1978 Masters (snooker)

The 1978 Masters (officially the 1978 Benson & Hedges Masters) was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that took place from Monday 6 to Friday 10 February 1978 at the New London Theatre in London, England. It was the last time the Masters was held there, as the following year it moved to the Wembley Conference Centre.^[1] 10 players were invited for the tournament.

1978 Benson & Hedges Masters

Tournament information
Dates	6–10 February 1978 (1978-02-06 – 1978-02-10)
Venue	New London Theatre
City	London
Country	England
Organisation	WPBSA
Format	Non-ranking event
Total prize fund	£8,000
Winner's share	£3,000
Highest break	Cliff Thorburn (CAN) (88)
Final
Champion	Alex Higgins (NIR)
Runner-up	Cliff Thorburn (CAN)
Score	7–5
← 1977 1979 →

Alex Higgins won the first of his two Masters titles by defeating Cliff Thorburn.

Main draw

^[2][3]

	Round 1 Best of 7 frames					Quarter-finals Best of 7 frames					Semi-finals Best of 9 frames					Final Best of 13 frames
						Doug Mountjoy (WAL)		2
						Cliff Thorburn (CAN)		4
											Cliff Thorburn		5
											John Spencer		3
						John Spencer (ENG)		4
	John Pulman (ENG)		4			John Pulman		2
	Patsy Fagan (IRL)		2													Cliff Thorburn		5
																Alex Higgins		7
						Alex Higgins (NIR)		4
						Dennis Taylor (NIR)		3
											Alex Higgins		5
											Ray Reardon		1
						Ray Reardon (WAL)		4
	Fred Davis (ENG)		3			Graham Miles		1
	Graham Miles (ENG)		4

Final

Final: Best of 13 frames. Referee: John Street New London Theatre, London, England, 10 February 1978.
Alex Higgins  Northern Ireland	7–5	Cliff Thorburn  Canada
First session: 107–7, 71–41, 94–6, 17–69, 16–104, 13–101 (88), 14–62, 84–29 (80), 58–70, 68–48, 61–47, 72–15
80	Highest break	88
0	Century breaks	0
1	50+ breaks	1

Century breaks

^[4]

• None. Highest break: 88 – Cliff Thorburn

References

1. Turner, Chris. "The Masters". cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk. Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. Archived from the original on 7 January 2012. Retrieved 1 March 2011.
2. "1978 Masters Results". Snooker Database. Archived from the original on 7 October 2011. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
3. "The Masters". Snooker Scene. Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
4. "1978 Masters". CueTracker - Snooker Results and Statistics Database. Retrieved 19 January 2015.