stephen Maguire (SCO) | 6 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 10 | Stephen Maguire (SCO) | 6 | 10 | Stephen Maguire | 5 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 11 | Mark Selby | 6 | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Stephen Hendry (SCO) | 5 | 11 | Mark Selby | 6 | | | | | | | |
| 11 | Mark Selby (ENG) | 6 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 11 | Mark Selby (ENG) | 6 | | | | 11 | Mark Selby | 6 | | | | |
| | | | | | | 5 | Ken Doherty | 5 | | | | |
| 5 | Ken Doherty (IRL) | 6 | | | | | | | 5 | Ken Doherty | 5 | | | | |
| 12 | Mark Williams (WAL) | 2 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 12 | Mark Williams (WAL) | 2 | 5 | Ken Doherty | 6 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 4 | Shaun Murphy | 5 | | | | | | | |
| 4 | Shaun Murphy (ENG) | 6 | 4 | Shaun Murphy | 5 | | | | | | | |
| 14 | Ali Carter (ENG) | 3 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 14 | Ali Carter (ENG) | 3 | | | | | | | | 11 | Mark Selby | 10 |
| | | | | | | | | | | 13 | Stephen Lee | 3 |
| 3 | Graeme Dott (SCO) | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | 13 | Stephen Lee | 3 |
| 13 | Stephen Lee (ENG) | 6 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 13 | Stephen Lee (ENG) | 6 | 13 | Stephen Lee | 6 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 6 | Peter Ebdon | 1 | | | | | | | |
| 6 | Peter Ebdon (ENG) | 6 | 6 | Peter Ebdon | 1 | | | | | | | |
| 16 | Ryan Day (WAL) | 4 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 16 | Ryan Day (WAL) | 4 | | | | 13 | Stephen Lee | 6 | | | | |
| | | | | | | | Marco Fu | 2 | | | | |
| 7 | Neil Robertson (AUS) | 5 | | | | | | | | Marco Fu | 2 | | | | |
| | Marco Fu (HKG) | 6 | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Marco Fu (HKG) | 6 | | Marco Fu | 6 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 9 | Ding Junhui | 3 | | | | | | | |
| 2 | John Higgins (SCO) | 4 | 9 | Ding Junhui | 3 | | | | | | | |
| 9 | Ding Junhui (CHN) | 6 | | | | | | | | | | |

## Final

Final: Best of 19 frames. Referee: Michaela Tabb. Wembley Arena, London, England, 20 January 2008. :
| Mark Selby (11) England | 10–3 | Stephen Lee (13) England |
| Afternoon: 50–65, 124–1 (124), 88–0 (88), 21–77, 13–61, 76–16, 79–1 (60), 73–9 Evening: 132–0 (132), 76–32, 72–52, 125–5 (125), 141–0 (141) |||
| 141 | Highest break | 41 |
| 4 | Century breaks | 0 |
| 6 | 50+ breaks | 0 |

## Qualifying

The 2007 Masters Qualifying Event was held between 7 September and 12 September 2007 at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield. The winner of this series of matches, who qualified for the tournament, was Barry Hawkins.
| Last 64 Best of 7 frames | Last 64 Best of 7 frames | Last 64 Best of 7 frames | Last 32 Best of 9 frames | Last 32 Best of 9 frames | Last 32 Best of 9 frames | Last 16 Best of 9 frames | Last 16 Best of 9 frames | Last 16 Best of 9 frames | | Quarter-finals Best of 9 frames | Quarter-finals Best of 9 frames | Quarter-finals Best of 9 frames | | Semi-finals Best of 9 frames | Semi-finals Best of 9 frames | Semi-finals Best of 9 frames | | Final Best of 11 frames | Final Best of 11 frames | Final Best of 11 frames |
| Joe Swail | Joe Swail | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Bye | Bye | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Bye | Bye | | Joe Swail | Joe Swail | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Jamie Burnett | Jamie Burnett | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Jamie Burnett | Jamie Burnett | 4 | Jamie Burnett | Jamie Burnett | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Xiao Guodong | Xiao Guodong | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Xiao Guodong | Xiao Guodong | 2 | | | | Jamie Burnett | Jamie Burnett | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Jimmy White | Jimmy White | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Matthew Stevens | Matthew Stevens | 0 | | | | | | | Jimmy White | Jimmy White | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Jimmy White | Jimmy White | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Jimmy White | Jimmy White | 4 | Jimmy White | Jimmy White | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Andy Hicks | Andy Hicks | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Andy Hicks | Andy Hicks | 4 | Andy Hicks | Andy Hicks | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Leo Fernandez | Leo Fernandez | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Leo Fernandez | Leo Fernandez | 2 | | | | | | | | Jimmy White | Jimmy White | 5 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | Ben Woollaston | Ben Woollaston | 0 | | | | | | | | |
| Michael Holt | Michael Holt | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | Ben Woollaston | Ben Woollaston | 0 | | | | | | | | |
| Ben Woollaston | Ben Woollaston | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Ben Woollaston | Ben Woollaston | 4 | Ben Woollaston | Ben Woollaston | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Fergal O'Brien | Fergal O'Brien | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Fergal O'Brien | Fergal O'Brien | 4 | Fergal O'Brien | Fergal O'Brien | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Ian Preece | Ian Preece | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Ian Preece | Ian Preece | 0 | | | | Ben Woollaston | Ben Woollaston | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Anthony Hamilton | Anthony Hamilton | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Anthony Hamilton | Anthony Hamilton | 4 | | | | | | | Anthony Hamilton | Anthony Hamilton | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Alex Davies | Alex Davies | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Alex Davies | Alex Davies | 0 | Anthony Hamilton | Anthony Hamilton | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Mark Davis | Mark Davis | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Mark Davis | Mark Davis | 4 | Mark Davis | Mark Davis | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Jamie O'Neill | Jamie O'Neill | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Jamie O'Neill | Jamie O'Neill | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | Jimmy White | Jimmy White | 4 | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Kurt Maflin | Kurt Maflin | 5 | | | | |
| Mark Allen | Mark Allen | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Kurt Maflin | Kurt Maflin | 5 | | | | |
| Ashley Wright | Ashley Wright | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Ashley Wright | Ashley Wright | 3 | Mark Allen | Mark Allen | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Rod Lawler | Rod Lawler | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Rod Lawler | Rod Lawler | 4 | Rod Lawler | Rod Lawler | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Jimmy Robertson | Jimmy Robertson | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Jimmy Robertson | Jimmy Robertson | 0 | | | | Mark Allen | Mark Allen | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Liang Wenbo | Liang Wenbo | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Dominic Dale | Dominic Dale | 1 | | | | | | | Liang Wenbo | Liang Wenbo | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Liang Wenbo | Liang Wenbo | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Liang Wenbo | Liang Wenbo | 4 | Liang Wenbo | Liang Wenbo | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Joe Delaney | Joe Delaney | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Joe Delaney | Joe Delaney | 4 | Joe Delaney | Joe Delaney | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Munraj Pal | Munraj Pal | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Munraj Pal | Munraj Pal | 2 | | | | | | | | Liang Wenbo | Liang Wenbo | 0 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | Kurt Maflin | Kurt Maflin | 5 | | | | | | | | |
| Gerard Greene | Gerard Greene | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | Kurt Maflin | Kurt Maflin | 5 | | | | | | | | |
| Kurt Maflin | Kurt Maflin | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Kurt Maflin | Kurt Maflin | 4 | Kurt Maflin | Kurt Maflin | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Judd Trump | Judd Trump | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Judd Trump | Judd Trump | 4 | Judd Trump | Judd Trump | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Matthew Selt | Matthew Selt | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Matthew Selt | Matthew Selt | 2 | | | | Kurt Maflin | Kurt Maflin | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Andrew Higginson | Andrew Higginson | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Dave Harold | Dave Harold | 1 | | | | | | | Andrew Higginson | Andrew Higginson | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Paul Davies | Paul Davies | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Paul Davies | Paul Davies | 4 | Paul Davies | Paul Davies | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Andrew Higginson | Andrew Higginson | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Andrew Higginson | Andrew Higginson | 4 | Andrew Higginson | Andrew Higginson | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Joe Jogia | Joe Jogia | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Joe Jogia | Joe Jogia | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Kurt Maflin | Kurt Maflin | 4 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Barry Hawkins | Barry Hawkins | 6 |
| Stuart Bingham | Stuart Bingham | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Barry Hawkins | Barry Hawkins | 6 |
| Alfie Burden | Alfie Burden | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Alfie Burden | Alfie Burden | 4 | Alfie Burden | Alfie Burden | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Ricky Walden | Ricky Walden | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Ricky Walden | Ricky Walden | 4 | Ricky Walden | Ricky Walden | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Lee Spick | Lee Spick | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Lee Spick | Lee Spick | 1 | | | | Ricky Walden | Ricky Walden | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Jamie Cope | Jamie Cope | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Jamie Cope | Jamie Cope | 4 | | | | | | | Jamie Cope | Jamie Cope | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Mark Joyce | Mark Joyce | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Mark Joyce | Mark Joyce | 2 | Jamie Cope | Jamie Cope | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Rory McLeod | Rory McLeod | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Rory McLeod | Rory McLeod | 4 | Rory McLeod | Rory McLeod | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Lee Walker | Lee Walker | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Lee Walker | Lee Walker | 1 | | | | | | | | Jamie Cope | Jamie Cope | 5 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | Michael Judge | Michael Judge | 1 | | | | | | | | |
| Mark King | Mark King | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | Michael Judge | Michael Judge | 1 | | | | | | | | |
| Issara Kachaiwong | Issara Kachaiwong | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Issara Kachaiwong | Issara Kachaiwong | 3 | Mark King | Mark King | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | David Gray | David Gray | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| David Gray | David Gray | w/o | David Gray | David Gray | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Tony Drago | Tony Drago | w/d | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Tony Drago | Tony Drago | w/d | | | | Mark King | Mark King | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Michael Judge | Michael Judge | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Michael Judge | Michael Judge | 4 | | | | | | | Michael Judge | Michael Judge | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| James McBain | James McBain | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| James McBain | James McBain | 0 | Michael Judge | Michael Judge | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Andrew Norman | Andrew Norman | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Andrew Norman | Andrew Norman | 4 | Andrew Norman | Andrew Norman | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Steve Mifsud | Steve Mifsud | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Steve Mifsud | Steve Mifsud | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | Jamie Cope | Jamie Cope | 3 | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Barry Hawkins | Barry Hawkins | 5 | | | | |
| Nigel Bond | Nigel Bond | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Barry Hawkins | Barry Hawkins | 5 | | | | |
| Gareth Coppack | Gareth Coppack | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Gareth Coppack | Gareth Coppack | 1 | Nigel Bond | Nigel Bond | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Tian Pengfei | Tian Pengfei | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Robin Hull | Robin Hull | 2 | Tian Pengfei | Tian Pengfei | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Tian Pengfei | Tian Pengfei | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Tian Pengfei | Tian Pengfei | 4 | | | | Nigel Bond | Nigel Bond | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Barry Hawkins | Barry Hawkins | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Barry Hawkins | Barry Hawkins | 4 | | | | | | | Barry Hawkins | Barry Hawkins | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Fraser Patrick | Fraser Patrick | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Fraser Patrick | Fraser Patrick | 3 | Barry Hawkins | Barry Hawkins | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Michael White | Michael White | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Tom Ford | Tom Ford | 0 | Michael White | Michael White | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Michael White | Michael White | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Michael White | Michael White | 4 | | | | | | | | Barry Hawkins | Barry Hawkins | 5 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | Liu Chuang | Liu Chuang | 3 | | | | | | | | |
| Ian McCulloch | Ian McCulloch | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | Liu Chuang | Liu Chuang | 3 | | | | | | | | |
| Martin Gould | Martin Gould | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Martin Gould | Martin Gould | 4 | Martin Gould | Martin Gould | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Liu Chuang | Liu Chuang | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Barry Pinches | Barry Pinches | 3 | Liu Chuang | Liu Chuang | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Liu Chuang | Liu Chuang | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Liu Chuang | Liu Chuang | 4 | | | | Liu Chuang | Liu Chuang | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | David Gilbert | David Gilbert | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| David Gilbert | David Gilbert | 4 | | | | | | | David Gilbert | David Gilbert | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Supoj Saenla | Supoj Saenla | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Supoj Saenla | Supoj Saenla | 2 | David Gilbert | David Gilbert | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Joe Perry | Joe Perry | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Joe Perry | Joe Perry | | Joe Perry | Joe Perry | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Bye | Bye | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

## Century breaks
### Main stage centuries

Total: 23

### Qualifying stage centuries

Total: 27