One of the most popular events on the snooker circuit takes place over the remainder of this week when the German Masters is played out inside the wonderful Tempodrom arena in Berlin.
We have already had a couple of qualifying rounds for this tournament which has got rid of a host of big names but there are still some top players to entertain us over the five days of what is always an excellent event, assisted by the good coverage it gets on Eurosport.
Recent Winners
2017 – Anthony Hamilton
2016 – Martin Gould
2015 – Mark Selby
2014 – Ding Junhui
2013 – Ali Carter
2012 – Ronnie O’Sullivan
2011 – Mark Williams
The Format
The last 32 through to the quarter finals of this tournament are staged over the best of nine frames with the semi-finals on Saturday being the best of 11 and then the tournament will be decided over the best of 17 frames in a two session final on Sunday.
With only five tables in operation throughout the week half of the field will play twice on Friday which often sorts out the men from the boys and is why we have had a couple of surprise winners in recent years.
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Top Quarter
The defending champion Anthony Hamilton has made it through the qualifiers to head up the seedings in this part of the draw. Two other top 16 players have made it through in this section too with Mark Williams and Mark Allen also progressing to the main draw.
The players outside of the top 16 are of a decent quality. We have the former winner Martin Gould looking for a second title in three years while Jimmy Robertson is regularly improving. Matt Selt and Fergal O’Brien will be out to show they are better than their ranking.
Second Quarter
Judd Trump is the main draw in this quarter although it also has the former champion Ding Junhui looking to kick start what has been a disappointing season from this section. They are the only two top 16 ranked players in this part of the draw so there is an open look to it.
There are some good players who are not in the top 16 in this section though. Joe Perry is capable of winning tournaments while Jack Lisowski is a danger in any event he enters. Ricky Walden is starting to improve too while Ben Woollaston needs a big tournament soon to justify his potential.
Third Quarter
Shaun Murphy is the main man when it comes to this third quarter. He will be joined by just Ryan Day in the section in terms of those ranked in the top 16 in the world rankings but there are other campaign players around.
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh can be brilliant or awful, often both in the same match but he is here while Dave Gilbert and Mark Joyce are competent players. Alan McManus is another who can be dangerous on his day.
Bottom Quarter
The world champion Mark Selby might not be having the best season of all time but he has made it through to Berlin and is housed in this quarter. There are two other top 16 ranked players alongside him. They are Barry Hawkins and Liang Wenbo.
That trio are not the only three good players in this section. Xiao Guodong tends to come alive at this time of the year while Tom Ford has made a 147 here in the past. Graeme Dott will be sniffing another major title too.
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Betting
I’ll take a player in each half of the draw here with the first of them being Martin Gould. He has a very good record at the Tempodrom and seems to enjoy playing here. He was the winner in 2016 and made the semi-final last year when defending the title. Gould is having a good season. He has made the semi-finals of the International Championship and the last eight in Shanghai and in the UK. He made a 147 in the Championship League last week too so he heads to Berlin with his tail up and he looks a solid option in the top half.
Another player with a good record here who is in the bottom half is Ryan Day. He has made the quarter final or better in each of the last four years and having lost his China Open qualifier this becomes a big week for him. Day is now a tournament winner and we saw in The Masters against Ding that he can play well on the big stage. I think he’s ready to win again and he’s my other bet this week.
Tips
Back M.Gould to win German Masters (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 29.00 with Boylesports (1/2 1-2)
Back him here:
Back R.Day to win German Masters (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 41.00 with Coral (1/2 1-2)
Back him here:
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