| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 4–11 February 2001 |
| Venue | Wembley Conference Centre |
| City | London |
| Country | England |
| Organisation | WPBSA |
| Format | Non-ranking event |
| Total prize fund | £650,000 |
| Winner's share | £175,000 |
| Highest break |
|
| Final | |
| Champion |  Paul Hunter (ENG) |
| Runner-up |  Fergal O'Brien (IRL) |
| Score | 10–9 |
← 2000 2002 → | |
The 2001 Masters (officially the 2001 Benson & Hedges Masters) was a professional invitational snooker tournament held at the Wembley Conference Centre, London, from 4 to 11 February 2001. It was the 27th edition of The Masters, a Triple Crown event and the third of the five World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) invitational events in the 2000–01 snooker season. It followed the 2000 Scottish Masters and preceded the 2001 Malta Grand Prix. Sponsored by the cigarette company Benson & Hedges, the event had a total prize fund of £650,000, with £175,000 going to the winner.
Matthew Stevens was the tournament's defending champion, but he lost in the second round to Paul Hunter, who went on to reach the final with victories over Peter Ebdon in the quarter-finals and Stephen Hendry in the semi-finals. Hunter's opponent in the final was Fergal O'Brien, who had defeated Dave Harold in his semi-final. Hunter defeated O'Brien 10–9 to win the first of three Masters titles. He and wild card entrant Jimmy White made century breaks of 136, which were the competition's two highest breaks.