The 11th ranking event of the season’s schedule gets under way on Monday with the start of the European Masters in Milton Keynes.
Originally to be staged in Furth, the tournament was later moved to the Marshall Arena as a result of the ongoing pandemic.
It represents the sixth event out of eight on the European Series that is sponsored by BetVictor, with Mark Selby returning as the defending European Masters champion.
2022 European Masters Draw and Schedule
An unusual schedule for this event saw the qualifying round for the 2022 European Masters take place months in advance – all the way back in October.
Zhao Xintong wasn’t even a ranking event winner at that point but has since gone on to claim the UK Championship and German Masters crowns.
The Chinese competitor’s defeat in the preliminary round didn’t generate many headlines at the time, but his absence will now certainly be a miss for the event.
Mark Allen, Stuart Bingham, and Stephen Maguire were the other notable names to fail when the qualifying round took place.
Reigning champion Selby, two-time former winner Judd Trump, world number two Ronnie O’Sullivan, and the in-form Neil Robertson all had their opening fixtures held over to the venue stages.
The remaining contenders reenter the fray in the last 64 with the likes of John Higgins, Yan Bingtao, Shaun Murphy, and Barry Hawkins involved.
Heldover Last 128 Matches
(Schedule in GMT)
Mark Selby vs Matthew Selt
(Monday, 2:30pm)
Neil Robertson vs Lei Peifan
(Monday, 7pm)
Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Nigel Bond
(Monday, 7pm)
Judd Trump vs Michael Judge
(Monday, 2:30pm)
Last 64 Draw
Mark Selby/Matthew Selt vs Jordan Brown
(Tuesday, 2:30pm)
Xiao Guodong vs Andy Hicks
(Monday, 10am)
Zhou Yuelong vs Gao Yang
(Monday, 10am)
Graeme Dott vs Mark Davis
(Monday, 2:30pm)
Luca Brecel vs Gary Wilson
(Monday, 2:30pm)
Jackson Page vs Sunny Akani
(Monday, 2:30pm)
Jamie O’Neill vs Ryan Day
(Monday, 2:30pm)
Soheil Vahedi vs Ashley Carty
(Monday, 7pm)
Kyren Wilson vs Jamie Jones
(Monday, 10am)
Aaron Hill vs Fan Zhengyi
(Monday, 10am)
Yan Bingtao vs Li Hang
(Monday, 10am)
Joe Perry vs Cao Yupeng
(Monday, 10am)
Liam Highfield vs David Gilbert
(Monday, 7pm)
Anthony Hamilton vs Barry Hawkins
(Monday, 7pm)
Xu Si vs Pang Junxu
(Tuesday, 10am)
Alfie Burden vs Neil Robertson/Lei Peifan
(Tuesday, 7pm)
Ronnie O’Sullivan/Nigel Bond vs Zhang Anda
(Tuesday, 2:30pm)
Wu Yize vs Fergal O’Brien
(Tuesday, 10am)
Jack Lisowski vs Ashley Hugill
(Monday, 7pm)
Ali Carter vs Sean Maddocks
(Tuesday, 2:30pm)
Louis Heathcote vs Martin Gould
(Tuesday, 2:30pm)
Zhang Jiankang vs Fraser Patrick
(Tuesday, 10am)
Ian Burns vs Tom Ford
(Tuesday, 2:30pm)
Jamie Clarke vs John Higgins
(Tuesday, 10am)
Shaun Murphy vs Noppon Saengkham
(Tuesday, 7pm)
Liang Wenbo vs Duane Jones
(Tuesday, 10am)
Yuan Sijun vs Stuart Carrington
(Tuesday, 10am)
Ricky Walden vs Matthew Stevens
(Tuesday, 2:30pm)
Mitchell Mann vs Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
(Tuesday, 7pm)
Hossein Vafaei vs Anthony McGill
(Tuesday, 7pm)
Andrew Higginson vs Kurt Maflin
(Tuesday, 7pm)
Jak Jones vs Judd Trump/Michael Judge
(Tuesday, 7pm)
Prize, History, and Format
The European Masters has been an annual fixture on the snooker schedule since 2016, with Judd Trump winning the first two editions in Romania and Belgium respectively.
The tournament resided in Lommel for another term when Jimmy Robertson emerged as a surprise champion in 2018.
Neil Robertson triumphed in the 2019/20 season with a memorable 9-0 thrashing of Zhou Yuelong in Austria, and several months later Mark Selby reigned at Martin Gould’s expense in one of the first tournaments to be staged behind closed doors.
A champion’s cheque worth £80,000 is on offer this week, with a lot of players now scrambling for positions on various rankings lists.
The scrap to rank inside the top 16 in time for the World Championship is heating up with Ricky Walden and Shoot Out champion Hossein Vafaei among those leading the chasing pack.
Money earned in this competition will also count towards the separate European Series order of merit, from which the highest earner after eight events will receive a bumper bonus of £150,000.
Matches will last nine frames until the quarter-final stage, before the format increases from an 11-frame semi-final to a final played over 19 frames.
Where to Watch the European Masters
Live coverage of the 2022 European Masters schedule will be available in Ireland, Britain, and across Europe via Eurosport.
Other options are available for viewers around the world, which you can view by clicking here.
Featured photo credit: WST
