European Masters outright predictions and snooker betting tips: Hawk has his eyes on the prize

Where to watch the European Masters

Live on Eurosport and Discovery+, 10am Tuesday

Best bets for the European Masters

Barry Hawkins
0.5pt each-way 25-1 Coral, Ladbrokes

John Higgins
0.5pt each-way 16-1 Betfair, Paddy Power

European Masters predictions

The 2023 snooker season goes up a gear with the start of the European Masters and all the leading lights, including Ronnie O'Sullivan and reigning world champion Luca Brecel, are set to line up at the Kia Metropol Arena in Nuremberg.

O'Sullivan, Neil Robertson, Mark Selby and Judd Trump are sure to have their followers, but the early best-of-nine format raises the possibilities of an upset - and there were plenty of them last season.

Kyren Wilson won last year’s tournament with an authoritative 9-3 victory over Barry Hawkins, but the Hawk makes plenty of appeal in his bid to go one better.

Hawkins had defeated Robert Milkins, Trump and Mark Willams to secure his place in that title decider and the manner of last month’s qualifying win over Sean O'Sullivan suggests he could be primed for another fast start.

The Kent cueman made knocks of 117, 90, 64 and 53 in that 5-2 victory, and his draw in Germany looks to be a decent one.

Seeded 18th, Hawkins opens up against James Cahill before a potential second-round clash with Jiang Jun or Zak Surety.

The Hawk should come through those tests relatively unscathed and although Brecel could be waiting in the last 16, becoming world champion could take some adjusting to for the Belgian.

The other outright wager worth having is on John Higgins, who may have also landed in one of the softer sections of the draw.

Higgins, who compiled breaks of 129, 97, 80, 78 in his 5-1 qualifying win over Martin Gould, meets Dylan Emery in his opener before a second-round clash with either Zhou Yuelong or Andrew Higginson.

Shaun Murphy or Joe Perry may be lying in wait in the last 16, but Higgins showed when finishing runner-up to Trump at the Huangguoshu Open, an invitational event featuring most of the heavy hitters in China earlier this month, that he may be ready to hit the ground running.

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