The event invites the top sixteen players from the snooker world rankings in a knockout tournament.

It was organised by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association and was broadcast by the BBC and Eurosport in Europe.

Judd Trump was the defending champion, having defeated Ronnie O'Sullivan 10–4 in the final of the previous year's event.

O'Sullivan was eligible to compete, but chose not to participate, so his entry was given to Ali Carter, next on the world ranking list.

He became the oldest Masters champion at the age of 43 years and 243 days, beating the previous record set by Ray Reardon in 1976; Bingham remained the tournament's oldest winner until 2024, when O'Sullivan won the title aged 48 years and 40 days.

[4] The sixteen highest-ranked players according to the world rankings after the UK Championship in December 2019 were invited to the event.

[5] Carter won the opening frame, escaping from a snooker with a fluke shot that resulted in him potting a red ball when 8–51 behind.

[17] The 2012 Masters champion Neil Robertson played UK Championship runner-up Stephen Maguire.

In attempting to pot a red ball into the top right pocket, Maguire struck the cue ball with such force that the red leapt into the air after hitting the back of the pocket and landed on the table.

[18] Robertson gained the first chance in the final frame, but missed a shot on the black, allowing Maguire to make a break of 62 and win the match.

[18] Debutant David Gilbert played 2018 Masters champion Mark Allen.

[21][23] Seeded fourth, Higgins was the first higher-ranked player to progress from the first round to the quarter-finals.

"[26] Seeded seventh, Wilson was one of only two higher-ranked players to win in the first round, the other being Higgins on the previous day.

During frame five of the match, referee Ben Williams was stung by a wasp when attempting to remove it from the table.

[25] The other match was tied 2–2 at the interval; Bingham then won four straight frames, with breaks of 50, 76, 86 and 54, to defeat Williams 6–2.

[30] Maguire won frame seven with a break of 94, falling short of a 101 after playing a foul shot.

The sole remaining former Masters champion, Shaun Murphy, played Ali Carter.

He was on course to make another century in frame six, but a poor shot meant that he finished on only 56, allowing Carter to lead 4–2.

Gilbert had yet to defeat Bingham in professional play, having met him on ten previous occasions.

[33] Gilbert won frame seven, but Bingham took the eighth, including his only century of the tournament, to win the match 6–2.

[40] The winner of the match would receive the Paul Hunter Trophy, named after the three-time Masters champion.

[33] Carter attempted a maximum break in frame four, potting seven reds and seven blacks, but only scored 56.

[33] He also won frame five, which was briefly delayed by a "whoopee cushion" device being set off in the crowd.

[41] Bingham remained the oldest Masters champion until the 2024 event, when O'Sullivan won the title aged 48.

[48] Neil Robertson pledged to pay £100 for every century made, plus an additional £5,000, towards New South Wales' wildlife charity NSW Wildlife Information Rescue and Education Service to help recovery from the 2019–20 Australian bushfires.

[20] The tournament was broadcast live in the United Kingdom by BBC Sport, as well as on Eurosport in Europe.