The event started out in 1975 as the Benson & Hedges Challenge Match between Alex Higgins and John Spencer.

The match initially carried a £250 prize for the winner and £150 for the runner-up, but both players agreed to a "winner-takes-all" format.

In 1978 the tournament was renamed the Irish Masters and continued as an ever-present fixture on the snooker calendar until 2005.

After tobacco sponsorship was outlawed in the Republic of Ireland in 2000, the Irish government funded the event from 2001 and it was subsequently relocated to the Citywest Hotel, Saggart, County Dublin.

It attracted a strong field with 9 of the world's top 16 players taking part, with Ronnie O'Sullivan winning the title.