Adam Williams presents his prediction for the 2025 German Masters Snooker match.
Ryan Day
Ryan Day and Ricky Walden made their professional debuts on the snooker tour around the same time, Day in 1998 and Walden in 2000. Over the years, they have achieved similar levels of success and are currently close to one another in both the seasonal and overall rankings. Day is 36th in the seasonal rankings, while Walden is 51st. In the overall rankings, Day holds 29th place, compared to Walden’s 38th. Day has had the stronger season so far, having reached the main draw of the UK Championship, whereas Walden faltered in the final round of qualifying. At the prestigious Saudi Arabian Masters, Day also went one round further than Walden.
Ricky Walden
The only factor in Walden’s favour is his form since the Christmas break. While Ryan struggled in his Championship League group, losing match after match, Walden remained undefeated in the group stage before narrowly losing to David Gilbert (3:2) in the semi-finals. However, it’s worth noting that the Championship League does not affect rankings and is more of a warm-up event, akin to the friendly matches football clubs play during the off-season. Although there are cases where players carry their Championship League momentum into ranking tournaments, Day has had three weeks to adjust his game.
Ryan Day vs Ricky Walden Prediction
Both players had slow starts to the season but have improved over time. Day suffered two defeats to Stan Moody, while Walden lost to Mostafa Dorgham. Despite this, the Welshman has had the better season overall, with more centuries and 50+ breaks to his name. Bookmakers view this match as evenly poised, but we would give the edge to Ryan Day. The match could be tight, potentially ending 5:4 in either direction, but Day’s recent performances and his head-to-head record give him an advantage. Last season, the two did not meet, but during the 2022/23 season, they played three matches, with Day winning two of them. We expect Day to win today as well.
