The 2023/24 World Snooker season is under way and on Tuesday, we have the second tournament of the schedule with the European Masters. We’ve previewed this event and given you our suggested best bets.
European Masters Tips
History and Format
The European Masters dates back to 1989 but in it’s earlier forms was known as the European Open, Irish Open and the Malta Cup.
It gained its current name back in 2016, after an eight year hiatus and has been held every season since.
COVID-19 meant the tournament has been held in the UK rather than Europe on a couple of occasions but is now situated in its permanent home in Germany.
The venue for this week’s snooker is the Kia Metropole Arena in Nuremburg and the event will be broadcast live and exclusively on Eurosport in the UK.
This tournament has had several multiple champions, including Stephen Hendry (four times), John Parrott (3), Shaun Murphy and Judd Trump (both twice).
Current defending champion is Englishman, Kyren Wilson, who defeated compatriot Barry Hawkins 9-3 in the final last year.
The tournament runs from Tuesday, 22nd August to the final on Sunday, 27th August.
Qualifying rounds were held at the Morningside Arena in Leicester, in late July and 56 players have already claimed their place in the last 64.
The top eight in the world, including reigning champ Wilson, will play their qualifiers on the 22nd August to form the rest of the main draw.
Prize Money
| Stage | Prize |
| 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 Prize Fund | £427,000 |
Kyren Wilson Each Way (1/2 2 Places) – 12/1
I’ve every faith that Kyren Wilson can go back-to-back in this tournament for his 6th ranking tournament win.
He clearly really enjoyed his time in Germany last time out and he is in cracking form right now.
The 31-year-old won five out of six games at the season opener, the Championship League, before running into Chris Wakelin (more on him later) in the second round.
Wilson isn’t quite at the levels he was at back in 2018/19 but he is certainly back on the up, reaching two finals and two semi finals last season.
With a favourable draw here as the defending champ, he should hopefully beat the Championship League winner Shaun Murphy out of his quarter final and then it’s all a matter of trying to cling on to his title.
Chris Wakelin 2nd Quarter Winner – 16/1
As mentioned above, Wakelin was in fine form at the Championship League, knocking out Wilson, before finishing 2nd in his semi final group to eventual winner Murphy.
The 31-year-old picked up his first title of his career last season, at the Snooker Shoot Out and whilst that one frame format doesn’t really correlate here, it certainly will have boosted his confidence.
The Rugby native is at his ATH ranking of 28nd in the world and could be entering the prime of his career.
He has a tough looking quarter draw, including Judd Trump, Mark Allen and Jack Lisowski but I like his chances at 16/1 for a small punt.
*All prices correct at the time of writing.
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