&sq=Google&lang=en&file=File:2021_Betfred_Masters_Snooker_Tournament_Logo.jpg){kind=logo} | |
| Tournament logo | |
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 10–17 January 2021 |
| Venue | Marshall Arena |
| City | Milton Keynes |
| Country | England |
| Organisation | World Snooker Tour |
| Format | Non-ranking event |
| Total prize fund | £725,000 |
| Winner's share | £250,000 |
| Highest break |  John Higgins (SCO) (145) |
| Final | |
| Champion |  Yan Bingtao (CHN) |
| Runner-up | John Higgins (SCO) |
| Score | 10–8 |
← 2020 2022 → | |
The 2021 Masters (officially the 2021 Betfred Masters) was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that took place between 10 and 17 January 2021 at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes, England. It was the 47th staging of the Masters tournament, which was first held in 1975, and the second of three Triple Crown events in the 2020–21 season, following the 2020 UK Championship and preceding the 2021 World Snooker Championship. The top sixteen players from the snooker world rankings were invited to compete in a knockout tournament. The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association organised the tournament, which was broadcast by the BBC and Eurosport in Europe. The event was sponsored by sports betting company Betfred. It was played behind closed doors because of COVID-19 restrictions in the United Kingdom. Two players, world number one Judd Trump and Jack Lisowski, withdrew from the event after testing positive for COVID-19.
The defending champion, Stuart Bingham, had defeated Ali Carter 10–8 in the previous year's final. Bingham lost 6–5 to Yan Bingtao in the semi-finals. Yan (one of three debutants at the event, alongside Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and Gary Wilson) met John Higgins in the final. Yan completed a 10–8 victory to win his first Triple Crown tournament. As the winner of the event, Yan was awarded £250,000 from the total prize pool of £725,000. The highest break of the event was a 145 made by Higgins in his quarter-final win over Ronnie O'Sullivan which earned him £15,000.