It was the 30th staging of the Masters tournament, one of three Triple Crown events on the Snooker Tour, the eighth of fifteen World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) events in the 2003/2004 season, and was held at the Wembley Conference Centre in London, United Kingdom from 1 to 8 February 2004.

Paul Hunter won the tournament, defeating 1995 winner and world number three Ronnie O'Sullivan 10–9, claiming the third Masters title of his career in four years.

Hunter joined Cliff Thorburn, Stephen Hendry and Steve Davis as the fourth player to win the Masters three or more times.

The Masters was first held in 1975 at the West Centre Hotel with the sport's top ten ranking players invited to participate.

[1] The tournament was sponsored by Benson & Hedges until 2003 when the company was required to end its association with the Masters due to restrictions on tobacco advertising in the United Kingdom.

Held in January, the Welsh Open was won by Ronnie O'Sullivan, who defeated Steve Davis by nine frames to eight (9–8) in the final.

[4] The defending Masters champion was Mark Williams, who defeated Stephen Hendry 10–4 in the previous year's final.

[10] World number 16 Joe Perry was assigned as Ding's opponent, the youngest player in the history of the Masters at age 16.

In the first match, defending champion Mark Williams won against fellow Welshman and world number nine Matthew Stevens, 6–5.

Stevens compiled breaks of 105 and 92, to take a 3–1 lead, but Williamsn went ahead 5–3 after winning four frames in a row.

Stevens was leading 48–0 in points when he missed a blue ball shot to the middle pocket, allowing Williams to win the match.

[13] Two-time Masters champion Paul Hunter faced David Gray in his first round match.

[15] John Higgins, world number four and 1999 Masters champion, defeated fellow Scotsman Graeme Dott 6–4.

[16] Higgins' victory continued Dott's streak of failing to win any matches at the Wembley Conference Centre.

[17] Ken Doherty compiled breaks of 89 and 81 to hold a 3–1 advantage over his opponent Steve Davis at the mid-session interval of their first round match.

[18][19] Afterwards, Davis complained about cold air entering the venue, which dampened the cloth and caused the chalk to stick to the cue ball.

[21][22] Jimmy White defeated six-time Masters champion Stephen Hendry 6–4, in a match disrupted by noise from an over-enthusiastic partisan crowd that referee Colin Brinded had attempted to control.

[25] White took the fourth frame to equalise the scoreline, until Hendry made his 632nd career century break (102) to win the fifth.

[25] White also voiced a complaint about the playing conditions, and the WPBSA conducted a meticulous investigation of the table's mechanics on 4 February, to correct any imperfections prior to the start of the quarter-finals.

[26] In the last of the first round matches, Quinten Hann responded to an early century break from his opponent Peter Ebdon to take a 2–1 lead, but a playing error, in which Hann potted the cue ball from a screwback on the pink ball, allowed Ebdon to level the scoreline with a break of 55.

[27] At the post-match press conference, Hann put the decline in his performance down to hunger, which had lowered his concentration after the mid-session interval, "This wasn't the first time it's happened.

Although Doherty scored a break of 61 in the ninth frame, he could not sustain his form and O'Sullivan claimed victory on the black ball from a 38 clearance.

A break of 56 from O'Sullivan, and a shot from his opponent that left a red ball over a corner pocket, allowed him to win 6–4 and set up an encounter with Hunter in the final.

[40] Following the semi-final, O'Sullivan stated his belief that he was benefiting from a different approach and attitude, "There is no point in being attacking and being careless at the same time and I was enjoying the struggle out there.

"[41] White admitted his past mental and physical effort during the Masters wore him out, "I am sad because I didn't feel right at all and if I had been playing anywhere near the way I have, I might have won.

[42][48] In the 15th, O'Sullivan missed a red ball shot along the top cushion and Hunter made a 109 break to again reduce the deficit to one frame.