Barry Hearn once described it as “the flagship tournament outside the UK”. And from Wednesday it’s that time again – the German Masters will draw snooker fans from all over Germany to the Tempodrom in Berlin. What somehow sounds like a small niche sport (and what snooker is in a certain way in this country) turns out to be one of the biggest sporting events in the capital when you look at the pure numbers.
In fact, the world’s best snooker players play for high prize money year after year, in 2023 almost 500,000 euros in total prizes will be awarded. The winner collects 90,000 euros alone. When the German Masters took place in the Tempodrom for the first time in 2011, the development into an integral part of the world snooker tour was not foreseeable.
Snooker was a purely British event until the beginning of the millennium. All tournaments big and small have been held there, but since Barry Hearn has been in charge of World Snooker, the sport has become more global every year. In the 2010/11 season there were only eight tournaments that counted for the world rankings, now there are 15. Berlin plays a special role.
The Tempodrom is very popular with professionals
Year after year, the venue in the Tempodrom is one of the most popular among professionals. Former world champion Shaun Murphy once said about the Berlin tournament. “The German Masters in Berlin has a really special place in my heart.” And Judd Trump, also world champion and winner of the years 2020 and 2021, praised the German Masters with the words: “Everything started in Germany with small tournaments and then became one Ranking event in Berlin from it. The development is incredible.”
This year, however, both Murphy and Trump are absent, and last year’s winner Zhao Xintong is currently banned as part of a manipulation affair. Like other Chinese professionals, he is said to have postponed games. So this year there are fewer first-round games in the Tempodrom, there are no substitutes for the suspended professionals, their opponents are straight into the round of 16.
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player from the top ten in the world rankings are only there this time
This time there are only two players from the top ten in the world rankings. As in previous years, world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan decided against participating in Berlin. You will also look in vain for German players, Lukas Kleckers narrowly missed the first main round due to a defeat in his last qualifying match.
Instead, there will be a reunion with snooker legend Jimmy White, who will set the mood in the Tempodrom on Wednesday evening. Tickets for the individual sessions up to and including Sunday (always in the afternoon and evening, plus Thursday mornings as well) are available from snookerstars.de, among others.
Source: Tagesspiegel
Brayden White, a veteran sports writer at Global Happening, brings his wealth of knowledge and expertise to the sports section. With over a decade of experience, he is committed to delivering high-quality coverage of the latest games and events.
