The 2020 German Masters (officially the 2020 BetVictor German Masters) was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place from 29 January to 2 February 2020 in the

Tempodrom The Tempodrom (also referred to as Neues Tempodrom) is a multi-purpose event venue in Berlin. Founded by Irene Moessinger, it opened in 1980 next to the Berlin Wall on the west side of Potsdamer Platz, housed in a large circus tent. After severa ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

, Germany. The tournament was the tenth

ranking A ranking is a relationship between a set of items such that, for any two items, the first is either "ranked higher than", "ranked lower than" or "ranked equal to" the second. In mathematics, this is known as a weak order or total preorder of ...

event of the 2019–2020 snooker season. It was the 14th edition of the

German Masters The German Masters is a professional ranking snooker tournament held at the Tempodrom in Berlin, Germany since 2011. The 2021 event was held at Milton Keynes in England because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Zhao Xintong is the reigning champion, h ...

, first held in 1995 as the 1995 German Open. The event featured a prize fund of £400,000 with £80,000 being given to the winner.

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 ...

was the defending champion after defeating David Gilbert 9–6 in the 2019 final. He lost 4–5 to

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 Lu ...

in the second qualifying round. The final was contested between the reigning world champion

Judd Trump Judd Trump (born 20 August 1989) is an English professional snooker player, a former world champion and former world number one. Widely regarded as one of the sport's most talented players, he is currently sixth on the list of all-time ranki ...

and

Neil Robertson Neil Robertson (born 11 February 1982) is an Australian professional snooker player who is a former world champion and former world number one. The only Australian to have won a ranking event, he is also the only player from outside the United ...

, who had won the preceding European Masters event. Trump won the final defeating Robertson 9–6. Trump's win was his 15th ranking title and fourth of the season. This tournament was the last professional tournament for

Peter Ebdon Peter David Ebdon (born 27 August 1970) is an English former snooker player. The winner of the 2002 World Snooker Championship, Ebdon won nine world ranking events, placing twelfth on the all-time list of ranking tournament winners. In addit ...

, who retired due to spine and neck degradation. Ebdon lost 4–5 in the first qualifying round to

Matthew Stevens Matthew Stevens (born 11 September 1977) is a Welsh professional snooker player. He has won two of the game's Triple Crown events, the Masters in 2000 and the UK Championship in 2003. He has also been a two-time runner-up in the other triple ...

Format

The 2020 German Masters was a professional snooker tournament held at the

, Germany, between 29 January and 3 February 2020. This was the 13th edition of the

tournament, being held since 2011, and previously between

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

and

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

as the ''German Open''. It was the tenth

event of the

2019–20 snooker season The 2019–20 snooker season was a series of professional snooker tournaments played between 9 May 2019 and 22 August 2020. In total, 47 events were held during the season: however, the ending of the season was highly disrupted by the ...

following the European Masters and preceding the World Grand Prix. It was played as the best-of-nine-frames until the semi-finals, which were best-of-11-frames, followed by a best-of-17-frames final. The event featured 32 participants from the

World Snooker Tour The World Snooker Tour (WST) is the main professional snooker tour, consisting of approximately 128 players competing on a circuit of up to 28 tournaments each season. The World Snooker Tour is administered by World Snooker Ltd, the commercial ar ...

with two qualifying rounds which took place from 20 to 22 December 2019 in Barnsley, England.

Prize fund

The event featured a total prize fund of £400,000 with the winner receiving £80,000. The event was the second of the "European Series" which included the European Masters,

Snooker Shoot Out The Snooker Shoot Out is a professional ranking snooker tournament played under a variation of the standard rules. The 2017 event was the first time the tournament was staged as a ranking event. Hossein Vafaei is the current champion. History ...

and Gibraltar Open all sponsored by sports betting company

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 Ch ...

. The player accumulating the highest amount of prize money over the four events received a bonus of £150,000. The breakdown of prize money for the tournament is shown below: * Winner: £80,000 * Runner-up: £35,000 * Semi-final: £20,000 * Quarter-final: £10,000 * Last 16: £5,000 * Last 32: £4,000 * Last 64: £3,000 * Highest break: £5,000 * Total: £400,000

Tournament summary

The first round of the German Masters began on 29 January 2020. A commemorative cake in the shape of a snooker table was baked to celebrate the 10th edition of the event to be held in the Tempodrome. Four-time world champion

John Higgins John Higgins, (born 18 May 1975) is a Scottish professional snooker player. He has won 31 career ranking titles, placing him in third position on the all-time list of ranking event winners, behind Ronnie O'Sullivan (39) and Stephen Hendry ( ...

lost his first round match to world number 59

Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stud ...

4–5. Three players completed a

whitewash Whitewash, or calcimine, kalsomine, calsomine, or lime paint is a type of paint made from slaked lime (calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2) or chalk calcium carbonate, (CaCO3), sometimes known as "whiting". Various other additives are sometimes used. ...

in the first round, with

Sunny Akani Akani Songsermsawad (; born 10 September 1995), better known as Sunny Akani, is a Thai former professional snooker player. Career Early career Akani, a regular in amateur Thai snooker events since 2011, first came to international attention with ...

Michael Georgiou Michael Georgiou (born 18 January 1988) is a British- Cypriot former professional snooker player from Forest Hill. He is a practice partner of Igor Figueiredo and Hammad Miah, who practises at Whetstone Snooker Club. In 2018, Georgiou won his f ...

and

Matthew Selt Matthew Selt (born 7 March 1985) is an English professional snooker player originally from Romford, east London and now living in Chelmsford, Essex. He qualified for the professional tour by finishing seventh on the Pontin's International Open ...

all winning 5–0. Scott Donaldson defeated

2019 UK Championship The 2019 UK Championship (also known as the 2019 Betway UK Championship for sponsorship reasons) was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 26 November to 8 December 2019 in the Barbican Centre, York, England. The 43r ...

winner

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 (200 ...

5–4. The win gave Donaldson enough ranking points to qualify for the 2020 World Grand Prix. In the second round, Georgiou defeated Akani 5–4. Akani continued playing on the practice tables for two days after his loss. European Masters finalist

defeated 17th seed Gary Wilson 5–1. In a rematch of the 2018 final, 19th seed

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 a ...

played third seed Mark Williams, with Dott winning 5–2. World number two

completed a second straight whitewash over

Elliot Slessor Elliot Slessor (born 4 August 1994) is an English professional snooker player. In May 2013, Slessor qualified for the 2013–14 and 2014–15 professional Main Tour as one of four semi-finalists from the first Q School event. Career Slessor ...

in the quarter-finals, having also defeated

Mitchell Mann Mitchell Mann (born 26 December 1991) is an English professional snooker player. Career Junior Mann first played snooker aged 9, after being forced to quit football after a diagnosis of Legg–Calvé–Perthes syndrome, a rare disease which r ...

in the second round 5–0.

Shaun Murphy Shaun Peter Murphy (born 10 August 1982) is an English professional snooker player who won the 2005 World Championship. Nicknamed "The Magician", Murphy is noted for his straight cue action and his long potting. Born in Harlow, Essex and r ...

defeated Xintong 5–3, Dott defeated Selt 5–2 and Trump defeated Georgiou 5–1. The first semi-final was played between Dott and Trump. With no more than one frame between the two, they tied at 4–4. However, Trump won frame nine with a break of 110 and won the match 6–4. The second semi-final was between Robertson and Murphy. Robertson won five frames in a row with breaks of 73, 136, 62, 53 and 129 to win 6–1. Robertson reached the final having lost only two frames in the previous four matches. The final was played between Neil Robertson and Judd Trump on 2 February 2020. This was the second time in the

that the pair had met in a final, having done so at the 2019 Champion of Champions. If Robertson won the final, he would be guaranteed to win the European Series. It was held as a best-of-17 frames match, held over two sessions. Robertson won four of the first six frames, with Trump winning the final two frames of the first session to tie the match at 4–4. Trump restarted the match, winning a further two frames to lead 6–4. Robertson won frame 11, before Trump won frame 12 to lead 7–5 going into the . The pair shared the next two frames, before Trump won the match 9–6 with a break of 120 in frame 15. This was Trump's 15th career ranking event title, his fourth of the season.

Main draw

Below are the event's results from the last-32 stage to the final. Player names in bold denote match winners. Numbers in brackets denote player seedings.

Final

Qualifying

Qualifying for the event took place between 20 and 22 December 2019 at the

Barnsley Metrodome The Barnsley Metrodome (Metrodome Leisure Complex) is a sports and leisure facility that was opened in 1989 by Neil Kinnock. The facility is 5 minutes from the Barnsley Interchange and close to Junction 37 off the M1. It is located along Queen ...

in Barnsley, England. There were two rounds of qualifying with matches being played as best-of-9 frames. Defending champion Kyren Wilson did not qualify for the event, after losing 4–5 to

in the second round.

played his last professional match in a first round loss to

Round 1

Round 2

Century breaks

Main stage centuries

There was a total of 33

century break In snooker, a century break (also century, sometimes called a ton) is a of 100 points or more, compiled in one to the table. A century break requires potting at least 25 consecutive balls, and the ability to score centuries is regarded as a m ...

s during the tournament. The highest was a 138 made by

in his first round win over

. * 138, 134

* 136, 133, 129, 120, 101, 101

* 134, 108 Gary Wilson * 133, 106 Mark Williams * 132

Nigel Bond Nigel Bond (born 15 November 1965) is an English former professional snooker player. Bond competed on the main tour from 1989 to 2022, and was ranked within the world's top 16 players between 1992 and 1999, peaking at 5th for the 1996–97 s ...

* 132 Scott Donaldson * 130

* 129, 127

* 126

Yuan Sijun Yuan Sijun (Chinese: 袁思俊; born 29 May 2000) is a Chinese professional snooker player. Career Yuan started to play snooker at the age of 10 and played as a wildcard in many professional tournaments between ages of 13 and 16. Yuan first drew ...

* 122, 119, 114, 110, 100

* 122, 102

Luca Brecel Luca Brecel (born 8 March 1995) is a Belgian professional snooker player. He won the European Under-19 title at the age of 14 and went on to break Stephen Hendry's record as the youngest player ever to compete at the Crucible Theatre. He made h ...

* 122

* 121

* 119

Robert Milkins Robert Milkins (born 6 March 1976) is an English professional snooker player. Considered one of the most naturally talented and quickest players in the game, Milkins has been a mainstay on the tour since regaining his tour card in 1998. Milkin ...

* 112

* 111, 110

* 108

* 102

Qualifying stage centuries

There was a total of 77 century breaks during qualifying. The highest was a 143 made by Tom Ford in his second qualifying round match against

Oliver Lines Oliver Lines (born 16 June 1995) is an English professional snooker player who practices at Northern Snooker Centre in Leeds. He is the son of professional snooker player Peter Lines. Career Amateur Lines switched sports from football to snook ...

. * 143, 129

Tom Ford Thomas Carlyle Ford (born August 27, 1961) is an American fashion designer and filmmaker. He launched his eponymous luxury brand in 2005, having previously served as the creative director at Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent. Ford wrote and direct ...

* 142, 137, 124

* 141

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 ...

* 140, 106

* 140

Zhang Anda Zhang Anda (born 25 December 1991) is a Chinese professional snooker player, who made his debut on the Main Tour for the 2009–10 season. He qualified by winning the ACBS Asian Under-21 Championship. Standing at 5 ft. 3 in. tall, h ...

* 139, 137, 127, 109

* 135 John Astley * 135

Louis Heathcote Louis Heathcote (born 3 July 1997) is an English people, English professional snooker player. Career In May 2019, Heathcote came through Q School 2019 - Event 2, Q-School - Event 2 by winning six matches to earn a two-year card on the World Snoo ...

* 134, 131

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 ...

* 133

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 ...

* 133

Zhou Yuelong Zhou Yuelong (; born 24 January 1998) is a Chinese professional snooker player. He has been runner-up at three ranking events, the January 2020 European Masters, the 2020 Snooker Shoot Out, and the 2022 Northern Ireland Open. Career Between 2 ...

* 132, 130

* 132, 103

Ricky Walden Ricky Walden (born 11 November 1982) is an English professional snooker player from Chester. Walden turned professional in 2000 and it took him eight years to win his first ranking title at the Shanghai Masters. He has since won the 2012 Wuxi ...

* 131, 111 Kacper Filipiak * 131

Kurt Maflin Kurt Graham Maflin (born 8 August 1983) is an English-Norwegian former professional snooker player. A strong break-builder, Maflin has compiled more than 200 century breaks during his career and has made two 147 breaks in professional competitio ...

* 130

Xu Si Xu Si (; born 24 January 1998) is a Chinese professional snooker player. Career Xu Si first started playing snooker aged 12 at his local club in Jieyang during the school holidays. After a few weeks he became determined to become a snooker pla ...

* 126, 106

Dominic Dale Dominic Dale (born Christopher Dale on 29 December 1971) is a Welsh professional snooker player and snooker commentator and presenter for the BBC and Eurosport. Career Dale was born in Coventry, England. He won the Welsh Amateur Championship, ...

* 126 Mark Davis * 124, 115

Stuart Bingham Stuart Bingham (born 21 May 1976) is an English professional snooker player who is a former world and Masters champion. Bingham won the 1996 World Amateur Championship but enjoyed little sustained success in the early part of his professional ...

* 123, 113

Li Hang Li Hang is the name of: * Li Hang (footballer) (李行, born 1989), Chinese association footballer *Li Hang (snooker player) (李行, born 1990), Chinese snooker player See also * Li Gang (Song dynasty) (李綱, 1083–1140), regional commander se ...

* 123, 105

* 122

Kishan Hirani Kishan H. Hirani (born 2 June 1992) is a Welsh former professional snooker player. Career Hirani qualified for his first professional tournament in the 2017 Paul Hunter Classic, winning three matches. He played Chris Wakelin in the first round, ...

* 119

Jack Lisowski Jack Adam Lisowski (born 25 June 1991) is an English professional snooker player from Churchdown, Gloucestershire. He turned professional in 2010 by finishing first in the 2009/2010 PIOS rankings. A left-handed player, he is known for his atta ...

* 118

Ali Carter Allister Carter (born 25 July 1979) is an English professional snooker player. He has twice been the World Championship runner-up, in 2008 and 2012, losing both finals to Ronnie O'Sullivan. He has won four ranking titles and briefly reached numb ...

* 118

Fraser Patrick Fraser Patrick (born 8 November 1985) is a Scottish professional snooker player from Glasgow. Career Patrick started his professional career in 2002 by playing Challenge Tour, where he spent three seasons without success. In 2007 Patrick ear ...

* 118 Joe Perry * 117

Sam Craigie Sam Craigie (born 29 December 1993) is an English professional snooker player from Newcastle. He enjoyed a successful junior career before turning professional in 2011. Career Early career Craigie qualified for the 2011/2012 Main Tour after ...

* 116, 109, 107

* 115, 100, 100 Gary Wilson * 115 Ian Burns * 114, 102, 100

Ashley Carty Ashley Carty (born 17 July 1995) is a former professional snooker player based in Thurcroft, Rotherham Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then ...

* 114 Jimmy Robertson * 113

Soheil Vahedi Soheil Vahedi ( fa, سهیل واحدی, born March 15, 1989) is an Iranian former professional snooker player. Career In 2009 Vahedi entered the World Amateur Under-21 Snooker Championships in his home country in Kish, Iran in which he reached ...

* 111

Noppon Saengkham Noppon Saengkham (; born 15 July 1992) is a Thai professional snooker player. Career Early years In April 2009, Saengkham lost in the final of the ACBS Asian Under-21 Snooker Championship 1–5 to Zhang Anda. He went one better at the 2009 IBS ...

* 110

Alexander Ursenbacher Alexander Ursenbacher (born 26 April 1996) is a Swiss professional snooker player from Rheinfelden. He is Switzerland's first professional snooker player (former professional Darren Paris represented England, in the mid-1990s, before moving to S ...

* 110 Anthony Hamilton * 109

Bai Langning Bai Langning (, born 17 April 2002) is a Chinese professional snooker player. Bai is one of eight Chinese players currently suspended from the professional tour amid a match-fixing investigation. Career Early career Bai Langning was born in J ...

* 109

Lee Walker Lee Walker (born 11 February 1976) is a Welsh former professional snooker player who is the reigning World Seniors Champion. He is both an official WPBSA and SightRight coach. Career After turning professional in 1994 at the age of 18, Walker r ...

* 108, 101

Igor Figueiredo Igor Almeida Figueiredo (born October 11, 1977) is a Brazilian former professional snooker player. Career Amateur career Prior to entering the PIOS tour in 2009, Figueiredo had only played on 10-foot tables in his home country. Despite this, hi ...

* 108

Sam Baird Sam Baird (born 17 June 1988) is an English former professional snooker player. He first entered the professional tour for the 2009/10 season, by winning the EBSA Pro-Ticket Tour Play-offs. Career 2011/2012 season Baird reached the main draw o ...

* 107

Andrew Higginson Andrew Higginson (born 13 December 1977) is an English former professional snooker player from Widnes, Cheshire. He is best known for being the surprise finalist of the 2007 Welsh Open. Career Early years After some success in amateur tourn ...

* 106

Barry Hawkins Barry Hawkins (born 23 April 1979) is an English professional snooker player from Ditton, Kent. He turned professional in 1996, but only rose to prominence in the 2004–05 snooker season, when he reached the last 16 of the 2004 UK Championship ...

* 104, 103 David Gilbert * 104, 100

* 103

Fergal O'Brien Fergal O'Brien (born 8 March 1972) is an Irish professional snooker player who plays on the main professional tour since 1991. Ranked within the world's top 64 players from 1994 to 2022, he has reached his highest position of 9th in the 2000 ...

* 102 Scott Donaldson * 101

* 100, 100

* 100

Mark Selby Mark Anthony Selby (born 19 June 1983) is an English professional snooker player, who is a four-time World Snooker Champion. Ranked world number one on multiple occasions, he has won a total of 21 ranking titles, placing him eighth on the ...

* 100 Ryan Day

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:German Masters, 2020

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

Masters

Sports competitions in Berlin