Should the Masters be a Ranking Event?

[Sarmu]

So what about have 8 qualifying spot, which will play with 9-16th ranked players? and make it a ranking event?

[Sabina]

I did think that Masters should be a ranking tournament, but I think that the format should be changed in order to do that.
I really think that the winner deserves the points as well as the money for winning it, because it's just as difficult to win the Masters as it is to win any other tournament apart from WCH.

[Aggrolite]

What i don't like about the tournement is that you have to win less frames for it than a normal ranking event, yet it's considered so much better because only the top 16 seeds are there. Surely is the top 16 deserved this distinction, they should always meet 2nd round onwards in all events. All this does is give them a sort of bye from a first round.

Maybe keep it non ranked, but just run it like a normal tournment? Or make it really long frame matches or something? Anything to really show why it deserves such higher status than say, the Welsh Open (besides having a better name...)

[Kathrin]

I think it should remain to be a non-ranking and I keep my fingers crossed for Ali Carter to win it next year and the year after and after...

[wildJONESEYE]

In my opinion it is now time to make the Masters a ranking event. I feel it has lost most of its aura due to losing the huge sponsor of Benson & Hedges and having to leave a fantastic venue in the Wembley Conference Centre to a hangar-like arena in the Wembley Arena. Also with the lack of Ranking events in a season surely it would be better to have a ranking event than an invitational event.

http://www.worldsnooker.com/tourname...awsheet-91.htm

Above is the drawsheet for the Masters Qualifying event. A huge number of professionals havent even bothered to enter it. Players at the lower end of the rankings can't afford to enter it as the prize money is poor and no points are on offer. Also a player down the bottom of the rankings may have a great run in the qualifiers but it wouldn't move them up, surely that isn't good for a players confidence etc. The small numbers with such big named players as McManus and Parrott not entering is clearly undermining the event as a whole.

However I can see the reasons for keeping the event as a non-ranking event because its huge history and prestige where only the top players plus a couple of invites are allowed to play in.

What are people's thoughts?

omg Alex the masters A Ranking event would be bad mate...................

we need more Ranking tournaments but to change the Masters isnt the answer.......we need invertationals aswell as Rankings plus others like the Doubbles to make the tour more diverse from the stable diat of same same same of ranking tournaments.....

i know im late posting on this thread but i only joined this week lol

[SeiferAlmasy]

You cannot have any invitational tournament being a ranking event. This is 1 event I want leaving tbh. completely leaving.

[davis_greatest]

I believe it should remain as a non-ranking tournament, for the top 16 ranked players in the world only. There should not be wildcards in any tournament. Wildcards are unfair: unfair to those who are not granted wildcards, and unfair to those who qualified (and "qualified" means either those who qualified by virtue of winning qualifying rounds, where these exist, or qualified by virtue of ranking).

[matoski]

If it's a ranking event then it wouldn't be fair to the rest of the players in the tour. The masters comes like a reward for the top 16 players, and a chance for earning money. A better question is should Malta cup remain a ranking event and extend the ranking events to eight a year?

[missneworleans]

No it shouldn't c'os under pressure players won't play so good and brong so big surprises