The first ranking title of 2025 will be won on Sunday when two standout acts meet in the final of the German Masters as Barry Hawkins takes on Kyren Wilson inside what is sure to be a packed out Tempodrom in Berlin for the two sessions.
Hawkins has never won this title but he has won the other two events that have been held in Germany. After a near miss in The Masters, Wilson will be looking to go one better in the German version over the course of Sunday.
Barry Hawkins
You would have to say that Barry Hawkins is playing some brilliant snooker at the minute. He reached the UK Championship final eight weeks ago and now he has made another big title showdown and he has done it exuding confidence and class this week. He might have been a little fortunate to come through in the opening round where he didn’t really play that well at all and not having to play a last 16 match probably did no harm either.
Around that though he has played some good snooker and the way he came through a good battle with Wu Yize in the quarter final and didn’t panic when he went 2-0 down to Yuan Sijun in the semi-final before finding his best game and reeling off six frames on the spin was very impressive. He hasn’t always been known to keep his cool and composure in big matches but once he got control of that semi-final he was going to relent it and he’ll be out for more of the same here.
Kyren Wilson
When he was giving his runners-up speech at Alexandra Palace a fortnight ago, the world champion Kyren Wilson stressed that he would be in Germany and ready to smash it and so far he has been true to his word. I don’t think we’ve seen the best of Wilson this week by any stretch of the imagination but when he has been pushed he has found the answers and he goes into this final as the favourite, not just because he is the holder of the World Championship title but also because he has won here in the past too.
You can always tell how well the very best players in the game are playing by how well they do or don’t score and Wilson hasn’t been completely fluent in that regard here. A 6-2 win over Xiao Guodong offers up signs that he is warming to the task this week though and if he can continue to find shades of improvement going into this final then he will be tough to stop. I do think it is fair to say that he’ll need his very best of the week if he is going to win this final.
Special Offer
OPEN AN ACCOUNT WITH 888SPORT AND BET £10 TO GET £30 IN FREE BETS PLUS A £10 CASINO BONUS! PERFECT OFFER TO USE ON THIS TOURNAMENT! CLICK THE IMAGE BELOW TO JOIN. USE CODE 30F. NEW ACCOUNTS ONLY. 18+ T&Cs apply (See image for significant terms). Gamble Aware.
Head-to-head
If you take out the Championship League and Shootout meetings, these two have met on 20 previous occasions and it is Barry Hawkins who has an 11-9 advantage, one which extends to 86-80 when we look at the frame counts from those contests. They have faced each other in two previous finals and they are locked at 1-1 in those matches. This will be the first time that they have battled it out over the best of 19 frames and the first time they will have come up against each other in the German Masters. They have faced twice this season with Hawkins winning in the English Open and Wilson getting revenge at the International Championship. The latter ended a run of three Hawkins wins.
Betting
At their very best you would give Kyren Wilson the edge here but I don’t think that there is a great deal in it. I’m not sure Wilson is at his best though so I think the 11/8 on Barry Hawkins to win this final could be a very good bet. Wilson has done what he has needed to this week but when he has been involved in close matches his opponents have given him enough chances to pull clear and I’m not convinced that Hawkins will do that the way he is playing.
Wilson has looked a little tense, like a man who is carrying a bit of pressure on his shoulders for whatever reason this week whereas Hawkins has looked free as a bird, undoubtedly buoyed by his run at the UK Championship. That week and here will pretty much secure his automatic spot at the Crucible, especially when you consider he is odds on for all the Players Series events too so he can attack this with a bit of freedom and another day of playing like he has this week could well be enough to get over the line against an opponent he clearly enjoys playing and doesn’t fear.
Tips
Back B.Hawkins to beat K.Wilson for a 3/10 stake at 2.38 with Unibet
Be the first to comment on "German Masters Snooker 2025 Final – Barry Hawkins vs Kyren Wilson Tips and Betting Preview"