Championship League

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by AlH42 (talk | contribs) at 18:35, 30 July 2023 (Data from maximum breaks section text converted into a numbered list and added the four missing 147s (Gould, Bingham, Day and Higgins) with references. This should make it easier to add new ones as they occur.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

This article is about the snooker tournament. For the darts tournament, see Championship League Darts.
Not to be confused with Champions League.
Championship League
Tournament information
VenueCrondon Park Golf Club (2008–2016)
Ricoh Arena (2017 and 2018)
Ricoh Arena and Barnsley Metrodome (2019)
Marshall Arena (2020)
Stadium MK (2020 and 2021)
Morningside Arena (2020–present)
LocationStock, Essex (2008–2016)
Coventry (2017–2019)
Barnsley (2019)
Milton Keynes (2020 and 2021)
Leicester (2020–present)
CountryEngland
Established2008
Organisation(s)Matchroom Sport
FormatNon-ranking: (2008–present)
Ranking: (2020–present)
Total prize fundNon-ranking: £205,000[1]
Ranking: £328,000[2]
Current championNon-ranking:
  John Higgins (SCO)
Ranking:
  Shaun Murphy (ENG)

Championship League is a professional snooker tournament, devised by Matchroom Sport. The tournament was originally held at the Crondon Park Golf Club in Stock, Essex, from its debut in 2008 until 2016.[3] From 2017 it has been held in Coventry, Barnsley, Milton Keynes and Leicester.

John Higgins is the reigning champion of the invitational tournament and Shaun Murphy is the reigning champion of the ranking tournament.

History and format

The event was introduced in 2008 by Barry Hearn to provide additional competition and as a qualifier to the Premier League Snooker series.

A ranking event version of the tournament began from September 2020, played in a different format to its invitational, non-ranking counterpart and open to the entire World Snooker Tour.

In June 2020 there was a one-off, round-robin, non-ranking edition of the tournament, played in another different format, held in Milton Keynes.

Invitational version format

In the invitational, non-ranking version, 25 professionals take part. There is no audience. Players earn money for every frame won and there are also prizes for being a semi-finalist, runner-up and winner of each group, with more money involved in the winners' group. In the first two years all matches in the group stages were the best of four, meaning that the matches could end in a draw as all the four frames were played, and the semi-finals and final were best of five. Since 2010 all matches are best of five. The competition runs over eight groups, each consisting of seven players. From the league stage of the first seven groups the top four qualify for a play-off, the winner of which qualifies for the winners' group. The bottom two players of each league are eliminated and the remaining four move to the next group, where they are joined by three more players until the seventh group. The winners play in the final group with the champion taking a place in that year's Premier League Snooker until 2012,[3] and in that year's Champion of Champions from 2013.

Ranking version format

In the ranking version, 128 players take part in 32 rounds of group matches with each group consisting of four players. There is no audience. All matches are the best of four with three points awarded for a win and one point for a draw. The 32 players that top the group tables qualify for the group winners' stage, consisting of eight groups of four players, and the eight winners from the group winners' stage qualify for the two final groups. The winners of these two groups play a best-of-five final. The champion takes a place in that year's Champion of Champions.

Maximum breaks

There have been twelve maximum breaks in the history of the tournament, ten in the invitational version and two in the ranking version as follows:
Note: numbers in parenthesis are the order from the official list of maximum breaks.

Invitational version

  1. On 8 January 2014 by Shaun Murphy against Mark Davis in a Group 2 league match. (103)[4]
  2. On 5 January 2015 by Barry Hawkins against Stephen Maguire in a Group 1 league match. (111)[5]
  3. On 10 February 2015 by David Gilbert[a] against Xiao Guodong in a Group 7 league match. (114)[6]
  4. On 25 February 2016 by Fergal O'Brien[a] against Mark Davis in a Group 6 league match. (118)[7]
  5. On 10 January 2017 by Mark Davis[a] against Neil Robertson in the Group 3 play-off final match. (127)[8]
  6. On 2 March 2017 by Mark Davis[b] against John Higgins in a Winners' Group league match. (129)[9]
  7. On 26 January 2018 by Martin Gould[a] against Li Hang in a Group 6 league match. (135)[10]
  8. On 26 March 2018[c] by Luca Brecel[a] against John Higgins in a Group 7 league match. (136)[11]
  9. On 22 January 2019[d] by David Gilbert[e] against Stephen Maguire in a Group 5 league match. (147)[12]
  10. On 4 January 2021 by Stuart Bingham against Thepchaiya Un-Nooh in a Group 1 league match. (165)[13]

Ranking version

  1. On 13 September 2020 by Ryan Day against Rod Lawler in Stage 1, Group 2. (158)[14]
  2. On 30 October 2020 by John Higgins against Kyren Wilson in Stage 3, Group 2. (159)[15]

Prize Fund

The breakdown of prize money for both the non-ranking and ranking versions of the Championship League is shown below.

Invitational version

  • Tournament possible maximum total (since 2013): £205,000[1]

Ranking version

Note: The champion receives a total of £33,000 (£3,000 + £4,000 + £6,000 + £20,000).

  • Tournament total: £328,000[2]

Winners

Note: Coloured background (†) indicates a ranking tournament. Plain background indicates an invitational tournament.

Date Winner Runner-up Sc Season Location
15 May 2008[16]  Joe Perry (ENG)  Mark Selby (ENG) 3–1 2007/08 Stock, Essex[f]
26 Mar 2009[17]  Judd Trump (ENG)  Mark Selby (ENG) 3–2 2008/09
25 Mar 2010[18]  Marco Fu (HKG)  Mark Allen (NIR) 3–2 2009/10
24 Mar 2011[19]  Matthew Stevens (WAL)  Shaun Murphy (ENG) 3–1 2010/11
22 Mar 2012[20]  Ding Junhui (CHN)  Judd Trump (ENG) 3–1 2011/12
21 Mar 2013[21]  Martin Gould (ENG)  Ali Carter (ENG) 3–2 2012/13
06 Mar 2014[22]  Judd Trump (ENG)  Martin Gould (ENG) 3–1 2013/14
12 Feb 2015[23]  Stuart Bingham (ENG)  Mark Davis (ENG) 3–2 2014/15
03 Mar 2016[24]  Judd Trump (ENG)  Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG) 3–2 2015/16
02 Mar 2017[25]  John Higgins (SCO)  Ryan Day (WAL) 3–0 2016/17 Coventry[g]
29 Mar 2018[26]  John Higgins (SCO)  Zhou Yuelong (CHN) 3–2 2017/18
14 Mar 2019[27]  Martin Gould (ENG)  Jack Lisowski (ENG) 3–1 2018/19 Coventry[g] and Barnsley[h]
05 Mar 2020[28]  Scott Donaldson (SCO)  Graeme Dott (SCO) 3–0 2019/20 Leicester[i]
11 Jun 2020[29]  Luca Brecel (BEL)  Ben Woollaston (ENG) R–R 2019/20 Milton Keynes[j]
02 Apr 2021[30]  Kyren Wilson (ENG)  Mark Williams (WAL) 3–2 2020/21 Milton Keynes[k]
04 Feb 2022[31]  John Higgins (SCO)  Stuart Bingham (ENG) 3–2 2021/22 Leicester[i]
02 Mar 2023[32]  John Higgins (SCO)  Judd Trump (ENG) 3–1 2022/23
30 Oct 2020†[33]  Kyren Wilson (ENG)  Judd Trump (ENG) 3–1 2020/21 Milton Keynes[k]
13 Aug 2021†[34]  David Gilbert (ENG)  Mark Allen (NIR) 3–1 2021/22 Leicester[i]
29 Jul 2022†[35]  Luca Brecel (BEL)  Lu Ning (CHN) 3–1 2022/23
21 Jul 2023†[36]  Shaun Murphy (ENG)  Mark Williams (WAL) 3–0 2023/24

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e The player's first career maximum.
  2. ^ The first player to make two maximum breaks in a tournament.
  3. ^ This was the second consecutive year that two maximums were made in the Championship League.
  4. ^ This was the sixth consecutive year that at least one maximum was made in the Championship League.
  5. ^ The historic 147th official maximum break.
  6. ^ Crondon Park Golf Club in Stock, Essex
  7. ^ a b Ricoh Arena in Coventry
  8. ^ Barnsley Metrodome
  9. ^ a b c Morningside Arena in Leicester
  10. ^ Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes
  11. ^ a b Ballroom, Stadium MK in Milton Keynes

References

  1. ^ a b "Championship League Snooker (Invitational)". Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Championship League Snooker (Ranking)". Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  3. ^ a b Turner, Chris. "Matchroom Championship League". cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk. Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. Archived from the original on 16 February 2012. Retrieved 1 March 2011.
  4. ^ "Murphy 147 / Robertson Centuries Record". World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. 9 January 2014. Archived from the original on 9 January 2014. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  5. ^ "Hawkins makes 147 at CLS". World Snooker Tour. 6 January 2015. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
  6. ^ "Xiao wins CLS7 / Gilbert makes 147". World Snooker Tour. 11 February 2015. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
  7. ^ "O'Brien joins 147 club". World Snooker Tour. 25 February 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
  8. ^ "Davis makes first 147 to win CLS group three". World Snooker Tour. 11 January 2017. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
  9. ^ "Mark Davis makes 147 in Coventry". World Snooker Tour. 2 March 2017. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
  10. ^ "Gould Makes Maiden 147". World Snooker Tour. 26 January 2018. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
  11. ^ "Brecel joins 147 club". World Snooker Tour. 26 March 2018. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
  12. ^ "Gilbert makes historic 147th maximum". World Snooker Tour. 22 January 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
  13. ^ "Bingham makes eighth 147". World Snooker Tour. 4 January 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
  14. ^ "Day starts season with 147". World Snooker Tour. 13 September 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
  15. ^ "Higgins makes 11th career maximum". World Snooker Tour. 30 October 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
  16. ^ "Championship League - Winners' Group (2008)". Matchroom Sport. Archived from the original on 4 September 2010. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  17. ^ "Championship League - Winners' Group (2009)". Matchroom Sport. Archived from the original on 1 September 2009. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  18. ^ "Championship League - Winners' Group (2010)". Matchroom Sport. Archived from the original on 25 August 2011. Retrieved 25 March 2010.
  19. ^ "Championship League - Winners' Group (2011)". snooker.org. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  20. ^ "Championship League - Winners Group (2012)". snooker.org. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
  21. ^ "Championship League – Winners Group (2013)". snooker.org. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
  22. ^ "Championship League - Winners' Group (2014)". snooker.org. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
  23. ^ "Championship League - Winners' Group (2015)". snooker.org. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  24. ^ "Championship League - Winners' Group (2016)". snooker.org. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
  25. ^ "Championship League - Winners' Group (2017)". snooker.org. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  26. ^ "Championship League - Winners' Group (2018)". snooker.org. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
  27. ^ "Championship League - Winners' Group (2019)". snooker.org. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  28. ^ "Championship League - Winners' Group (2020)". snooker.org. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  29. ^ "Championship League - Round-Robin (2020)". snooker.org. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  30. ^ "Championship League - Winners' Group (2021)". snooker.org. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  31. ^ "Championship League - Winners' Group (2022)". snooker.org. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  32. ^ "Championship League - Winners' Group (2023)". snooker.org. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  33. ^ "2020 Championship League". snooker.org. Retrieved 25 July 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  34. ^ "2021 Championship League". snooker.org. Retrieved 25 July 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  35. ^ "2022 Championship League". snooker.org. Retrieved 25 July 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  36. ^ "2023 Championship League". snooker.org. Retrieved 25 July 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Championship_League&oldid=1167930085"