The 2022 European Masters (officially the 2022 BetVictor European Masters) was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place from 21 to 27 February 2022 at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes, England. The tournament was the 11th ranking event of the 2021–22 season and the sixth of eight tournaments in the season's European Series. The World Snooker Tour originally planned to stage the event at the Stadthalle Fürth in Fürth, Germany, but relocated it to the UK after increasing rates of COVID-19 in Bavaria led to greater restrictions around sporting events.[1][2] The tournament was broadcast by Eurosport in Europe, and by other networks worldwide.[3]
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 21–27 February 2022 |
| Venue | Marshall Arena |
| City | Milton Keynes |
| Country | England |
| Organisation | World Snooker Tour |
| Format | Ranking event |
| Total prize fund | £407,000 |
| Winner's share | £80,000 |
| Highest break |  Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (THA) (144) |
| Final | |
| Champion |  Fan Zhengyi (CHN) |
| Runner-up |  Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG) |
| Score | 10–9 |
Mark Selby was the defending champion, having defeated Martin Gould 9–8 in the final of the tournament's September 2020 edition.[4] However, Selby lost 3–5 to Jordan Brown in the round of 64.[5] Many other top seeds also suffered early exits, with only three top-16 players reaching the round of 16.[6] World number 80 Fan Zhengyi reached his first ranking final by defeating higher-ranked opponents Kyren Wilson, Yan Bingtao, David Gilbert, and Graeme Dott.[7] Six-time world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan reached the 60th ranking final of his career.[8][9]
The best-of-19-frame final between O'Sullivan and Fan was played over two sessions on 27 February. O'Sullivan fell two frames behind at 2–4, 4–6, and 6–8, but drew level each time. Fan took a 9–8 lead, but O'Sullivan again drew level to force a deciding frame. After O'Sullivan missed a long red in the decider, Fan made a 92 break to win the match 10–9 and capture his first ranking title.[10][11][7] He became the fifth Chinese player to win a ranking event, after Ding Junhui, Liang Wenbo, Yan, and Zhao Xintong, as well as the fourth player to win a maiden ranking title in the 2021–22 season, following David Gilbert, Zhao, and Hossein Vafaei.[12] His £80,000 prize money for winning the tournament took him from 80th to 31st in the world rankings.[12]
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh made the highest break of the tournament, a 144, during his qualifying match against Chen Zifan.[13] Neil Robertson compiled a record-equalling four consecutive centuries in his last-64 match against Alfie Burden, becoming the first player to accomplish this feat twice in professional competition. He previously made four consecutive centuries against Ahmed Saif at a European Tour event in 2013.[14]
Prize fund
editThe breakdown of prize money for this event is shown below:
- Winner: £80,000
- Runner-up: £35,000
- Semi-final: £17,500
- Quarter-final: £11,000
- Last 16: £6,000
- Last 32: £4,000
- Last 64: £3,000
- Highest break: £5,000
- Total: £407,000
Main draw
editTop half
editBottom half
editFinal
edit| Final: Best of 19 frames. Referee: Leo Scullion Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes, England, 27 February 2022 | ||
| Fan Zhengyi China
|
10–9 | Ronnie O'Sullivan (3) England
|
| Afternoon: 6–66, 68–1, 77–46, 1–66, 81–0, 78–28, 38–72, 0–83 Evening: 135–0 (135), 110–21 (110), 14–88, 36–69, 65–51, 74–31, 0–107 (107), 37–80, 82–0, 23–90, 92–0 | ||
| 135 | Highest break | 107 |
| 2 | Century breaks | 1 |
Qualifying
editQualifying for the event took place between 27 and 31 October 2021 at the Chase Leisure Centre in Cannock, England. Qualifying matches involving the top four ranked players were held over to be played at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes.[15]
Mark Williams was due to take part in qualifying, but withdrew from the event due to a positive COVID-19 test and was replaced by Mark Lloyd.[16] Sam Craigie withdrew due to injury, and his place in the draw was taken by James Cahill. However, Cahill immediately had to withdraw after producing a positive COVID-19 test. As no other players were available to be entered at short notice, Soheil Vahedi received a bye.[17] Michael White also withdrew and was replaced by Simon Blackwell.
- Mark Selby (ENG) (1) 5–3 Matthew Selt (ENG)[nb 1]
Jordan Brown (NIR) 5–2 
Alexander Ursenbacher (SUI)- Xiao Guodong (CHN) 5–0
Lukas Kleckers (GER) - Craig Steadman (ENG) 4–5 Andy Hicks (ENG)
- Zhou Yuelong (CHN) 5–2 Jimmy White (ENG)
- David Lilley (ENG) 2–5 Gao Yang (CHN)
Graeme Dott (SCO) 5–3 Scott Donaldson (SCO)- Mark Davis (ENG) 5–3 Robert Milkins (ENG)
Luca Brecel (BEL) 5–1 Barry Pinches (ENG)- Gary Wilson (ENG) 5–1 Sanderson Lam (ENG)
- David Grace (ENG) 3–5
Jackson Page (WAL) - Mark Allen (NIR) (9) 4–5 Sunny Akani (THA)
- Jamie O'Neill (ENG) 5–1 Hammad Miah (ENG)
- Ryan Day (WAL) 5–2 Dominic Dale (WAL)
- James Cahill (ENG) w/d–w/o
Soheil Vahedi (IRN) - Stephen Maguire (SCO) (8) 1–5 Ashley Carty (ENG)
- Kyren Wilson (ENG) (5) 5–2 Lyu Haotian (CHN)
- Jamie Jones (WAL) 5–4 Tian Pengfei (CHN)
- Zhao Xintong (CHN) 4–5
Aaron Hill (IRL) - Fan Zhengyi (CHN) 5–3
Rory McLeod (JAM) - Yan Bingtao (CHN) 5–2 Ben Woollaston (ENG)
- Stephen Hendry (SCO) 3–5 Li Hang (CHN)
- Joe Perry (ENG) 5–4 Steven Hallworth (ENG)
- Cao Yupeng (CHN) 5–3
Michael Georgiou (CYP) - Chang Bingyu (CHN) 0–5 Liam Highfield (ENG)
- David Gilbert (ENG) 5–4 Jimmy Robertson (ENG)
- Anthony Hamilton (ENG) 5–3 Mark King (ENG)
- Barry Hawkins (ENG) 5–0
Iulian Boiko (UKR) - Xu Si (CHN) 5–1 Lee Walker (WAL)
- Lu Ning (CHN) 4–5 Pang Junxu (CHN)
- Alfie Burden (ENG) 5–0 Peter Lines (ENG)
Neil Robertson (AUS) (4) 5–2 Lei Peifan (CHN)[nb 1]- Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG) (3) 5–1 Nigel Bond (ENG)[nb 1]
- Andrew Pagett (WAL) 3–5 Zhang Anda (CHN)
- Michael Holt (ENG) 4–5 Wu Yize (CHN)
- Robbie Williams (ENG) 3–5 Fergal O'Brien (IRL)
- Jack Lisowski (ENG) 5–2 Simon Lichtenberg (GER)
- Bai Langning (CHN) 1–5 Ashley Hugill (ENG)
- Ali Carter (ENG) 5–2 Martin O'Donnell (ENG)
- Sean Maddocks (ENG) 5–0 Jamie Wilson (ENG)
- Reanne Evans (ENG) 2–5 Louis Heathcote (ENG)
- Martin Gould (ENG) 5–0
Ng On-yee (HKG) - Zhang Jiankang (CHN) 5–4 Mark Joyce (ENG)
- Stuart Bingham (ENG) 3–5 Fraser Patrick (SCO)
- Ben Hancorn (ENG) 1–5 Ian Burns (ENG)
- Tom Ford (ENG) 5–3 Ross Muir (SCO)
- Jamie Clarke (WAL) 5–3
Farakh Ajaib (PAK) - John Higgins (SCO) (6) 5–4 Chris Wakelin (ENG)
- Shaun Murphy (ENG) (7) 5–2 Simon Blackwell (ENG)
- Noppon Saengkham (THA) 5–0 Si Jiahui (CHN)
- Liang Wenbo (CHN) 5–2 Joe O'Connor (ENG)
- Dean Young (SCO) 2–5 Duane Jones (WAL)
- Mark Lloyd (ENG) 4–5 Yuan Sijun (CHN)
- John Astley (ENG) 3–5 Stuart Carrington (ENG)
- Ricky Walden (ENG) 5–4 Elliot Slessor (ENG)
- Zak Surety (ENG) 0–5 Matthew Stevens (WAL)
- Zhao Jianbo (CHN) 4–5 Mitchell Mann (ENG)
- Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (THA) 5–3 Chen Zifan (CHN)
- Peter Devlin (ENG) 0–5 Hossein Vafaei (IRN)
- Anthony McGill (SCO) 5–0 Oliver Lines (ENG)
- Gerard Greene (NIR) 0–5 Andrew Higginson (ENG)
Kurt Maflin (NOR) 5–2 Allan Taylor (ENG)- Jak Jones (WAL) 5–2 Ken Doherty (IRL)
- Judd Trump (ENG) (2) 5–0 Michael Judge (IRL)[nb 1]
Century breaks
editMain stage centuries
editA total of 60 century breaks were made during the main event.[18]
- 141, 136, 132, 128, 127, 112, 109, 109, 107, 105 – Ronnie O'Sullivan
- 140, 131, 124, 120 – Liang Wenbo
- 135, 131, 125, 117, 110 – Fan Zhengyi
- 134, 134, 124 – Anthony McGill
- 132 – Gary Wilson
- 131 – Jamie Jones
- 130 – Jack Lisowski
- 128, 115 – Jak Jones
- 128 – Mark Selby
- 128 – Xiao Guodong
- 127 – Tom Ford
- 127 – Andrew Higginson
- 124, 100 – Judd Trump
- 122 – Noppon Saengkham
- 118 – Jordan Brown
- 117 – Ryan Day
- 116, 107, 105, 104, 101, 100 – Neil Robertson
- 114 – Ricky Walden
- 114 – Zhang Anda
- 112, 100 – Wu Yize
- 111, 105, 103 – Kurt Maflin
- 111 – Yan Bingtao
- 110, 101 – Pang Junxu
- 109 – Jackson Page
- 105, 100 – David Gilbert
- 102 – Yuan Sijun
- 101, 100 – Kyren Wilson
- 101 – Luca Brecel
- 101 – Stuart Carrington
- 101 – Soheil Vahedi
Qualifying stage centuries
editA total of 40 century breaks were made during the qualifying stage of the tournament.[18][19]
- 144 – Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
- 141, 131 – Ryan Day
- 141 – Kurt Maflin
- 138 – Mark Davis
- 138 – Jack Lisowski
- 136 – Mark Allen
- 136 – Lu Ning
- 135 – Sunny Akani
- 134, 127 – Shaun Murphy
- 134, 106 – Xu Si
- 134 – Liam Highfield
- 132 – Yuan Sijun
- 131 – Ken Doherty
- 130 – Neil Robertson
- 129 – Elliot Slessor
- 129 – Judd Trump
- 128 – Mark Selby
- 123 – John Higgins
- 122 – Jamie Clarke
- 120 – Mitchell Mann
- 118 – Jordan Brown
- 117 – Graeme Dott
- 115 – Michael Holt
- 113 – Matthew Selt
- 112 – Ashley Hugill
- 112 – Zhang Anda
- 111 – Mark Lloyd
- 110 – Zhao Jianbo
- 108, 104 – Barry Hawkins
- 108 – David Grace
- 104, 100 – David Gilbert
- 102 – Noppon Saengkham
- 101 – Jackson Page
- 101 – Ben Woollaston
Notes
edit- ^ a b c d Match held over and played in Milton Keynes.
References
edit- ^ "Snooker's BetVictor European Masters To Be Staged In Milton Keynes". World Snooker Tour. 23 December 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-12-23.
- ^ "BetVictor European Masters". World Snooker. Retrieved 2022-02-21.Archived 2020-12-29 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "How To Watch The BetVictor European Masters". World Snooker. 2022-02-17. Archived from the original on February 17, 2022. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
- ^ "Mark Selby holds off Martin Gould fightback to win European Masters". Eurosport UK. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
- ^ "European Masters 2022: Mark Selby crashes out to Jordan Brown, Ronnie O'Sullivan holds off Zhang to reach next round". Eurosport UK. 2022-02-22. Retrieved 2022-02-22.
- ^ "Robertson Stopped By Sharp Pang". World Snooker. 2022-02-24. Archived from the original on February 24, 2022. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
- ^ a b "Fan beats O'Sullivan 10-9 in final". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2022-02-28.
- ^ "Fab Fan Downs Dott To Reach Final". World Snooker. 2022-02-26. Archived from the original on February 26, 2022. Retrieved 2022-02-26.
- ^ "O'Sullivan Reaches 60th Ranking Final". World Snooker. 2022-02-26. Archived from the original on February 26, 2022. Retrieved 2022-02-26.
- ^ "European Masters snooker 2022 - Fan Zhengyi holds nerve to beat Ronnie O'Sullivan in decider". Eurosport. 2022-02-27. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
- ^ "Snooker results: Fan Zhengyi beats Ronnie O'Sullivan 10-9 in the European Masters final". www.sportinglife.com. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
- ^ a b "China's Fan Stuns O'Sullivan In Dramatic Final". World Snooker. 2022-02-27. Archived from the original on February 27, 2022. Retrieved 2022-02-28.
- ^ "Where the money went". Snooker Scene. No. April 2022. p. 11.
- ^ "Robertson Narrowly Misses Snooker History". World Snooker. 2022-02-22. Archived from the original on February 22, 2022. Retrieved 2022-02-23.
- ^ "BetVictor European Masters Qualifiers Draw". World Snooker Tour. 20 October 2021. Archived from the original on October 20, 2021.
- ^ "Williams Withdraws From European Masters And English Open". World Snooker Tour. 27 October 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-10-27.
- ^ "Craigie Withdraws From BetVictor European Masters Qualifying". World Snooker Tour. 27 October 2021. Archived from the original on October 27, 2021.
- ^ a b "BetVictor European Masters 2022 | Centuries". World Snooker Tour. 21–27 February 2022. Archived from the original on 18 March 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
- ^ "BetVictor European Masters 2022 Qualifiers | Centuries". World Snooker Tour. 27–31 October 2021. Archived from the original on 17 March 2022. Retrieved 27 October 2021.