2023 European Masters

The 2023 European Masters (officially the 2023 BetVictor European Masters) was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 22 to 27 August 2023 at the Kia Metropol Arena in Nuremberg, Germany, the first time that the main stage of a professional ranking event was held in that city. The 25th edition of the European Masters, it was the second ranking event of the 2023–24 snooker season, following the Championship League and preceding the British Open. It was the second of eight tournaments in the season's European Series. The event featured a prize fund of £427,000, with the winner receiving £80,000.

2023 BetVictor European Masters
Tournament information
Dates22–27 August 2023 (2023-08-22 – 2023-08-27)
VenueKia Metropol Arena[1]
CityNuremberg
CountryGermany
OrganisationWorld Snooker Tour
FormatRanking event
Total prize fund£427,000[2]
Winner's share£80,000
Highest break Sean O'Sullivan (ENG) (147)
Final
Champion Barry Hawkins (ENG)
Runner-up Judd Trump (ENG)
Score9–6

Qualifying took place from 25 to 29 July 2023 at the Morningside Arena in Leicester, England, although qualifying matches involving the top eight ranked players were held over and played in Nuremberg. The world number one Ronnie O'Sullivan withdrew for medical reasons.

Kyren Wilson was the defending champion, having defeated Barry Hawkins 9–3 in the final of the previous season's event, but he lost 3–5 to John Higgins in the quarter-finals. Hawkins reached a second consecutive European Masters final, where he defeated Judd Trump 9–6 to win his fourth ranking title. It was his first ranking title since the 2017 World Grand Prix, following four consecutive defeats in ranking finals. He re-entered the top 16 in the world rankings after the tournament, moving up from 19th to 13th place.

A total of 50 century breaks were made during the main stage, and a further 41 in qualifying. Sean O'Sullivan made the tournament's highest break, a maximum break in his qualifying match against Hawkins.

Format

The 2023 European Masters was a professional ranking snooker tournament played between 22 and 27 August 2023 at the Kia Metropol Arena in Nuremberg, Germany.[1][3] The 25th edition of the European Masters tournament—first held as the 1989 European Open—the tournament was the second world ranking event of the 2023–24 season, following the Championship League and preceding the British Open. It was the second of eight tournaments in the season's European Series, which carries a £150,000 bonus for the player who earns the most prize money across the series.[4] Matches were played as the best of nine frames until the semi-finals, which were best of 11. The final was a best-of-17-frame match played over two sessions.[5][1] Kyren Wilson was the defending champion, having defeated Barry Hawkins 9–3 in the final of the previous event.[6]

The tournament marked the first time that the final stages of a professional ranking event had been held in Nuremberg.[7] The event was broadcast on Eurosport across Europe. In China, the event was broadcast on Superstar online, Liaoning TV, Migu, Youku and Huya Live. It was also broadcast on Premier Sports in the Philippines; on Now TV in Hong Kong; on True Vision in Thailand; and on Astro SuperSport in Malaysia and Brunei. In all other locations, the event was broadcast by Matchroom Sport.[8][9]

Prize fund

The event featured a prize fund of £427,000, with the winner receiving £80,000. The breakdown of prize money for this event is shown below:[2]

  • Winner: £80,000
  • Runner-up: £35,000
  • Semi-final: £17,500
  • Quarter-final: £11,000
  • Last 16: £7,500
  • Last 32: £4,500
  • Last 64: £3,000
  • Highest break: £5,000
  • Total: £427,000

Summary

Qualifying round
Sean O'Sullivan (pictured) made his first professional maximum break during the qualifying round in Leicester.

Qualifying for the event took place between 25 and 29 July at the Morningside Arena in Leicester, England.[10] The 12th seed Robert Milkins was defeated by Ben Woollaston, 14th seed Gary Wilson was defeated by Ben Mertens, and 15th seed Ryan Day was defeated by Zak Surety. Additionally, the 17th seed Anthony McGill, 27th seed Matthew Selt, and 30th seed Fan Zhengyi were defeated by Dominic Dale, Anthony Hamilton, and Lyu Haotian, respectively.[10] Sean O'Sullivan made his first maximum break in professional competition against Barry Hawkins, but lost the match.[11]

Qualifying matches featuring the top eight ranked players were played in Nuremberg on 22 August.[5] Graeme Dott was scheduled to play eighth seed Shaun Murphy, but he withdrew for personal reasons and was replaced in the draw by Steven Hallworth.[12] World number one Ronnie O'Sullivan withdrew for medical reasons and his opponent, Andy Hicks, received a bye to the last 64.[13] Seventh seed Neil Robertson lost 3–5 to Wu Yize.[14]

Early rounds

The round of 64 was played on 22 and 23 August.[5] Fourth seed Mark Allen was whitewashed 0–5 by Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, scoring only 17 points in the match. Un-Nooh attempted a maximum break in the final frame, but missed the 11th black.[15] Surety trailed Jiang Jun 0–4, but recovered to win five consecutive frames for a 5–4 victory.[15] The 13th seed Jack Lisowski and the 16th seed Hossein Vafaei lost to Michael White and Allan Taylor respectively.[5] Despite winning his qualifying match in England, Liu Hongyu was unable to travel to Germany due to visa issues, and his scheduled opponent Wu received a bye to the last 32.[12]

World champion Luca Brecel (pictured) used a replacement cue after his main cue went missing on a flight. He lost to Barry Hawkins in the last 16. The cue was subsequently recovered.

The round of 32 was played on 24 August.[5] Fifth seed Judd Trump lost the first four frames to Chris Wakelin but came back to clinch the match 5–4, meaning that Trump had won all 11 meetings between the two players. The defending champion Kyren Wilson progressed with a 5–0 whitewash of 2023 World Championship semi-finalist Si Jiahui, while Un-Nooh lost 1–5 to Ashley Carty.[16] The reigning world champion Luca Brecel was unable to use the cue with which he had won the World Championship, which had been lost on a flight from Seattle to Frankfurt.[17] He trailed Robbie Williams 0–3 before winning four consecutive frames to lead 4–3. The match went to a deciding frame, which Brecel won with a total clearance of 134, his 200th century break in professional competition. The 10th seed Mark Williams lost 4–5 to Jimmy Robertson. The 18th seed Hawkins defeated Surety 5–1.[18]

The round of 16 was played on 25 August.[5] Murphy played ninth seed John Higgins, the first time in seven years the two players had faced each other on the professional tour. Murphy won the first frame with a 113 break, but Higgins responded with breaks of 126, 66, and 120 to lead 3–1 at the mid-session interval, and went on to secure a 5–2 win. Trump and Kyren Wilson recorded whitewash victories over Ben Woollaston and Duane Jones respectively. Carty defeated the 20th seed Ricky Walden 5–3 to reach the first quarter-final of his professional career.[19] Brecel would have become world number one for the first time had he reached the semi-finals of the event, but he lost 4–5 to Hawkins. Following the match, Brecel stated that his missing cue had been located after 10 days and sent to his home, which Brecel called "good news", saying he would have had a "horrible season" had it not been found. The sixth seed Mark Selby defeated Ashley Hugill 5–2, while Lyu beat the 19th seed David Gilbert 5–1.[17]

Later rounds

The quarter-finals were played on 25 August.[5] Wilson won the first frame against Higgins, but Higgins won the next three with breaks of 105, 74, and 52. After the mid-session interval, Wilson reduced Higgins's lead to one frame at 4–3, but Higgins clinched a 5–3 victory with a 118 break. Trump defeated Carty 5–1 to set up a semi-final against Higgins.[20] Selby led Lyu 3–1 at the mid-session interval, but Lyu won the fifth frame and led by 65 points to 8 in the sixth. However, Selby made a 51 break, and the frame came down to a safety battle on the final black ball, which Selby eventually potted to move 4–2 ahead. Selby clinched a 5–2 win with a 74 break in frame seven. Hawkins made an 89 break, a 52 break, and two breaks of 70 as he secured a 5–2 win over Noppon Saengkham, setting up a semi-final against Selby.[21]

Barry Hawkins (pictured) defeated Mark Selby in the semi-finals and Judd Trump in the final to win the tournament. It was Hawkins's fourth ranking title and his first in over six years.

The semi-finals were played on 26 August.[5] Higgins produced half-centuries of 59, 50, and 70 to take a 3–0 lead over Trump. After Higgins missed a red in frame four, Trump produced back-to-back breaks of 111 and 93 to trail by one at 3–2. Higgins took frame six with a 114 break, but Trump won frames seven and eight to level the scores at 4–4. Higgins won the ninth with breaks of 54 and 60, but Trump, assisted by a fluke on a red, took the 10th frame to force a decider. Trump then clinched a 6–5 victory with a 73 break.[22] "I wasn't at my best, but I managed to dig in and do what John [Higgins] and Mark Selby do. They don't give in. I waited for my chances and they came", Trump said afterwards.[23]

In the second semi-final, Selby won the opening frame with a 134 break, but Hawkins won the second with a 106. The scores were tied at 2–2 at the mid-session interval. Selby won frame five, before Hawkins took frames six and seven with breaks of 92 and 70. Selby tied the scores at 4–4 with a 94 break in frame eight, and made a 59 break in the ninth, but Hawkins produced a 66 clearance to win the frame on the black ball. Hawkins made a 73 break in the 10th frame to win the match 6–4 and reach his second consecutive European Masters final. He called winning the ninth frame from 59 points behind "a massive boost in confidence" and said "I held myself together under the utmost pressure".[24][25]

The final took place on 27 August as the best of 17 frames, played over two sessions, between fifth seed Trump and 18th seed Hawkins. Trump was trying to win his first ranking title since the 2022 Turkish Masters. Hawkins was endeavouring to win his first ranking title since the 2017 World Grand Prix, having lost four consecutive ranking finals at the 2018 Welsh Open, the 2018 China Open, the 2022 Players Championship, and the previous season's European Masters. Hawkins won the first two frames and led 3–1 at the mid-session interval. Trump reduced his deficit to one frame with a 108 break in frame five. Hawkins won frame six with a 94 break, but Trump made a 107 break to win the seventh. In frame eight, Trump made a 60 break, but Hawkins won the frame on the black to lead 5–3 after the first session.[26] When play resumed, Hawkins won frame nine after Trump committed a foul on the final black, and won the 10th with a 53 break to lead 7–3. Trump then won three consecutive frames, reducing Hawkins's lead to one at 7–6. However, Hawkins won the last two frames for a 9–6 victory, securing his fourth ranking title.[27] “It has been such a long time since I was in the winner's enclosure. You forget how it feels", Hawkins said afterwards, commenting that: “It is up there with, if not the best win of my career".[28] He re-entered the top 16 in the world rankings after the tournament, moving up from 19th to 13th place.[29]

Main draw

The draw for the tournament is shown below. Superscripted numbers in parentheses are players' seedings, whilst players in bold denote match winners.[30][8]

Top half
 
Last 64
Best of 9 frames		Last 32
Best of 9 frames		Last 16
Best of 9 frames		Quarter-finals
Best of 9 frames		Semi-finals
Best of 11 frames
 
                  
 
 
 
 
 Kyren Wilson (ENG)(1)5
 
 
 
 Alfie Burden (ENG)2
 
England Kyren Wilson(1)5
 
 
 
China Si Jiahui(32)0
 
 Si Jiahui (CHN)(32)5
 
 
 
 Ken Doherty (IRL)3
 
England Kyren Wilson(1)5
 
 
 
Wales Duane Jones0
 
 Hossein Vafaei (IRN)(16)0
 
 
 
 Allan Taylor (ENG)5
 
England Allan Taylor3
 
 
 
Wales Duane Jones5
 
 Dominic Dale (WAL)2
 
 
 
 Duane Jones (WAL)5
 
England Kyren Wilson(1)3
 
 
 
Scotland John Higgins(9)5
 
 Andrew Higginson (ENG)1
 
 
 
 Zhou Yuelong (CHN)(24)5
 
China Zhou Yuelong(24)2
 
 
 
Scotland John Higgins(9)5
 
 Dylan Emery (WAL)1
 
 
 
 John Higgins (SCO)(9)5
 
Scotland John Higgins(9)5
 
 
 
England Shaun Murphy(8)2
 
 Ross Muir (SCO)5
 
 
 
 Joe Perry (ENG)(25)3
 
Scotland Ross Muir0
 
 
 
England Shaun Murphy(8)5
 
 Daniel Wells (WAL)2
 
 
 
 Shaun Murphy (ENG)(8)5
 
Scotland John Higgins(9)5
 
 
 
England Judd Trump(5) 6
 
 Judd Trump (ENG)(5)5
 
 
 
 Jordan Brown (NIR)0
 
England Judd Trump(5)5
 
 
 
England Chris Wakelin(28)4
 
 Chris Wakelin (ENG)(28)5
 
 
 
 Aaron Hill (IRL)0
 
England Judd Trump(5)5
 
 
 
England Ben Woollaston0
 
 Ben Woollaston (ENG)5
 
 
 
 Xu Si (CHN)1
 
England Ben Woollaston5
 
 
 
England Tom Ford(21)4
 
 Tom Ford (ENG)(21)5
 
 
 
 Oliver Brown (ENG)2
 
England Judd Trump(5)5
 
 
 
England Ashley Carty1
 
 Jamie Jones (WAL)3
 
 
 
 Ricky Walden (ENG)(20)5
 
England Ricky Walden(20)5
 
 
 
Wales Michael White4
 
 Michael White (WAL)5
 
 
 
 Jack Lisowski (ENG)(13)4
 
England Ricky Walden(20)3
 
 
 
England Ashley Carty5
 
 Ashley Carty (ENG)5
 
 
 
 Joe O'Connor (ENG)(29)4
 
England Ashley Carty5
 
 
 
Thailand Thepchaiya Un-Nooh1
 
 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (THA)5
 
 
 Mark Allen (NIR)(4)0
 

Bottom half
 
Last 64
Best of 9 frames		Last 32
Best of 9 frames		Last 16
Best of 9 frames		Quarter-finals
Best of 9 frames		Semi-finals
Best of 11 frames
 
                  
 
 
 
 
 Andy Hicks (ENG)5
 
 
 
 Peng Yisong (CHN)2
 
England Andy Hicks4
 
 
 
China Lyu Haotian5
 
 Lyu Haotian (CHN)5
 
 
 
 Elliot Slessor (ENG)4
 
China Lyu Haotian5
 
 
 
England David Gilbert(19)1
 
 Ben Mertens (BEL)5
 
 
 
 Sanderson Lam (ENG)3
 
Belgium Ben Mertens4
 
 
 
England David Gilbert(19)5
 
 David Gilbert (ENG)(19)5
 
 
 
 Reanne Evans (ENG)1
 
China Lyu Haotian2
 
 
 
England Mark Selby(6)5
 
 Xiao Guodong (CHN)5
 
 
 
 Stuart Bingham (ENG)(22)3
 
China Xiao Guodong4
 
 
 
England Ashley Hugill5
 
 Ashley Hugill (ENG)5
 
 
 
 Ali Carter (ENG)(11)4
 
England Ashley Hugill2
 
 
 
England Mark Selby(6)5
 
 Louis Heathcote (ENG)1
 
 
 
 Anthony Hamilton (ENG)5
 
England Anthony Hamilton1
 
 
 
England Mark Selby(6)5
 
 Adam Duffy (ENG)1
 
 
 
 Mark Selby (ENG)(6)5
 
England Mark Selby(6)4
 
 
 
England Barry Hawkins(18)6
 
 Wu Yize (CHN)w/o
 
 
 
 Liu Hongyu (CHN)[12]w/d
 
China Wu Yize2
 
 
 
Thailand Noppon Saengkham(26)5
 
 Noppon Saengkham (THA)(26)5
 
 
 
 Mark Davis (ENG)2
 
Thailand Noppon Saengkham(26)5
 
 
 
England Jimmy Robertson(23)4
 
 Mark Williams (WAL)(10)5
 
 
 
 Matthew Stevens (WAL)3
 
Wales Mark Williams(10)4
 
 
 
England Jimmy Robertson(23)5
 
 Jimmy Robertson (ENG)(23)5
 
 
 
 Scott Donaldson (SCO)0
 
Thailand Noppon Saengkham(26)2
 
 
 
England Barry Hawkins(18)5
 
 James Cahill (ENG)3
 
 
 
 Barry Hawkins (ENG)(18)5
 
England Barry Hawkins(18)5
 
 
 
England Zak Surety1
 
 Jiang Jun (CHN)4
 
 
 
 Zak Surety (ENG)5
 
England Barry Hawkins(18)5
 
 
 
Belgium Luca Brecel(2)4
 
 Robbie Williams (ENG)5
 
 
 
 Pang Junxu (CHN)(31)1
 
England Robbie Williams4
 
 
 
Belgium Luca Brecel(2)5
 
 Ishpreet Singh Chadha (IND)3
 
 
 Luca Brecel (BEL)(2)5
 
Note: w/o = walk-over; w/d = withdrawn

Final
Final: Best of 17 frames. Referee: Maike Kesseler
Kia Metropol Arena, Nuremberg, Germany, 27 August 2023
Judd Trump(5)
 England		 6–9 Barry Hawkins(18)
 England
Afternoon: 46–60, 32–78 (68), 65–43, 42–70, 108–14 (108), 0–94 (94), 108–6 (107), 60–70 (Trump 60)
Evening: 55–62, 1–93 (53), 75–31 (52), 70–6, 73–49, 0–75, 13–71
108 Highest break 94
2 Century breaks 0
4 50+ breaks 3

Qualifying

The results from qualification are shown below. Players in bold denote match winners and superscripted numbers in parentheses are seedings.

Nuremberg

The results of the held over qualifying matches played in Nuremberg on 22 August were as follows:[31]

Leicester

The results of the qualifying matches played in Leicester were as follows:[10]

25 July

26 July

27 July

28 July

29 July

Century breaks

Main stage centuries

A total of 50 century breaks were made during the main stage of the tournament.[32][33]

Qualifying stage centuries

A total of 41 century breaks were made during the qualifying stage of the tournament.[10][33]

Notes
  1. Ronnie O'Sullivan withdrew due to medical reasons.[13]
  2. Steven Hallworth replaced Graeme Dott who withdrew.[12]

References
  1. "Snooker European Masters 2023 (in German)". Kia Metropol Arena. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  2. "BetVictor European Masters". World Snooker Tour. 10 May 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  3. "European Masters 2023 - World Snooker". World Snooker. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  4. Lingeswaran, Susan (20 June 2023). "BetVictor renews title sponsorship of WST tournaments". Sportcal. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  5. Hilsum, James (24 August 2023). "European Masters snooker 2023: Latest scores, results, schedule, order of play as Kyren Wilson defends title". Eurosport. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  6. Caulfield, David. "European Masters qualifiers draw and schedule - SnookerHQ". SnookerHQ. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  7. "History Of The BetVictor European Masters". World Snooker Tour. 22 August 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  8. "Si draws Doherty in Nuremberg". World Snooker Tour. 4 August 2023. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
  9. "How to watch the BetVictor European Masters". World Snooker Tour. 21 August 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  10. "European Masters Qualifiers". snooker.org. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  11. "O'Sullivan fires in Leicester maximum". World Snooker Tour. 28 July 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  12. "Liu and Dott withdraw". World Snooker Tour. 21 August 2023. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
  13. "O'Sullivan pulls out". World Snooker Tour. 22 August 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  14. Hilsum, James (22 August 2023). "European Masters 2023: Neil Robertson suffers early exit to Wu Yize". www.eurosport.com. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  15. "Un-Nooh brilliance ousts Allen". World Snooker Tour. 23 August 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  16. "Trump completes stunning fightback". World Snooker Tour. 24 August 2023. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  17. "Hawk Downs Belgian Bullet". World Snooker. 25 August 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  18. "Brecel hunting down top spot". World Snooker Tour. 24 August 2023. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  19. "Wizard conquers the Magician in Nuremberg". World Snooker Tour. 24 August 2023. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  20. "Trump Sets Up Higgins Showdown". World Snooker. 25 August 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  21. "Selby And Hawkins To Meet In Semis". World Snooker. 25 August 2023. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
  22. "European Masters snooker 2023 LIVE - Mark Selby v Barry Hawkins after Judd Trump fights back to beat John Higgins". www.eurosport.com. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
  23. "Trump Fightback Floors Higgins". World Snooker. 26 August 2023. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
  24. "Barry Hawkins downs Mark Selby to reach European Masters final, Judd Trump squeezes past John Higgins". www.eurosport.com. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
  25. "Hawk Downs The Jester". World Snooker. 26 August 2023. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
  26. "Hawkins Leads Nuremberg Final". World Snooker. 27 August 2023. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  27. "Barry Hawkins holds off stirring Judd Trump fightback to win 2023 European Masters in Germany". www.eurosport.com. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  28. "Hawk Soars To End Title Drought". World Snooker. 27 August 2023. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  29. "Barry Hawkins returns to world top 16 after European Masters snooker win, Ronnie O'Sullivan at No. 1 – 'Massive relief'". www.eurosport.com. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  30. "BetVictor European Masters 2023 draw sheet" (PDF). World Snooker Tour. 4 August 2023. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
  31. "Order of Play". snooker.org. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
  32. Ardalen, Hermund. "BetVictor European Masters (2023) - snooker.org". snooker.org. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  33. "World Snooker – Live Scores". World Snooker Tour. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  34. "Barry Hawkins v Sean O'Sullivan". World Snooker Tour. 28 July 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
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