2021 Championship League (invitational)
Tournament information | |
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Dates | 4 January – 2 April 2021 |
Venue | Ballroom, Stadium MK |
City | Milton Keynes |
Country | England |
Organisation | Matchroom Sport |
Format | Non-ranking event |
Total prize fund | £181,700 |
Winner's share | £10,000 |
Highest break | Stuart Bingham (ENG) (147) |
Final | |
Champion | Kyren Wilson (ENG) |
Runner-up | Mark Williams (WAL) |
Score | 3–2 |
The 2021 Championship League was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament, that took place from 4 January to 2 April 2021 in the Ballroom, Stadium MK in Milton Keynes, England.[1] It is the 16th staging of the tournament.
On the first day of the tournament Stuart Bingham made the eighth career maximum break. He accomplished the feat in the second frame of his Group 1 win over Thepchaiya Un-Nooh.
Kyren Wilson was the defending champion, having defeated Judd Trump 3–1 in the final of the ranking edition of the tournament.[2]
Wilson successfully defended the title, coming from 0–2 down in his last Winners group game, the semi-final and the final to win all three matches 3–2. He defeated Mark Williams 3–2 in the final to win the tournament.
Tournament format
The Championship League event sees 25 professionals take part, with players earning prize money for every frame won. Matches are best of five frames, and the league is played from January to April 2021.[3]
The competition runs over eight groups, each consisting of seven players. From each group the top four qualify for a play-off, and the winners of the first seven play-offs qualify for the winners group. The bottom two players of each group 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, and the winner of the Winners' Group play-off takes the title and a place at the 2021 Champion of Champions.
Prize fund
The breakdown of prize money for the 2021 Championship League is shown below.[4]
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- Tournament total: £181,700
Group 1
Group 1 was played on 4 and 5 January 2021. Zhou Yuelong won the group and qualified for the Winners' Group.[5]
Matches
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Table
Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | FF | FA | FD | |
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1 | John Higgins (Q) | 6 | 5 | 1 | 15 | 8 | +7 | Qualification to Group 1 play-off |
2 | Zhou Yuelong (Q) | 6 | 4 | 2 | 16 | 10 | +6 | |
3 | Stuart Bingham (Q) | 6 | 4 | 2 | 16 | 11 | +5 | |
4 | Graeme Dott (Q) | 6 | 4 | 2 | 15 | 13 | +2 | |
5 | Gary Wilson (A) | 6 | 2 | 4 | 12 | 15 | −3 | Advances into Group 2 |
6 | Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (E) | 6 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 15 | −5 | Eliminated from the competition |
7 | Michael Holt (E) | 6 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 18 | −12 |
(A) Advance to a further round; (E) Eliminated; (Q) Qualified for the phase indicated
Play-offs
Semi-finals Best of 5 frames | Final Best of 5 frames | |||||
John Higgins | 3 | |||||
Graeme Dott | 1 | |||||
John Higgins | 2 | |||||
Zhou Yuelong | 3 | |||||
Zhou Yuelong | 3 | |||||
Stuart Bingham | 0 | |||||
Group 2
Group 2 was played on 6 and 7 January 2021. Graeme Dott won the group and qualified for the Winners' Group.[6]
Matches
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Table
Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | FF | FA | FD | |
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1 | John Higgins (Q) | 6 | 5 | 1 | 15 | 11 | +4 | Qualification to Group 2 play-off |
2 | Matthew Selt (Q) | 6 | 4 | 2 | 14 | 9 | +5 | |
3 | Scott Donaldson (Q) | 6 | 4 | 2 | 14 | 10 | +4 | |
4 | Graeme Dott (Q) | 6 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 12 | +2 | |
5 | Kyren Wilson (A) | 6 | 2 | 4 | 11 | 15 | −4 | Advances into Group 3 |
6 | Gary Wilson (E) | 6 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 15 | −6 | Eliminated from the competition |
7 | Stuart Bingham (E) | 6 | 1 | 5 | 11 | 16 | −5 |
(A) Advance to a further round; (E) Eliminated; (Q) Qualified for the phase indicated
Play-offs
Semi-finals Best of 5 frames | Final Best of 5 frames | |||||
John Higgins | 2 | |||||
Graeme Dott | 3 | |||||
Graeme Dott | 3 | |||||
Scott Donaldson | 1 | |||||
Matthew Selt | 0 | |||||
Scott Donaldson | 3 | |||||
Group 3
Group 3 was played on 8 and 9 January 2021. John Higgins won the group and qualified for the Winners' Group.[7]
Matches
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Table
Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | FF | FA | FD | |
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1 | John Higgins (Q) | 6 | 4 | 2 | 16 | 10 | +6 | Qualification to Group 3 play-off |
2 | Kyren Wilson (Q) | 6 | 4 | 2 | 13 | 12 | +1 | |
3 | Zhao Xintong (Q) | 6 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 15 | −2 | |
4 | Tom Ford (Q) | 6 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 12 | 0 | |
5 | Mark Selby (A) | 6 | 3 | 3 | 11 | 12 | −1 | Advances into Group 4 |
6 | Scott Donaldson (E) | 6 | 2 | 4 | 12 | 14 | −2 | Eliminated from the competition |
7 | Matthew Selt (E) | 6 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 12 | −2 |
(A) Advance to a further round; (E) Eliminated; (Q) Qualified for the phase indicated
Play-offs
Semi-finals Best of 5 frames | Final Best of 5 frames | |||||
John Higgins | 3 | |||||
Tom Ford | 2 | |||||
John Higgins | 3 | |||||
Kyren Wilson | 0 | |||||
Kyren Wilson | 3 | |||||
Zhao Xintong | 1 | |||||
Group 4
Group 4 was played on 8 and 9 February 2021. Judd Trump won the group and qualified for the Winners' Group.[8]
Matches
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- Note
Zhao Xintong, who had qualified from group 3, withdrew from the tournament prior to group 4 play.
Table
Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | FF | FA | FD | |
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1 | Judd Trump (Q) | 6 | 4 | 2 | 15 | 8 | +7 | Qualification to Group 4 play-off |
2 | Mark Selby (Q) | 6 | 4 | 2 | 12 | 10 | +2 | |
3 | Mark Williams (Q) | 6 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 12 | 0 | |
4 | Kyren Wilson (Q) | 6 | 3 | 3 | 11 | 11 | 0 | |
5 | Barry Hawkins (A) | 6 | 3 | 3 | 11 | 12 | −1 | Advances into Group 5 |
6 | Tom Ford (E) | 6 | 2 | 4 | 13 | 14 | −1 | Eliminated from the competition |
7 | Jack Lisowski (E) | 6 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 15 | −7 |
(A) Advance to a further round; (E) Eliminated; (Q) Qualified for the phase indicated
Play-offs
Semi-finals Best of 5 frames | Final Best of 5 frames | |||||
Judd Trump | 3 | |||||
Kyren Wilson | 2 | |||||
Judd Trump | 3 | |||||
Mark Selby | 0 | |||||
Mark Selby | 3 | |||||
Mark Williams | 2 | |||||
Group 5
Group 5 was played on 10 and 11 February 2021. Kyren Wilson won the group and qualified for the Winners' Group.[9]
Matches
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Table
Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | FF | FA | FD | |
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1 | Ali Carter (Q) | 6 | 5 | 1 | 16 | 8 | +8 | Qualification to Group 5 play-off |
2 | Ronnie O'Sullivan (Q) | 6 | 4 | 2 | 14 | 8 | +6 | |
3 | Kyren Wilson (Q) | 6 | 4 | 2 | 13 | 13 | 0 | |
4 | Mark Williams (Q) | 6 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 13 | −1 | |
5 | Joe Perry (A) | 6 | 2 | 4 | 11 | 13 | −2 | Advances into Group 6 |
6 | Barry Hawkins (E) | 6 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 15 | −5 | Eliminated from the competition |
7 | Mark Selby (E) | 6 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 16 | −6 |
(A) Advance to a further round; (E) Eliminated; (Q) Qualified for the phase indicated
Play-offs
Semi-finals Best of 5 frames | Final Best of 5 frames | |||||
Ali Carter | 1 | |||||
Mark Williams | 3 | |||||
Mark Williams | 2 | |||||
Kyren Wilson | 3 | |||||
Ronnie O'Sullivan | 2 | |||||
Kyren Wilson | 3 | |||||
Group 6
Group 6 was played on 12 and 13 February 2021. Ali Carter won the group and qualified for the Winners' Group.[10]
Matches
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- Note
Ronnie O'Sullivan, who had qualified from group 5, withdrew from the tournament prior to group 6 play.
Table
Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | FF | FA | FD | |
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1 | Ali Carter (Q) | 6 | 5 | 1 | 17 | 6 | +11 | Qualification to Group 6 play-off |
2 | Anthony McGill (Q) | 6 | 5 | 1 | 16 | 12 | +4 | |
3 | David Gilbert (Q) | 6 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 13 | −1 | |
4 | Mark Williams (Q) | 6 | 3 | 3 | 11 | 13 | −2 | |
5 | Joe Perry (A) | 6 | 2 | 4 | 12 | 13 | −1 | Advances into Group 7 |
6 | Liang Wenbo (E) | 6 | 2 | 4 | 12 | 15 | −3 | Eliminated from the competition |
7 | Li Hang (E) | 6 | 1 | 5 | 9 | 17 | −8 |
(A) Advance to a further round; (E) Eliminated; (Q) Qualified for the phase indicated
Play-offs
Semi-finals Best of 5 frames | Final Best of 5 frames | |||||
Ali Carter | 3 | |||||
Mark Williams | 2 | |||||
Ali Carter | 3 | |||||
Anthony McGill | 2 | |||||
Anthony McGill | 3 | |||||
David Gilbert | 1 | |||||
Group 7
Group 7 was played on 30 and 31 March 2021. Mark Williams won the group and qualified for the Winners' Group.[11]
Matches
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Table
Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | FF | FA | FD | |
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1 | Yan Bingtao (Q) | 6 | 6 | 0 | 18 | 7 | +11 | Qualification to Group 7 play-off |
2 | Mark Williams (Q) | 6 | 4 | 2 | 15 | 10 | +5 | |
3 | David Gilbert (Q) | 6 | 4 | 2 | 14 | 11 | +3 | |
4 | Joe Perry (Q) | 6 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 13 | +1 | |
5 | Anthony McGill (E) | 6 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 13 | −1 | Eliminated from the competition |
6 | Neil Robertson (E) | 6 | 1 | 5 | 9 | 17 | −8 | |
7 | Kurt Maflin (E) | 6 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 18 | −11 |
Play-offs
Semi-finals Best of 5 frames | Final Best of 5 frames | |||||
Yan Bingtao | 0 | |||||
Joe Perry | 3 | |||||
Joe Perry | 1 | |||||
Mark Williams | 3 | |||||
Mark Williams | 3 | |||||
David Gilbert | 1 | |||||
Winners' Group
The Winners' Group was played on 1 and 2 April 2021. Kyren Wilson defended his Championship League title, defeating Mark Williams 3–2 in the final.[12]
Matches
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Table
Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | FF | FA | FD | |
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1 | John Higgins (Q) | 6 | 5 | 1 | 16 | 5 | +11 | Qualification to Winners' Group play-off |
2 | Graeme Dott (Q) | 6 | 5 | 1 | 16 | 9 | +7 | |
3 | Mark Williams (Q) | 6 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 12 | +2 | |
4 | Kyren Wilson (Q) | 6 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 15 | −3 | |
5 | Judd Trump (E) | 6 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 13 | −3 | Eliminated from the competition |
6 | Ali Carter (E) | 6 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 14 | −7 | |
7 | Zhou Yuelong (E) | 6 | 1 | 5 | 9 | 16 | −7 |
Play-offs
Semi-finals Best of 5 frames | Final Best of 5 frames | |||||
John Higgins | 2 | |||||
Kyren Wilson | 3 | |||||
Kyren Wilson | 3 | |||||
Mark Williams | 2 | |||||
Graeme Dott | 0 | |||||
Mark Williams | 3 | |||||
Century breaks
Total: A total of 147 century breaks were made during the tournament.[13][14][15]
- 147 (1), 136, 132, 127, 112 – Stuart Bingham
- 144 (5), 137, 137, 133, 109, 108, 101 – Mark Selby
- 144 (3), 110, 104, 100 – Zhao Xintong
- 143 (W), 142, 142, 136, 135, 133, 132, 130, 129, 128, 126, 126, 124, 123, 121, 116, 113, 110, 107, 105, 103, 100, 100 – Kyren Wilson
- 143 (2), 138, 103 – Gary Wilson
- 142 (4), 131, 131, 113, 101 – Tom Ford
- 142, 104, 104 – Matthew Selt
- 141, 135, 106, 103 – Graeme Dott
- 141, 115, 111, 109, 106, 104, 102 – Ali Carter
- 140, 132, 125, 124, 122, 114, 102 – Ronnie O'Sullivan
- 139 (7), 138 (6), 134, 133, 131, 127, 127, 122, 120, 114, 114, 110, 108, 106, 106, 105, 103, 102 – Mark Williams
- 138, 137, 131, 131, 120, 116, 115, 108, 102, 102, 100 – Judd Trump
- 137, 131, 127, 119, 112, 112, 105, 105, 104, 103, 101, 100 – John Higgins
- 133, 118, 111, 105, 105, 101, 100 – David Gilbert
- 133 – Kurt Maflin
- 131, 131, 125, 113, 110 – Zhou Yuelong
- 130, 122, 103 – Scott Donaldson
- 128, 125 – Yan Bingtao
- 123, 116, 113, 110, 109, 101 – Anthony McGill
- 120, 114, 109, 107 – Joe Perry
- 114 – Barry Hawkins
- 107, 106, 105, 105 – Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
- 105, 104, 100, 100 – Neil Robertson
- 104 – Jack Lisowski
Bold: highest break in the indicated group.
Winnings
No. | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | W | TOTAL |
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1 | Kyren Wilson (5) | 1100 | 4200 | 2700 | 6100 | 15200 | 29300 | |||
2 | Mark Williams (15) | 2800 | 4700 | 3200 | 6800 | 9300 | 27800 | |||
3 | John Higgins (6) | 5000 | 3100 | 6400 | 6800 | 21300 | ||||
4 | Graeme Dott (23) | 2800 | 6200 | 6200 | 15200 | |||||
5 | Ali Carter (22) | 2900 | 6500 | 1400 | 10800 | |||||
6 | Judd Trump (1) | 6300 | 2000 | 8300 | ||||||
7 | Zhou Yuelong (21) | 6400 | 1800 | 8200 | ||||||
8 | Joe Perry (19) | 1100 | 1200 | 4600 | 6900 | |||||
9 | Mark Selby (4) | 1100 | 4100 | 1500 | 6700 | |||||
10 | Anthony McGill (17) | 5100 | 1200 | 6300 | ||||||
11 | Scott Donaldson (24) | 4600 | 1200 | 5800 | ||||||
12 | David Gilbert (13) | 2500 | 2700 | 5200 | ||||||
13 | Tom Ford (29) | 2800 | 1800 | 4600 | ||||||
14 | Stuart Bingham (12) | 3100 | 1100 | 4200 | ||||||
15 | Matthew Selt (26) | 2400 | 1000 | 3400 | ||||||
16 | Zhao Xintong(a) (28) | 3100 | 3100 | |||||||
17 | Ronnie O'Sullivan(b) (3) | 3000 | 3000 | |||||||
18 | Yan Bingtao (11) | 2800 | 2800 | |||||||
19 | Gary Wilson (20) | 1200 | 1400 | 2600 | ||||||
20 | Barry Hawkins (23) | 1100 | 1000 | 2100 | ||||||
21 | Liang Wenbo (29) | 1200 | 1200 | |||||||
22 | Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (16) | 1000 | 1000 | |||||||
23 | Neil Robertson (2) | 900 | 900 | |||||||
= | Li Hang (30) | 900 | 900 | |||||||
25 | Jack Lisowski (14) | 800 | 800 | |||||||
26 | Kurt Maflin (25) | 700 | 700 | |||||||
27 | Michael Holt (27) | 600 | 600 | |||||||
Total prize money | 20,100 | 19,900 | 19,800 | 19,600 | 20,300 | 19,600 | 19,700 | 42,700 | 181,700 |
Green: won the group. Bold: highest break in the group. All prize money in GBP.
Parenthesis: World rankings prior to tournament start, 4 January 2021.
Notes
(a) Zhao Xintong withdrew from the tournament prior to group 4 play.
(b) Ronnie O'Sullivan withdrew from the tournament prior to group 6 play.
References
- ^ "Calendar 2020/2021". World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. Archived from the original on 24 December 2020. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
- ^ "Wilson Claims Championship League Crown". World Snooker. 30 October 2020.
- ^ "2020–21 snooker calendar" (PDF). World Snooker Tour. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Home - Championship League Snooker". Matchroom.
- ^ "Zhou Progresses In BetVictor Championship League". World Snooker Tour. 5 January 2021.
- ^ "Dott Wins Group Two". World Snooker Tour. 7 January 2021.
- ^ "Higgins Wins Group Three". World Snooker Tour. 9 January 2021.
- ^ "Trump Reaches Winners' Group". World Snooker Tour. 9 February 2021.
- ^ "Wilson Through in Championship League". World Snooker Tour. 11 February 2021.
- ^ "Carter Through in Milton Keynes". World Snooker Tour. 13 February 2021.
- ^ "Williams Takes Last Spot". World Snooker Tour. 31 March 2021.
- ^ "Wilson: In a League of His Own". World Snooker Tour. 2 April 2021.
- ^ "BetVictor Championship League 2021 (Stage One) | Centuries". World Snooker Tour. 4–9 January 2021. Archived from the original on 15 February 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
- ^ "BetVictor Championship League 2021 (Stage Two) | Centuries". World Snooker Tour. 8–13 February 2021. Archived from the original on 27 February 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
- ^ "BetVictor Championship League 2021 (Stage Three) | Centuries". World Snooker Tour. 30 March – 2 April 2021.[permanent dead link ]
External links
- Matchroom Sport Championship League Snooker
- World Snooker Calendar 2020/2021 Archived 24 December 2020 at the Wayback Machine