European Series

BetVictor European Series
Tournament information
Established2019
Organisation(s)World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association
FormatRanking events
Total prize fund£150,000
Current champion Judd Trump (ENG)

The BetVictor European Series is a snooker tournament series established in 2019.[1] It was expanded from four tournaments in the 2019–20 season to six tournaments in the 2020–21 season and then to eight tournaments for the 2021–22 season, the 2022–23 season and the 2023–24 season.[2] The player who wins the most cumulative prize money in European Series events each season receives a bonus prize of £150,000.[3] Judd Trump won the bonus prize in the first two and the fifth seasons, while John Higgins took the bonus in the third season, and Robert Milkins claimed it in the fourth.

Events

The BetVictor European Series was established in 2019, and initially consisted of four tournaments: European Masters, German Masters, Shoot Out, Gibraltar Open.[1]

For the 2020–21 season, the Championship League and Welsh Open were included.[3]

For the 2021–22 season, the other three Home Nations Series events (Northern Ireland Open, English Open, Scottish Open) were added, while the Championship League was removed, bringing the total number of events in the series to eight.[3]

For the 2022–23 season, the European Series has been renamed to the BetVictor Series. The Championship League has been re-added to the series, whereas the Gibraltar Open has been removed.[4]

For the 2023–24 season, the format and sponsorhip remains the same as the previous season.[2]

Series winners

In the first two years of the bonus being awarded, Judd Trump was the only player to collect it. He won the series in the 2019–20 season after winning the 2020 Gibraltar Open in March,[5] and then again in the 2020–21 season after Mark Selby, the only other contender to win the series at the time, lost in the third round of the 2021 Gibraltar Open.[6]

In the 2021–22 season, eleven players remained in contention for the bonus at the outset of the series' final tournament, the 2022 Gibraltar Open. John Higgins was top of the list, ahead of Mark Allen on countback. Higgins won the £150,000 prize after the last remaining contender Ricky Walden, who needed to win the tournament to claim the bonus, lost in the semi-finals.[7]

Eleven players were also in contention for the bonus in the 2022–23 snooker season at the outset of the series' final event, the 2023 Welsh Open. Robert Milkins won the series by winning the tournament, edging over Ali Carter who was the series' leader at the beginning of the tournament.[8][9]

In the 2023–24 season, Judd Trump claimed the bonus for a third time with an event, the 2024 Welsh Open to spare, as he won the 2023 English and Northern Ireland Opens, as well as the 2024 German Masters, and was the runner-up of the 2023 European Masters.[10]

Season Winner Bonus prize Ref.
2019–20  Judd Trump (ENG) £150,000 [5]
2020–21  Judd Trump (ENG) £150,000 [6]
2021–22  John Higgins (SCO) £150,000 [7]
2022–23  Robert Milkins (ENG) £150,000 [8]
2023–24  Judd Trump (ENG) £150,000 [10]

Results

Season Tournament City Winner Score Runner-up
2019–20 European Masters Dornbirn  Neil Robertson (AUS) 9–0  Zhou Yuelong (CHN)
German Masters Berlin  Judd Trump (ENG) 9–6  Neil Robertson (AUS)
Shoot Out Watford  Michael Holt (ENG) 1–0 (64–1)  Zhou Yuelong (CHN)
Gibraltar Open Gibraltar  Judd Trump (ENG) 4–3  Kyren Wilson (ENG)
2020–21 European Masters Milton Keynes  Mark Selby (ENG) 9–8  Martin Gould (ENG)
Championship League Milton Keynes  Kyren Wilson (ENG) 3–1  Judd Trump (ENG)
German Masters Milton Keynes  Judd Trump (ENG) 9–2  Jack Lisowski (ENG)
Shoot Out Milton Keynes  Ryan Day (WAL) 1–0 (67–24)  Mark Selby (ENG)
Welsh Open Newport  Jordan Brown (NIR) 9–8  Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG)
Gibraltar Open Milton Keynes  Judd Trump (ENG) 4–0  Jack Lisowski (ENG)
2021–22 Northern Ireland Open Belfast  Mark Allen (NIR) 9–8  John Higgins (SCO)
English Open Milton Keynes  Neil Robertson (AUS) 9–8  John Higgins (SCO)
Scottish Open Llandudno  Luca Brecel (BEL) 9–5  John Higgins (SCO)
Shoot Out Leicester  Hossein Vafaei (IRN) 1–0 (71–0)  Mark Williams (WAL)
German Masters Berlin  Zhao Xintong (CHN) 9–0  Yan Bingtao (CHN)
European Masters Milton Keynes  Fan Zhengyi (CHN) 10–9  Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG)
Welsh Open Newport  Joe Perry (ENG) 9–5  Judd Trump (ENG)
Gibraltar Open Gibraltar  Robert Milkins (ENG) 4–2  Kyren Wilson (ENG)
2022–23 Championship League Leicester  Luca Brecel (BEL) 3–1  Lu Ning (CHN)
European Masters Fürth  Kyren Wilson (ENG) 9–3  Barry Hawkins (ENG)
Northern Ireland Open Belfast  Mark Allen (NIR) 9–4  Zhou Yuelong (CHN)
Scottish Open Edinburgh  Gary Wilson (ENG) 9–2  Joe O'Connor (ENG)
English Open Brentwood  Mark Selby (ENG) 9–6  Luca Brecel (BEL)
Shoot Out Leicester  Chris Wakelin (ENG) 1–0 (119–0)  Julien Leclercq (BEL)
German Masters Berlin  Ali Carter (ENG) 10–3  Tom Ford (ENG)
Welsh Open Llandudno  Robert Milkins (ENG) 9–7  Shaun Murphy (ENG)
2023–24 Championship League Leicester  Shaun Murphy (ENG) 3–0  Mark Williams (WAL)
European Masters Nuremberg  Barry Hawkins (ENG) 9–6  Judd Trump (ENG)
English Open Brentwood  Judd Trump (ENG) 9–7  Zhang Anda (CHN)
Northern Ireland Open Belfast  Judd Trump (ENG) 9–3  Chris Wakelin (ENG)
Shoot Out Swansea  Mark Allen (NIR) 1–0 (65–4)  Cao Yupeng (CHN)
Scottish Open Edinburgh  Gary Wilson (ENG) 9–5  Noppon Saengkham (THA)
German Masters Berlin  Judd Trump (ENG) 10–5  Si Jiahui (CHN)
Welsh Open Llandudno  Gary Wilson (ENG) 9–4  Martin O'Donnell (ENG)

Statistics

Tournament winners

Player Total
Northern Ireland Open
 Winning
span
 Judd Trump (ENG) 7 1 1 0 0 3 0 0 2 0 2020–2024
 Mark Allen (NIR) 3 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2021–2023
 Gary Wilson (ENG) 3 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 2022–2024
 Neil Robertson (AUS) 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2020–2021
 Luca Brecel (BEL) 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2021–2022
 Kyren Wilson (ENG) 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 2020–2022
 Mark Selby (ENG) 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2020–2022
 Robert Milkins (ENG) 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 2022–2023
 Michael Holt (ENG) 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2020
 Ryan Day (WAL) 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2021
 Jordan Brown (NIR) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2021
 Hossein Vafaei (IRN) 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2022
 Zhao Xintong (CHN) 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2022
 Fan Zhengyi (CHN) 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2022
 Joe Perry (ENG) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2022
 Chris Wakelin (ENG) 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2023
 Ali Carter (ENG) 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2023
 Shaun Murphy (ENG) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2023
 Barry Hawkins (ENG) 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2023
Total 32 3 3 2 4 5 5 4 3 3 2020–2024

References

  1. ^ a b "BetVictor European Series Takes World Snooker Tour's Overall Prize Money To Record Level". World Snooker. 26 September 2019. Archived from the original on January 9, 2020.
  2. ^ a b García, Jerome (20 June 2023). "BetVictor and World Snooker Tour Renew Sponsorship Agreement". Gambling News. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  3. ^ a b c "BetVictor extends involvement with WST". World Snooker. 28 June 2021. Archived from the original on June 28, 2021.
  4. ^ "BetVictor Continues Partnership with World Snooker Tour". World Snooker Tour. 1 July 2022. Archived from the original on July 1, 2022. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Six Of The Best – Trump Sets New Record". World Snooker Tour. 15 March 2020. Archived from the original on March 21, 2020.
  6. ^ a b "Selby Loss Hands Trump Series Bonus". World Snooker Tour. 5 March 2021.
  7. ^ a b "BetVictor £150,000 Bonus Goes To Higgins". World Snooker Tour. 26 March 2022.
  8. ^ a b "Bob Bonanza: Milkins Wins Title And Bonus". World Snooker Tour. 19 February 2023.
  9. ^ "BetVictor Bonus Battle Live Blog". wst.tv. 20 February 2023. Archived from the original on 13 February 2023.
  10. ^ a b "Trump Lands BV Bonus With Event To Spare". World Snooker Tour. 1 February 2024.