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.
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]
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]
Stage One
Winner: £3,000
Runner-up: £2,000
Third place: £1,000
Fourth place: £0
Stage Two
Winner: £4,000
Runner-up: £3,000
Third place: £2,000
Fourth place: £1,000
Stage Three
Winner: £6,000
Runner-up: £4,000
Third place: £2,000
Fourth place: £1,000
Final
Winner: £20,000
Runner-up: £10,000
Tournament total: £328,000
Tournament draw[]
Stage One[]
Stage One consisted of 32 groups, each containing four players.[5]