Stephen Hendry won the Masters at his first attempt after joining the top 16 by defeating John Parrott 9–6 in the final.

The tournament was rocked by a scandal after the first round match between Silvino Francisco and Terry Griffiths on 23 January.

After Griffiths beat Francisco 5–1, it was discovered that there had been heavy betting on that exact score.

The remaining places were allocated to players based on the world rankings.

Peter Francisco, Stephen Hendry and Cliff Wilson were making their debuts in the Masters.