2022 European Masters: First Round Predictions

The 2022 European Masters, known as the 2022 BetVictor European Masters, is a professional ranking snooker competition that will occur from the 21st to the 27th of February. It was meant to be played at the Stadthalle Fürth, a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Fürth, Germany, but it was relocated to the Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes, because of the increasing Covid-19 cases in Bavaria.

Qualifying for the 2022 European Masters

The qualifying event for this competition took place from the 27th and 31st of October in Cannock, England, at the Chase Leisure Centre. The qualifying games involving the top four ranked players in the world were held over and are to be played in Leicester at the Morningside Arena.

Mark Williams was set to take place in qualifying, but he withdrew from the competition after testing positive for Covid-19 - his place was taken by Mark Lloyd. Sam Craigie also withdrew from the tournament because he was injured, and his place was taken by James Cahill. However, Cahill then had to withdraw after testing positive. Since there was no other player available at such a short notice, Soheil Vahedi was given a bye. Michael White withdrew as well, and he was then replaced by Simon Blackwell.

The defending champion is Mark Selby, who beat Martin Gould 9-8 in the last edition that was held in September 2020.

The Format of the 2022 European Masters

There will be 64 players taking part in the main tournament, and it is a winner takes all style of competition. In other words, if a player loses one match, they are out of the competition. The structure of the competition is as follows:

• 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
• Final - Best of 17 frames

The Fixtures for the 2022 European Masters

The first round of the competition is made up of 32 matches, and below we have provided you with the full fixtures list so that you can take a look and see what matches interest you when it comes to placing bets.

In the tables below, you can find the full list of fixtures for Round 1.

Our Match Predictions

So, above we gave you the full fixtures list for the First Round of the 2022 European Masters, and now we are going to provide you with our predicted winner for each match.

Here are our predictions for the First Round matches:

Matches to Look Out For

So, as you can see, there are 32 matches that make up the first round, meaning you might not be too sure as to what matches you should follow. If this is the case, do not fear as we are here to help you. Below you can find eight matches that we feel you should pay attention to.

Luca Brecel vs Gary Wilson

Luca Brecel has won two ranking events in his career, and in 2017 he became the first snooker player from mainland Europe to win a ranking title. He picked up this title by beating Shaun Murphy in the China Championship, and then he went on to claim his second ranking title when he beat John Higgins 9-5 in the 2021 Scottish Open. On the other hand, Gary Wilson has never won a ranking event, but he did finish as the runner-up in the China Open and the British Open, losing to Mark Selby and Mark Williams.

These two players have played seven matches between them, and Wilson leads the way with four wins to his name. Brecel has won two times, and there has been one draw. The matches between them have always been quite entertaining, and we are expecting a similar affair this time around. However, we think Brecel will go on to claim the win.

Our match prediction: Luca Brecel to win.

Anthony Hamilton vs Barry Hawkins

Those who are new to the snooker world will probably not have heard much about Anthony Hamilton, but he has had a pretty solid snooker career. He has one ranking title to his name, which is the 2017 German Masters. He was 45 years old at the time, which made him the sixth-oldest player to win a ranking event. In addition to this, he has won 4 non-ranking event titles under his belt. Barry Hawkins, on the other hand, has three ranking titles, which are the 2012 Australian Goldfields Open, the 2014 Players Tour Championship Finals, and the World Grand Prix.

Hawkins and Hamilton have played against each other five times, and the former is leading the way with four wins to one. The majority of the matches that they have played have been close affairs, and we are expecting something similar this time around too. However, when it comes to putting money on one of them to win, we would have to go with Hawkins because we just think he is the better player.

Our match prediction: Barry Hawkins to win.

Ali Carter vs Sean Maddocks

Ali Carter has amassed four ranking titles in his career, and these are the 2009 Welsh Open, 2010 Shanghai Masters, the 2013 German Masters, and the 2016 World Open. He has made it to the World Snooker Championship final on two occasions, but on both times he ended up losing out to Ronnie O'Sullivan. His opponent, Sean Maddocks, is just 19 years of age, but he has already shown how talented he is. At the age of just 15, he became the youngest player to hit a 147 in a tournament, beating the record that was held by Ronnie O'Sullivan.

These two players are yet to meet on the snooker table, but it is bound to be a really interesting match between two very talented snooker players. While we always like the underdog to do well, we do not see the youngster overcoming Carter in this match. We think Carter's experience will be key for this game.

Our match prediction: Ali Carter to win.

Shaun Murphy vs Noppon Saengkham

Shaun Murphy has managed to win nine ranking titles throughout his long snooker career, and this includes one win in the 2005 World Snooker Championship, the 2008 UK Championship, the 2014 World Open, the 2016 World Grand Prix, and the 2020 Welsh Open. He has also won 11 non-ranking events too. Noppon Saengkham has never won a ranking event, but he did manage to make it to two semi-finals of ranking events.

Murphy and Saengkham have met at the snooker table on three occasions, and Murphy leads the way with two wins to one. They last played each other in 2020, and Saengkham came out on top with a 10-4 victory. Although he lost the last match, we think Murphy will be too strong this time around and will advance to the next round.

Our match prediction: Shaun Murphy to win.

Zhou Yuelong vs Gao Yang

Zhou Yeulong currently has a world ranking of 20, thanks to his fantastic performances in the 2020/2021 season. Most notably, his efforts in the UK Championship allowed him to progress to his maiden Triple Crown final. Yeulong is no stranger to the European Masters and will be reflecting on his final loss to Neil Robertson in the 20219/2020 edition.

Geo Yang is currently ranked 73rd in the world, down from his debut season at 107th place. Additionally, at aged 17, Yang is one of the youngest to play in the event. A win here would certainly put his name on the map. However, we think Yuelong might be too strong for Yang, therefore we back Yeulong for the win.

Our match prediction: Zhou Yuelong to win.

Jamie O’Neill vs Ryan Day

Jamie O’Neill is against supercharged break-builder Ryan Day in a match that seems to speak for itself. Day currently sits with a world ranking of 23, with his highest ranking just 6. This compares to O’Neill with his current ranking of 110 and highest ranking of 79. O’Neill has a series of accolades to his name, notably a high finish in the International Open Series and winning the English Open Championship.

Day has reached the World Championship quarter-final three times and has made over 400 century breaks. He added another ranking title to his name in 2021 during the Shoot Out final. This was against the infamous Mark Selby. We feel quite confident to back Day for the win.

Our match prediction: Ryan Day to win.

Kryen Wilson vs Jamie Jones

‘The Welsh Warrier’ Jamie Jones is scheduled to play Kyren ‘The Warrier’ Wilson. Jones has an impressive history starting young at just 14 years old where he made a 147 break during a competition. His current ranking sits at 38 compared to Wilson’s ranking of 5. To date, Jones has not managed to get further than the semi-finals in a ranked competition, so he will be hoping to push this record during the European Masters.

Wilson is a decorated snooker player having made a maximum break three times and over 300 century breaks. He has won four ranking titles, with the most recent in 2020 at the Champions League. In their eight-match history together, Wilson has won six times. We think Jones doesn’t have what it takes to get the win in this particular match, so we are backing Wilson.

Our match prediction: Kyren Wilson to win.

Louis Heathcote vs Martin Gould

24-year-old Louis Heathcote is against 40-year-old Martin Gould, who is also known as ‘The Pinner Potter’. Gould has a current ranking of 22 compared to Heathcote’s ranking of 103. Heathcote is riding on a few recent wins such as in the Northern Ireland Open last October, however, Gould managed a very recent win against Craig Steadman in the Turkish Masters Qualifier.

We are rooting for the young Heathcote to succeed in this round 1 match; however, we think Gould will ultimately take the victory.

Our match prediction: Martin Gould to win.