Qualifying took place from 17 to 19 December 2019 in Barnsley, England. Jimmy Robertson was the defending champion after defeating Joe Perry 9–6 in the 2018 final, but he lost 3–5 to Martin O'Donnell in the first qualifying round. Neil Robertson won the seventeenth ranking title of his career with a 9–0 whitewash win over Zhou Yuelong in the final. It was only the second whitewash in a two-session ranking event final, the first since the 1989 Grand Prix. A total of 27 century breaks were made during the tournament, with Thailand's Thepchaiya Un-Nooh making the highest, a 146 in the first round.
Tournament format
The January 2020 European Masters was a professional snooker tournament held at the Messe Dornbirn in Dornbirn, Austria, between 22 and 26 January 2020.[1] This was the twenty-first edition of the European Masters tournament, the first having been held in 1989 as the 1989 European Open.[2][3] It was the ninth ranking event of the 2019–20 snooker season following the 2019 UK Championship and preceding the 2020 German Masters.[4] It was played as the best-of-nine frames until the semi-finals, which were best-of-eleven frames, followed by a best-of-seventeen frames final.[5] The event featured thirty-two participants from the World Snooker Tour with two qualifying rounds which took place from 17 to 19 December 2019 in Barnsley, England.[5] The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association and World Snooker organised the European Masters, and it was the first snooker ranking event to be held in Austria.[6]
Prize fund
The event featured a total prize fund of £407,000 with the winner receiving £80,000.[6][7] The event was the first of the "European Series", all sponsored by betting company BetVictor also including the German Masters, Snooker Shoot Out and Gibraltar Open. The player who accumulates the highest amount of prize money over the four events receives a bonus of £150,000.[8][9] The breakdown of prize money for the event is shown below:[7]
The main stages of the competition were played from 22 to 26 January 2020.[1] All matches until the semi-finals were played as best-of-nine frames, with no intervals.[12] The first round saw Riga Masters champion Yan Bingtao withdraw from the competition because of back pain.[13]Thepchaiya Un-Nooh defeated Robbie Williams in his first round match, making the tournament's highest break of 146 in the sixth frame.[13][14] World number three Mark Williams lost on a deciding frame to Zhou Yeulong 4–5.[13] The second round featured four-time world champion John Higgins being defeated 5–4 by Un-Nooh.[15] Higgins commented, "It's a tough one to take. I should have won 5–2", having been 4–2 ahead.[15]Barry Hawkins defeated former world champion Mark Selby 5–4, in a match that contained nine breaks of over fifty.[15] The UK Championship winner Ding Junhui lost 5–2 to Scott Donaldson.[5][16]
The quarter-finals saw 2020 Masters finalist Ali Carter defeat Donaldson 5–1, Hawkins lose to Zhou Yuelong 2–5, Gary Wilson defeat Marco Fu 5–3 and Neil Robertson defeat Un-Nooh 5–1, with Robertson scoring three century breaks.[17][18] The first semi-final was played between Carter and Robertson.[18] Robertson won the opening frame then Carter leveled the score at 1–1. Robertson won the next five frames to win 6–1.[19] After the match, Robertson commented that "[Carter's] mindset didn't seem to be there from the outset, maybe it was a hangover from the Masters".[19] The second semi-final was held between Zhou and Wilson. Wilson led early in the match, but there was never more than two frames between the players. In a decider, Zhou won the frame to reach his first ranking event final, 6–5.[19][20]
The final was played on 26 January 2020 between Robertson and Zhou, as a best-of-17 frames match over two sessions.[21][20] The match was the first ranking event final for Zhou, and the first time since the 2017 Scottish Open it was contested by two players not from the United Kingdom.[20] In the first session, Robertson won all eight frames, scoring a century break in both the fourth and eighth frames.[21] When the match resumed, Zhou went in-off on the final red ball, allowing Robertson to win frame nine and complete a 9–0 victory.[21] The win was only the second whitewash in a two-session ranking event final, the first since Steve Davis beat Dean Reynolds 10–0 in the 1989 Grand Prix final.[22][23] By winning this event, Robertson had won one every season since 2006.[22]
Main draw
Below is the draw from the main stage (last 32) onwards. Seeded players have their seedings in brackets. Players highlighted in bold denote match winners.[5]
Two rounds of qualifying matches were held between 17 and 19 December 2019 at the Barnsley Metrodome in Barnsley, England. All matches were the best-of-nine frames.[11]
A total of 27 century breaks were made during the competition. The highest was a 146 made by Thepchaiya Un-Nooh in frame six of his first round match against Robbie Williams.[14]
A total of 67 century breaks were made during the qualifying stages of the event. The highest of these was a 142 made by Michael Georgiou, made in frame four of his first round match against Luca Brecel.[24]
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