Snooker European Masters 2018 Winner Odds & Predictions

Oppose Trump in title European defence

Snooker Betting

European Masters Snooker 2018 Preview – October 1st – 7th, 2018

The European Masters Snooker is running this week and it is the fifth-ranking event of the new 2018/19 season. The tournament is being held out in Belgium and Judd Trump is the one with all of the pressure on his shoulders as he is the defending champion.

Trump is the 11/2 second favourite for this week’s action, second only to Mark Selby. Serbu and Trump are on the opposite sides of the draw so they would stay apart until a potential showdown in the final.

Snooker European Masters Winner Odds*

Mark Selby 4/1
Judd Trump 11/2
Barry Hawkins 10/1
Mark Allen 121/1
Jack Lisowski 12/1
Yan Bingtao 22/1
Stuart Bingham 22/1
Joe Perry 25/1
Liang Wenbo 30/1
Ryan Day 33/1
Allister Carter 33/1
Luca Brecel 40/1
Zhao Xintong 50/1
* (betting odds taken from William Hill on October 1st, 2018 at 7:05 pm)

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The Main Contenders

The first World Ranking tournament of the new 2018/19 season was just back at the end of August so there’s not a lot of forms to go on in terms of action from the top tiers. What we did see recently though was a big win for Mark Selby at the China Championship so he is coming in hot for Belgium this week and is the 4/1 outright favourite* (betting odds taken from October 1st, 2018 at 7:05 pm)

That was not his first win of the season as he also picked up the title at the Non-Ranking Haining Open in early September. So there is form behind him although this tournament title has eluded him during his career. Judd Trump has owned this event for the last two years and is out looking for a three-peat. Just in the contest of sporting achievements that is such a hard thing to pull off.

So that is a decent reason to oppose him, even though he has lifted the title in the last two years. No-one has ever managed to win three European Open titles in a row before so history is fully against Trump this week in Lommel. He is also on the hunt for his first title of the season as well.

There have been some notable names absent from the draw. Ronnie O’Sullivan and John Higgins both withdrew, while two-time tournament winner Shaun Murphy was eliminated in qualification.

Underdogs can challenge

Kyren Wilson, who is already through to the second round looks to be a good option as an outsider to come through the field. He wouldn’t be that big of an outsider though, to be honest as the Englishman has shown a bit of form with wins at the Paul Hunter Classic and the Six-red World Championship. So he has been in a winning frame of mind and out at 66/1 odds* (betting odds taken on October 1st, 2018 at 7:05 pm) early on Monday evening, made him a great each-way option to consider.

Barry Hawkins has been trading well in the outright winner market at 10/1 odds* (betting odds taken on October 1st, 2018 at 7:05 pm). He reached the final of the Shanghai Masters, the semi-finals of the World Cup and then the quarter finals of the China Championship. So he is in pretty handy form as well although his tournament history is pretty miserable, not having been past the second round before.

Prediction

The field is pretty open here, but we are going to oppose the reigning champion Trump and stick with Selby as the favourite in terms of the main contenders at the head of the pack. But take a look at Wilson because he has  been shaping up well recently and has every chance of getting in contention.