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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.
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| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Venue | Crondon Park Golf Club (2008–2016) Ricoh Arena (2017–2019) Barnsley Metrodome (2019) Marshall Arena (2020) Stadium MK (2020 and 2021) Leicester Arena (2020–present) |
| Location | Stock, Essex (2008–2016) Coventry (2017–2019) Barnsley (2019) Milton Keynes (2020 and 2021) Leicester (2020–present) |
| Country | England |
| Established | 2008 |
| Organisation(s) | Matchroom Sport |
| Format | Non-ranking: (2008–present) Ranking: (2020–present) |
| Total prize fund | Non-ranking: £205,000[1] Ranking: £328,000[2] |
| Current champion | Non-ranking: Mark Selby (ENG)Ranking: Ali Carter (ENG) |
Mark Selby is the reigning champion of the invitational tournament and Shaun Murphy is the reigning champion of the ranking tournament.
The event was introduced in 2008 by Barry Hearn to provide additional competition and as a qualifier to the Premier League Snooker series. In both formats of the tournament, there is no audience and matches are played behind closed doors.
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 players take part, although players often withdraw and are replaced by others. 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 group are eliminated and the remaining four move to the next group, where they are joined by three more players until the seventh group. In each group, the players are ranked by the number of matches won, then by most frames won, and then by least frames lost. If two players are tied by these criteria, the player who won the match between them is ranked higher in the table. 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 the following season'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. 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 second stage, consisting of eight groups of four players, and the eight winners from the second stage qualify for the two final groups. In each group, the players are ranked by points scored, frame difference and then head‑to‑head results between players who are tied. Places that are still tied are then determined by the highest break made in the group. If the highest break is also tied, the next highest break made by the players is used. The winners of the two final groups play a best‑of‑five final. The champion takes a place in that season's Champion of Champions.
Maximum breaks
There have been 15 maximum breaks in the history of the tournament.[4] Shaun Murphy made the first in 2014.[5] Barry Hawkins and David Gilbert both made maximums in 2015,[6][7] and Gilbert made the 147th maximum in 2019.[8] Fergal O'Brien made one in 2016,[9] and Mark Davis made two in 2017.[10][11] Martin Gould and Luca Brecel both made maximums in 2018,[12][13] and Ryan Day made one in 2020.[14] John Higgins made maximums in both 2020[15] and 2024.[16] Stuart Bingham made one in 2021[17] as did Kyren Wilson and Joe O'Connor in 2024.[18][19]
There were three maximum breaks achieved during the 2024 tournament, by Kyren Wilson in Group 3,[18] by John Higgins in Group 5,[16] and by Joe O'Connor in Group 7.[19] This is only the third time that three maximums have been made in an event, the first being at the 2012 UK Championship, and the second at the 2017 German Masters.
The breakdown of prize money for both the invitational and ranking versions of the Championship League is shown below.
Invitational version prize fund
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Ranking version prize fund
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- Tournament total: £328,000[2]
Note: The champion receives a total of £33,000 (£3,000 + £4,000 + £6,000 + £20,000).
- A one-off, round-robin, non-ranking edition of the tournament was played in a different format to the usual event, in June 2020.
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