2022 European Masters (2021–22 Season)
The February 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. The tournament was broadcast by Eurosport in Europe, and by other networks worldwide. Mark Selby was the defending champion, having defeated Martin Gould 9–8 in the final of the tournament's September 2020 edition. However, Selby lost 3–5 to Jordan Brown in the round of 64. Many other top seeds also suffered early exits, with only three top-16 players reaching the round of 16. World number 80 Fan ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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BetVictor
BetVictor is an online gambling company headquartered in Gibraltar. Founded in 1946, it offers products such as sports betting and online casino. The company is currently owned by Michael Tabor. History The company was founded by William Chandler (bookmaker), William Chandler who owned Walthamstow Stadium, a greyhound racing track in the London Borough of Waltham Forest in East London, which he opened in 1931. After the death of William Chandler in 1946, the bookmaking business passed to Victor Sr. and Jack. Victor Sr. died suddenly in 1974 and the business passed to Victor Jr., who at the time was working in the hotel industry in Spain. In 1998, the headquarters was moved to Gibraltar to avoid UK gambling tax. It has been argued this was a cause for Gordon Brown abolishing gambling tax in his 2001 budget. In 2004, the company was rebranded "VC Bet". Then in late 2008, Chandler chose to revert the name to "Victor Chandler". In 2012, the company rebranded itself again as BetVic ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 are variable but often include fever, cough, headache, fatigue, breathing difficulties, Anosmia, loss of smell, and Ageusia, loss of taste. Symptoms may begin one to fourteen days incubation period, after exposure to the virus. At least a third of people who are infected Asymptomatic, do not develop noticeable symptoms. Of those who develop symptoms noticeable enough to be classified as patients, most (81%) develop mild to moderate symptoms (up to mild pneumonia), while 14% develop severe symptoms (dyspnea, Hypoxia (medical), hypoxia, or more than 50% lung involvement on imaging), and 5% develop critical symptoms (respiratory failure ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hossein Vafaei
Hossein Vafaei ( fa, حسین وفایی ایوری; born 15 October 1994) is an Iranian professional snooker player. He is the first professional player from Iran. He won his first professional title at the 2022 Snooker Shoot Out, beating Mark Williams. He dedicated this victory to his grandmother and mother because that day was mother's day in Iran. Career 2009/2010 season His first international tournament was the 2009 World Under-21 Amateur Snooker Championship. He reached the last 16 where he lost by five frames to three against Liu Chuang. 2010/2011 season He participated in the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China in the snooker singles competition and was beaten 4–1 by Dechawat Poomjaeng in the last 16. In December 2010, he played in the World Amateur Snooker Championship and reached the last 16, where he lost 5–1 to Leo Fernandez. In April 2011, he reached the final of ACBS Asian Under-21 Snooker Championship, but lost 7–3 to Cao Yupeng. Later in the month ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Zhao Xintong
Zhao Xintong (; born 3 April 1997) is a Chinese professional snooker player. Long considered one of the brightest talents in the game, he won his first ranking title (also his first Triple Crown title) at the 2021 UK Championship, defeating Luca Brecel 10–5 in the final. With this win, he entered the top 16 in the world rankings for the first time at number nine, and became eligible to compete in his first Masters. He won his second ranking title less than two months later when he whitewashed Yan Bingtao 9–0 in the final to win the 2022 German Masters. In doing so, Zhao became only the third player in professional snooker history, after Steve Davis and Neil Robertson, to win a two-session ranking final without conceding a frame. Career Zhao Xintong first drew international attention in June 2012 at the Zhangjiagang Open defeating high ranking players Xiao Guodong, Irishman Kevin McMahon and Yu Delu to reach the last 16 of the tournament where he narrowly lost 4–3 to ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Liang Wenbo
Liang Wenbo (; born 25 March 1987) is a Chinese professional snooker player based at the Oracle Snooker Club, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, England. Liang, who plays left-handed, has reached one Triple Crown final, made three Masters appearances, and won one ranking title at the inaugural English Open in 2016. He twice won the World Cup for China along with teammate Ding Junhui. Liang has made three maximum breaks in his career, and reached an all-time high of 11th in the world rankings. Liang was suspended from professional competition from 2 April until 1 August 2022 for bringing the sport into disrepute, following a domestic assault conviction. He was suspended again on 27 October 2022, and the WPBSA subsequently disclosed that he is among seven Chinese players currently being investigated for match-fixing. Career Amateur years As an amateur, Liang's major feats were as follows: * 2003 IBSF World Snooker Championship, men's division, quarter-finalist * 2004 IBSF World Snooker ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ding Junhui
Ding Junhui (; born 1 April 1987) is a Chinese professional snooker player. He is the most successful Asian player in the history of the sport. Throughout his career, he has won 14 major ranking titles, including three UK Championships (2005, 2009, 2019). He has twice reached the final of the Masters, winning once in 2011. In 2016, he became the first Asian player to reach the final of the World Championship. Ding began playing snooker at age nine and rose to international prominence in 2002 after winning the Asian Under-21 Championship and the Asian Championship. At age 15, he became the youngest winner of the IBSF World Under-21 Championship. In 2003, Ding turned professional at the age of 16. His first major professional successes came in 2005 when he won the China Open and the UK Championship, becoming the first player from outside Great Britain and Ireland to win the title. During his career, he has compiled more than 600 century breaks, including six maximum breaks, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Graeme Dott
Graeme Dott (born 12 May 1977) is a Scottish professional snooker player and snooker coach from Larkhall. He turned professional in 1994 and first entered the top 16 in 2001. He has won two ranking titles, the 2006 World Snooker Championship and the 2007 China Open, and was runner-up in the World Championships of 2004 and 2010. He reached number 2 in the world rankings in 2007, but a subsequent episode of clinical depression seriously affected his form, causing him to drop to number 28 for the 2009–10 season. He then recovered his form, regained his top-16 ranking, and reached a third World Championship final. In 2011, he published his autobiography, ''Frame of Mind: The Autobiography of the World Snooker Champion.'' Career Early career After winning the UK Under-19 Championship in 1992 and Scottish Amateur Championship in 1993, Dott turned professional in 1994. He slowly climbed the rankings, reaching the top sixteen in 2001, where he remained until 2009. Early success ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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David Gilbert (snooker Player)
David Gilbert (born 12 June 1981) is an English professional snooker player. He is a former World Snooker Young Player of Distinction and practises at Potters Snooker and Pool Club in Swadlincote, Derbyshire, a club which he co-owns. Having never previously been beyond the last 16 of a ranking event, Gilbert reached the final of the 2015 International Championship where he lost 5–10 to John Higgins. On 22 January 2019 he hit the milestone of the 147th maximum break in the Championship League. On 4 May 2019 he narrowly missed out on his first ever World Snooker Championship final in a final frame decider, losing out 16–17 to John Higgins. On 13 August 2021 Gilbert won his first world ranking title after 22 years of being a professional by winning the 2021 Championship League after beating Mark Allen 3–1 in the final. Snooker career Early career Gilbert began his professional career by playing UK Tour in 1999, at the time the second-level professional tour. In the 2007 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Yan Bingtao
Yan Bingtao (, born 16 February 2000) is a Chinese professional snooker player. He is the youngest player to win the Amateur World Snooker Championship after defeating Muhammad Sajjad 8–7. Having qualified to compete on the main tour for the 2015–16 season, Yan was unable to obtain a UK Visa, and decided to dedicate the year to completing his education in China. He resumed his career in 2016. He became the youngest-ever ranking event finalist at the 2017 Northern Ireland Open. Mark Williams won the match 9–8. Early in the 2019–20 season, Yan won his first ranking title in the Riga Masters at the age of 19. He became the third Chinese player to win a ranking title (after Ding Junhui and Liang Wenbo). He won his first Triple Crown event at the 2021 Masters, winning in deciding frames in every match up until the final, where he defeated John Higgins 10–8, coming back from 3–5 and 5–7 behind. In December 2022, Yan and several other Chinese players were suspen ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kyren Wilson
Kyren Wilson (; born 23 December 1991) is an English professional snooker player from Kettering and a five-time ranking event winner. He has been a runner-up at two of the three Triple Crown events, having reached the final at both the 2018 Masters and the 2020 World Snooker Championship. Wilson reached his highest world ranking of fourth in 2020. A prolific breakbuilder, Wilson has made over 350 century breaks and a maximum break on three occasions. Wilson turned professional in 2010 after finishing fifth in the 2009–2010 International Open Series rankings. After failing to retain his spot on the World Snooker Tour in 2011, he regained his tour card in 2013 and has been a professional ever since. Wilson won his first ranking title at the 2015 Shanghai Masters when ranked 54th in the world; he defeated Judd Trump 10–9 in the final. Wilson has won an additional four ranking events: at the 2018 Paul Hunter Classic, defeating Peter Ebdon 4–2; at the 2019 German Masters ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jordan Brown (snooker Player)
Jordan Brown (born 9 October 1987) is a Northern Irish professional snooker player. After winning back-to-back Northern Ireland Amateur Championships in 2008 and 2009, he made his debut on the professional tour in 2009–10 but lost his tour card after one season. He rejoined the tour in 2018 after qualifying via Q School. He made his Crucible debut at the 2020 World Snooker Championship. In January 2021, he reached the quarterfinals of the German Masters, and in February 2021, he won his first ranking title at the Welsh Open, defeating Ronnie O'Sullivan 9–8 in the final. Ranked 81st in the world before the event, and rated a 750–1 outsider by bookmakers, he became the lowest-ranked player to win a ranking event since 1993. Career After winning the Northern Ireland Amateur Championship in 2008 and 2009, Brown received a tour card for the 2009–10 snooker season but lasted only one season on the tour. As an occasional wild card entrant to ranking events, he enjoyed some ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Martin Gould
Martin Gould (born 14 September 1981) is an English professional snooker player from Pinner in the London Borough of Harrow. He has appeared in four ranking finals and won one ranking title, the 2016 German Masters. Career Gould began his professional career by playing Challenge Tour in 2000, at the time the second-level professional tour. In 2002, Gould won his first English Amateur Championship, beating Craig Taylor in the final. Gould reached the semi-finals of the 2002 European Championship. Gould enjoyed a good run in the qualification for the 2003 World Snooker Championship, winning 8 matches, beating Alain Robidoux and Stephen Maguire. Gould's campaign ended when he lost to Patrick Wallace. However, he dropped off the Main Tour after this sole season and barely played for the next four years, due to looking after his terminally ill mother. Gould returned to action in 2007 as he won his second English Amateur Championship, beating David Lilley 8–7 in a dramatic black- ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |