Sunday, 21 January
Mark Allen 10-7 Kyren Wilson
Mark Allen beat Kyren Wilson 10-7 to become the first Northern Irishman to win the Masters since Dennis Taylor in 1987.
The final at the Alexandra Palace was a tight affair until the 11th frame, when Allen, 31, made a 73 break to move 6-5 ahead before adding 119 in the next.
Englishman Wilson, the world number 14, went another frame behind before rallying to pull it back to 8-7.
Allen responded with breaks of 69 and 71 to take the £200,000 first prize.
Allen, with three ranking titles to his name, was the outstanding favourite for this final - he even intimated that after his impressive semi-final victory over John Higgins.
However, the last time the pair met in one of snooker's majors - at the 2016 World Championship - the Antrim player was beaten 13-9.
Wilson, 26, had got to this stage with wins over Barry Hawkins, Mark Williams and lastly, and most impressively, Judd Trump.
He only entered the top 16 after a 2015-16 season during which he won his only ranking title to date - the Shanghai Masters.
Allen class shines through
The first session was laced with tension and errors. It included a memorable fourth frame that lasted 46 minutes, and was interrupted by another intruding wasp - following a similar incident earlier in the tournament - and a spectator who failed to switch his phone to silent.
That latter interruption came with Wilson over the final green. He potted the ball but left himself in a poor position, then missed an easy pink. Allen went on to level the scores at 2-2, before moving a frame ahead.
Wilson regrouped and made two 80-plus breaks, but Allen hit back to level once more before the interval.
After a 40-minute ninth frame was won by Allen, the arms of both players loosened.
Wilson had a break of 84 before Allen hit back with a 73 and established a two-frame advantage - the first of the final - with a run of 119.
That became 8-5 with a 50 break before Wilson produced a 73 to clinch the 15th frame and reduce the deficit to one.
The Kettering player had come from 5-2 down to defeat Trump in the semi-finals, but there was to be no repeat as Allen clinched the final two frames for a deserved victory, his first snooker major and the biggest first prize of his career.
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