2021 Championship League (2021–22 season)

2021 Championship League

Tournament information
Dates	18 July – 13 August 2021 (2021-07-18 – 2021-08-13)
Venue	Morningside Arena
City	Leicester
Country	England
Organisation	Matchroom Sport
Format	Ranking event
Total prize fund	£328,000
Winner's share	£33,000
Highest break	Mark Allen (NIR) (146)
Final
Champion	David Gilbert (ENG)
Runner-up	Mark Allen (NIR)
Score	3–1
← 2021 (invitational) 2021–22 →

The 2021 Championship League was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place from 18 July to 13 August 2021 at the Morningside Arena in Leicester, England.^[1] The event featured 128 players and was played as three rounds of round-robin groups of four, before a best-of-five final. It was the 17th edition of the Championship League and the first ranking tournament of the 2021–22 snooker season.

Kyren Wilson was the two-time defending champion, as he defeated Mark Williams 3–2 in the final of the January to April edition of the tournament, and Judd Trump 3–1 in the final of the September to October 2020 edition of the tournament.

Wilson's title defence ended in Stage Three, where he finished third in his group. Subsequently, David Gilbert won the tournament, defeating Mark Allen 3–1 to win his first ranking title.^[2]

Tournament format[]

128 players took part in the event. The competition began with 32 rounds of group matches with each group consisting of four players.^[3] Two groups were played to a finish every day during three blocks, from 18 to 23 July, from 26 to 30 July and from 2 to 6 August, using a two-table setup in the arena. The groups were contested using a round-robin format, with six matches played in each group. All matches in group play were played as best-of-four frames, with three points awarded for a win and one point for a draw. Group positions were determined by points scored, frame difference and then head-to-head results between players who were tied. Places that were still tied were then determined by the highest break made in the group.

The 32 players that topped the group tables qualified for the group winners' stage, consisting of eight groups of four players. The eight winners from the group winners' stage qualified for the two final groups, with the final taking place later on the same day. The winner took the Championship League title and a place at the 2021 Champion of Champions.

Prize fund[]

The breakdown of prize money for the tournament is shown below.^[4]

• Tournament total: £328,000

Tournament draw[]

Stage One[]

Stage One consisted of 32 groups, each containing four players.^[5]

Group 1[]

Group 1 was played on 6 August.

Group 2[]

Group 2 was played on 21 July.

Group 3[]

Group 3 was played on 22 July.

Group 4[]

Group 4 was played on 2 August.

Group 5[]

Group 5 was played on 6 August.

Group 6[]

Group 6 was played on 20 July.

Group 7[]

Group 7 was played on 18 July.

Group 8[]

Group 8 was played on 18 July.

Group 9[]

Group 9 was played on 27 July.

Group 10[]

Group 10 was played on 22 July.

Lu Ning was originally due to take part in this group, but withdrew and was replaced by Ben Fortey.^[6]

Group 11[]

Group 11 was played on 5 August.

Group 12[]

Group 12 was played on 23 July.

Group 13[]

Group 13 was played on 26 July.

Zhou Yuelong was originally due to take part in this group, but withdrew and was replaced by Joshua Thomond.^[7]

Group 14[]

Group 14 was played on 26 July.

Group 15[]

Group 15 was played on 4 August.

Group 16[]

Group 16 was played on 29 July.

Group 17[]

Group 17 was played on 4 August.

Group 18[]

Group 18 was played on 28 July.

Group 19[]

Group 19 was played on 19 July.

Alfie Burden was originally due to take part in this group, but withdrew and was replaced by Sydney Wilson.^[8]

Group 20[]

Group 20 was played on 29 July.

Group 21[]

Group 21 was played on 30 July.

Group 22[]

Group 22 was played on 30 July.

Group 23[]

Group 23 was played on 19 July.

Group 24[]

Group 24 was played on 2 August.

Group 25[]

Group 25 was played on 3 August.

Group 26[]

Group 26 was played on 27 July.

Group 27[]

Group 27 was played on 3 August.

Group 28[]

Group 28 was played on 21 July.

Group 29[]

Group 29 was played on 28 July.

Group 30[]

Group 30 was played on 5 August.

Group 31[]

Group 31 was played on 23 July.

Group 32[]

Group 32 was played on 20 July.

Ng On-yee was originally due to take part in this group, but withdrew and was replaced by Saqib Nasir.^[9]

Stage Two[]

Stage Two consisted of eight groups, each containing four players.^[10]

Group A[]

Group A was played on 12 August.

Group B[]

Group B was played on 12 August.

Group C[]

Group C was played on 11 August.

Group D[]

Group D was played on 11 August.

Group E[]

Group E was played on 10 August.

Group F[]

Group F was played on 10 August.

Group G[]

Group G was played on 9 August.

Group H[]

Group H was played on 9 August.

Ronnie O'Sullivan was originally due to take part in this group, but withdrew and was replaced by Mark Joyce.^[11]

Stage Three[]

Stage Three consisted of two groups, each containing four players.^[12]

Group 1[]

Group 1 was played on 13 August.

Group 2[]

Group 2 was played on 13 August.

Final[]

Final: Best of 5 frames. Referee: Paul Collier Morningside Arena, Leicester, England, 13 August 2021.
Mark Allen Northern Ireland	1–3	David Gilbert England
Frame scores: 120–0 (102), 5–74 (59), 6–78, 36–82 (57)
102	Highest break	59
1	Century breaks	0
1	50+ breaks	2

Century breaks[]

Total: 74^{[13][14][15][16]}

References[]

External links[]

• Matchroom Sport – Championship League Snooker
• World Snooker Tour – Calendar 2021/2022