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 [de] 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 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.
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.
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]
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. Numbers in parentheses after the players' names denote the top 32 seeded players, whilst players in bold denote match winners.[30][8]
The results from qualification are shown below. Numbers in parentheses after the players' names denote the top 32 seeded players, whilst players in bold denote match winners.
Nuremberg
The results of the held over qualifying matches played in Nuremberg on 22 August were as follows:[31]
