European Masters

History of European Masters Snooker

The tournament’s roots stretch back to 1989, when the European Open was introduced as part of snooker’s expansion into international markets. Before the late 1980s, professional ranking events were concentrated in the United Kingdom. The launch of overseas tournaments helped broaden the sport’s competitive landscape, and the European Open became an important early step in that development. Its first edition was held in Deauville, France, and England’s John Parrott emerged as one of the event’s defining early champions.

Parrott won the inaugural European Open by defeating Terry Griffiths 9–8 in the final. He then defended his title in 1990, beating Stephen Hendry 10–6. His success established a strong connection between the competition and the leading players of the era. Parrott later won the event again in 1996, defeating Peter Ebdon 9–7 in Valletta, Malta. Those victories made him a three-time European Open champion and helped give the tournament an identity of its own during a period when professional snooker was becoming increasingly international.

Across the 1990s, the tournament moved between European locations rather than settling permanently in one host city. After its beginnings in France, it was staged in Lyon and Rotterdam before moving to Belgium, including events in Tongeren and Antwerp. Malta subsequently became an important host destination. This changing geography reflected the organisers’ attempts to develop snooker audiences in different markets, although it also meant that the event’s identity was closely tied to its location and sponsorship arrangements.

The competition’s name and status changed over time. It continued as the European Open through much of its early history, but later editions became associated with Malta. The event was revived in Valletta in the early 2000s, held in Torquay, England, in 2003, and returned to Malta in 2004. From 2005, it became known as the Malta Cup. The change of name did not erase the event’s earlier history; instead, it marked another stage in a competition that had repeatedly adapted to new venues, sponsors and commercial circumstances.

The Malta Cup attracted many leading professionals and produced significant results. In 2005, Stephen Hendry won the tournament by defeating Graeme Dott 9–7 in the final. The victory was especially notable because it proved to be Hendry’s 36th and final ranking title. A player widely regarded as one of snooker’s greatest champions therefore added a major milestone to his career at an event that had already developed a long international history.

Ken Doherty won the 2006 Malta Cup, beating John Higgins 9–8 in the final. That result gave Doherty another ranking title and added a tense finish to the event’s roll of honour. The competition’s status subsequently changed: the 2007 edition was a ranking event, while the 2008 Malta Cup was held as a non-ranking invitational tournament. The event was then discontinued. These changes demonstrated the challenges of maintaining an international tournament amid the shifting sponsorship and scheduling demands of professional snooker.

In 2016, the event returned under the name European Masters, with Romania selected to host the first edition of the revived tournament. The final in Bucharest featured two of the most recognisable players of the modern era: Judd Trump and Ronnie O’Sullivan. O’Sullivan led 8–6 and moved within one frame of victory, but Trump fought back to level the match before winning the deciding frame 9–8. Trump’s comeback gave the relaunched event an immediate headline result and established him as its first champion in the modern European Masters era.

Trump retained the title in 2017, when the tournament moved to Lommel in Belgium. He defeated Stuart Bingham 9–7 in the final, becoming the first player to defend the revived European Masters title successfully. Bingham had made a strong start, but Trump recovered and eventually took control of the contest. His back-to-back wins helped establish the competition as a meaningful ranking event rather than merely a revival of an old name.

The 2018 tournament produced a different kind of story. England’s Jimmy Robertson defeated Joe Perry 9–6 in the final to claim his first ranking title. Robertson had spent many years on the professional circuit without reaching a ranking-event final, making his breakthrough victory a reminder that the sport’s established stars do not own every trophy. His win became one of the event’s notable underdog stories and added another name to the list of European Masters champions.

The competition continued to move around Europe. In January 2020, the tournament was staged in Dornbirn, Austria, where Neil Robertson defeated Zhou Yuelong 9–0 in the final. Later that year, a further edition took place at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes, England, during the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Mark Selby won that event, beating Martin Gould 9–8. The close final contrasted sharply with Neil Robertson’s earlier whitewash and demonstrated how widely the tournament’s finals could vary in character.

In February 2022, the European Masters produced one of the biggest shocks in its history. Fan Zhengyi, then ranked around 80th in the world, reached the final against Ronnie O’Sullivan. Fan defeated the seven-time world champion 10–9 to claim his first ranking title. He had entered the tournament as a long outsider, with pre-event odds reported at 750–1. The result captured attention well beyond the usual snooker audience and became a defining moment in the event’s modern history. It was a powerful example of the opportunities that ranking tournaments can offer players outside the sport’s established elite.

Another edition followed in August 2022 at the Stadthalle Fürth in Germany. Kyren Wilson won the title by defeating Barry Hawkins 9–3 in the final. The event continued to attract strong professional fields, and its changing champions reinforced the idea that sustained success on the tour requires consistency across several rounds rather than one exceptional performance.

In 2023, the tournament was held at the Kia Metropol Arena in Nuremberg, Germany. Barry Hawkins defeated Judd Trump 9–6 in the final to become the champion of the last edition staged under the European Masters name to date. Hawkins’ victory was a fitting conclusion to the event’s modern run: a seasoned professional overcame one of the sport’s most accomplished attacking players to lift the trophy.

The tournament’s history therefore spans several identities: the European Open, the Malta Cup and the revived European Masters. Its champions include John Parrott, Stephen Hendry, Judd Trump, Jimmy Robertson, Neil Robertson, Mark Selby, Fan Zhengyi, Kyren Wilson and Barry Hawkins. Its venues have ranged from French coastal resorts to arenas in Germany, and its finals have featured both emphatic wins and deciding-frame drama.

After the 2023 edition, the European Masters was removed from the World Snooker Tour calendar as part of wider changes to the European Series. That means it is important to distinguish the tournament’s rich historical record from the current schedule: the event has not been a regular fixture in the seasons that followed. Nevertheless, its past remains a compelling part of professional snooker history, with memorable champions, dramatic finals and an international journey that reflects the sport’s attempts to expand its audience across Europe.