The final of the European Masters will kick off today in Fürth, Germany. Germany is the fifth country to host the event, having hosted Romania, Belgium, Austria and the United Kingdom in the six-year history of the Masters. The Fürth Stadhalle Auditorium, which hosted the event this year, previously served as the venue for the Paul Hunt Classic between 2004 and 2019.
In the six editions of the tournament so far, the tournament has witnessed the great players of history lifting trophies and also witnessed the fairy tale of the dark horse counterattack. As this year's finals begin, we take you back to the highlights of the past six finals.
2016 – Judd Trump 9:8 Ronnie O'Sullivan
The two star players battled for the inaugural European Masters title in Bucharest, Romania, with Judd Trump eventually defeating Ronnie O'Sullivan to win his sixth of the 23 ranking titles to date.
O'Sullivan took the initiative early in the game, taking a 5-3 lead after the first stage. When the game reached the second stage, he continued to control the course of the game and came to the brink of victory with a score of 8:6. However, Trump, who had just started a new club, launched a Jedi counterattack, forcing the game into a decider, and he scored a 74 points in the decider to win the championship.
Speaking in an interview after the game, Trump said: "I can't believe it, it's still a bit frustrating to be 6:8 behind. I was faced with a very difficult blue ball in the next set and I just thought I had to score. After that, I didn't miss a beat in the next three innings. Playing under the immense pressure against Ronnie will keep me in good shape for the rest of the season. ”
2017 – Judd Trump 9:7 Stuart Bingham
Judd Trump's final with 2015 World Champion Stuart Bingham in Lommel, Belgium, culminated in the final, and Trump was able to defend his ranking title for the first time in his career with even greater confidence.
The match was a repeat of the Welsh Open final earlier that year, with Trump losing 8-9 to Bingham in the final. Coming to Belgium, Trump finally achieved a quick revenge.
Bingham performed well in the afternoon game, taking a 4-2 advantage. However, Trump then won two straight sets to narrow the gap in the late match, with the first stage of the tie between the two sides frozen at 4-4.
With the score at 7:7, Trump broke through like a sheathed sword. Trump took the 15th inning and then locked up the title with a 107-point shot.
Trump said: "Winning this race last year gave me a good motivation to defend my title. Winning the title has freed me from defending my title and I can set new goals for myself for the rest of the season. ”
"If I can win two consecutive races back-to-back, that's another of my goals. I want to do as much as I can in every race and try to win as many big tournament titles as possible. ”
Trump will achieve a "back-to-back" victory feat in 2020, with he winning two consecutive races at the Players' Championship and the Gibraltar Open.
2018 – Jimmy Robertson 9:6 Joe Perry
Belgium's Lommel hosted the European Masters for the second consecutive year, and Jimmy Robertson won his first ranking title as a dark horse.
Jimmy Robertson turned pro in 2002, and his best record before that year's European Masters had not broken through the round of sixteen in the rankings.
In the final, Perry dragged the game to 6:7 in a bad situation of trailing 0:5 and 3:7. In the final two innings, however, Robertson won the game with a clean streak of 54 and 106 points, with a £75,000 championship prize money still the biggest he's ever won.
Robertson said: "Winning the championship is something I've dreamed of since the beginning of playing. I never thought it would happen this day, and so far in my career I've never made it into the second half of the game. I always knew I had the ability to do it, but actually doing it was something completely different. ”
"I'm happy with my performance. Joe played very well in the late game, but I'm happy to be able to play well from the pressure of a 7-6 chase. ”
"Winning your first title is crucial. You never know if you're going to cross this barrier, and you don't know how you're going to deal with that situation. Winning my first ranking title and having my family come to the scene to witness it was a dream for me. ”
2020 – Neil Robertson 9:0 Zhou Yuelong
Neil Robertson won the title by beating Zhou Yuelong 9-0 in Dornbirn, Austria, becoming the second player ever to keep a clean sheet in the ranking (two-stage) final.
The only previous clean sheet win was at the 1989 Grand Prix, when Steve Davis beat Dean Reynolds 10-0. However, robertson saw a third clean sheet win, with Zhao Xintong beating his friend Yan Bingtao 9-0 in the final of last season's German Masters.
Robertson scored 128, 109, 99, 82 and 57 points in a "bloodbath" of his opponents, his 17th of 23 ranking titles to date.
Robertson said: "It feels strange tonight, if I lose a set or two, I will be disappointed not to be the winner of the clean sheet after Steve Davis, a record that has been held for 31 years. The pursuit of records became an extra focus for me tonight, and I prayed for this opportunity to come. ”
"The first two innings this afternoon were probably a little bit tangled up and after that I played well and was very aggressive. My bench did well and scored high consecutively. From 2:0 to 8:0, he (Zhou Yuelong) didn't actually make any mistakes (just didn't have a chance). ”
"Winning 9-0 was amazing, it was a rare achievement. I didn't give him a chance, I kept my rhythm and I was determined to win every set. I feel a little sorry for tonight's audience because they didn't see many intense duels, but at the same time they also witnessed a piece of history happening. ”
2020 – Mark Selby 9:8 Martin Gould
Due to the covid-19 outbreak, this edition of the European Masters was held behind closed doors at Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes.
Despite the absence of cheers from the crowd, Mark Selby and Martin Gould were in full swing on the field, and Selby's victory was his tenth attempt to reach the final and all of them.
Selby established a 4-0 lead in the afternoon game, but Gould didn't want to be outdone to pull the score to 4:4, and the two chased each other to bite the score.
In the late game, the score between the two sides was glued to 7:7, when Gould lost a mid-pocket blue ball and missed the golden opportunity to win the match point. Selby thrust in and took the lead, but Gould scored a single 96 points firmly, forcing both sides into a decider. In the end, Selby kept his composure and scored 72 points to win the decider.
Selby said: "I'm really happy. I played well at the start of the game, but had some mistakes in the second stage. In a game of nine wins in seventeen innings, you can't fail without mistakes. I think Martin played very well with 0:4 trail and put me under pressure. I'm really glad I persevered when I got my chance in the final inning. ”
"A few years ago, I made it to the final but always lost. Since then, I've been working. It's incredible that I've won all of the last ten finals. You play against the top players every time you play in the final. Winning ten consecutive finals is an incredible feat and I need to be proud of it. ”
2022 – Ronnie O'Sullivan 10:9
Fan Zhengyi's odds of winning the title at the start of the match were 750:1, but he beat legendary Ronnie O'Sullivan in a surprising four-seater to win the championship.
China's Fan Zhengyi, who was ranked 80th in the world before the tournament, had never reached the semi-finals of a ranking tournament before, while Fan Zhengyi's final opponent O'Sullivan reached the ranking final for the sixtieth time in his career.
Fan Zhengyi practiced with compatriots Zhao Xintong and Yan Bingtao at Victoria Snooker College in Sheffield. The success of Zhao Xintong and Yan Bingtao has clearly inspired others to follow, and the 21-year-old Fan Zhengyi has also demonstrated his talent to some extent.
As the game reached the decider after 9:9, Fan Zhengyi scored a brilliant 92 points to win his first championship in the ranking match.
Fan Zhengyi said: "It has always been my dream to be able to compete with Ronnie in the final. He is the idol of every Chinese player and he is so generous and kind to us. I'm excited to learn something from him. ”
"I must thank Zhao Xintong and Yan Bingtao, we play together every day and learn from each other. That's the best thing, we're like brothers. ”