1987 Australian Masters

The 1987 Winfield Australian Masters was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that took place between 29 June and 8 July 1987 at the North Sydney Anzac Memorial Club in Sydney, Australia.[1][2] Stephen Hendry won the tournament by defeating Mike Hallett 371–226 in the final.[3] All matches were decided on the aggregate score over five frames.[4]

Australian Masters
Tournament information
Dates29 June – 8 July 1987 (1987-06-29 – 1987-07-08)
VenueNorth Sydney Anzac Memorial Club
CitySydney
CountryAustralia
OrganisationWPBSA
FormatNon-ranking event
Total prize fund$200,000
Winner's share$50,000
Highest break Alex Higgins (NIR) 115
Final
Champion Stephen Hendry (SCO)
Runner-up Mike Hallett (ENG)
Score371–226 points
1986
1989

The defending champion was Dennis Taylor,[5] who did not participate in the 1987 event as the players managed by Barry Hearn were withdrawn from the event because of a dispute with promoter Eddie Charlton over air fares.[3] The withdrawn players, who were Taylor, Steve Davis, Jimmy White, Willie Thorne, Terry Griffiths, Neal Foulds and Tony Meo, were replaced by Hendry, Dene O'Kane, Dean Reynolds, Mike Hallett, Eugene Hughes, Alex Higgins and John Parrott. Four places were given to specific Australian players. Paddy Morgan and Glen Wilkinson won places at the event by qualifying from an elimination tournament consisting of the Australian professional players other than the four who were given automatic places.[4]

Following a first round win over John Campbell, Hendry defeated top seed Thorburn in the quarter-finals, and Higgins in the semi-final. In the other half of the draw, Hallett beat Hughes in the first round, then having led Johnson by 86 going into the last of their five frames, won that match by seven points. In the final, Hendry scored higher than Hallett in four of the five frames played, and won 371–226.[1][6] Higgins scored the highest break of the tournament, 115,[6] in his match against John Parrott.[1]

Prize fund

edit

The tournament was sponsored by Rothmans under their Winfield brand name. The total prize fund was $200,000, awarded as shown below:[4]

  • Winner: $50,000
  • Runner-up: $30,000
  • Third place: $20,000
  • Fourth place: $17,000
  • Quarter-finalists: $10,000
  • Last 16: $5,000
  • Highest break: $3,000

Main draw

edit

The numbers shown to the left of the players' names are their seedings. All matches were decided on the aggregate score over five frames.[4] Match winners are shown in bold.[6]

First round
Points based (5 frames)
Quarter-finals
Points based (5 frames)
Semi-finals
Points based (5 frames)
Final
Points based (5 frames)
            
1   Cliff Thorburn (CAN) 367
16   Glen Wilkinson (AUS) 239
1   Cliff Thorburn (CAN) 187
9   Stephen Hendry (SCO) 392
8   Stephen Hendry (SCO) 335
9   John Campbell (AUS) 228
9   Stephen Hendry (SCO) 334
4   Alex Higgins (NIR) 235
5   John Parrott (ENG) 343
12   Dene O'Kane (NZL) 89
5   John Parrott (ENG) 149
4   Alex Higgins (NIR) 364
4   Warren King (AUS) 240
13   Alex Higgins (NIR) 379
9   Stephen Hendry (SCO) 371
7   Mike Hallett (ENG) 226
6   Tony Knowles (ENG) 240
11   Robby Foldvari (AUS) 344
14   Robby Foldvari (AUS) 176
11   Eddie Charlton (AUS) 354
3   Eddie Charlton (AUS) 343
14   Dean Reynolds (ENG) 212
11   Eddie Charlton (AUS) 240
7   Mike Hallett (ENG) 322
7   Mike Hallett (ENG) 306 Third place play-off
10   Eugene Hughes (IRE) 152
7   Mike Hallett (ENG) 293 4   Alex Higgins (NIR) 343
2   Joe Johnson (ENG) 280 11   Eddie Charlton (AUS) 284
2   Paddy Morgan (AUS) 263
15   Joe Johnson (ENG) 319

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c Hendry, Stephen (August 1987). "How I mastered Higgins and co". Pot Black. Westcliff-on-Sea: Pot Black Publishing. pp. 10–11.
  2. ^ Wheeler, Les (22 June 1987). "King scores 147 in warm-up". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney. p. 51.
  3. ^ a b Terry Smith, ed. (1987). Benson and Hedges Snooker Year (Fourth Edition). Aylesbury: Pelham Books. p. 92. ISBN 0720717973.
  4. ^ a b c d Wheeler, Les (30 June 1987). "Scots prodigy tipped as new snooker king". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney. p. 47.
  5. ^ "Australian Events". Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. Archived from the original on 2012-01-07. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  6. ^ a b c "For the record". Pot Black. Westcliff-on-Sea: Pot Black Publishing. August 1987. p. 11.