2021 Championship League (invitational)

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BetVictor Championship League
Tournament information
Dates4 January – 2 April 2021 (2021-01-04 – 2021-04-02)
VenueBallroom, Stadium MK
CityMilton Keynes
CountryEngland
OrganisationMatchroom Sport
FormatNon-ranking event
Total prize fund£181,700
Winner's share£10,000 (plus bonuses)
Highest break Stuart Bingham (ENG) (147)
Final
Champion Kyren Wilson (ENG)
Runner-up Mark Williams (WAL)
Score3–2

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]

  • 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[]

Table[]

Pos Team Pld W L FF FA FD
1 Scotland John Higgins (Q) 6 5 1 15 8 +7 Qualification to Group 1 play-off
2 China Zhou Yuelong (Q) 6 4 2 16 10 +6
3 England Stuart Bingham (Q) 6 4 2 16 11 +5
4 Scotland Graeme Dott (Q) 6 4 2 15 13 +2
5 England Gary Wilson (A) 6 2 4 12 15 −3 Advances into Group 2
6 Thailand Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (E) 6 2 4 10 15 −5 Eliminated from the competition
7 England Michael Holt (E) 6 0 6 6 18 −12
Source: Championship League Snooker
(A) Advance to a further round; (E) Eliminated; (Q) Qualified to the phase indicated

Play-offs[]

 
Semi-finals
Best of 5 frames		Final
Best of 5 frames
 
      
 
 
 
 
Scotland John Higgins3
 
 
 
Scotland Graeme Dott1
 
Scotland John Higgins2
 
 
 
China Zhou Yuelong3
 
China Zhou Yuelong3
 
 
England Stuart Bingham0
 

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[]

Table[]

Pos Team Pld W L FF FA FD
1 Scotland John Higgins (Q) 6 5 1 15 11 +4 Qualification to Group 2 play-off
2 England Matthew Selt (Q) 6 4 2 14 9 +5
3 Scotland Scott Donaldson (Q) 6 4 2 14 10 +4
4 Scotland Graeme Dott (Q) 6 3 3 14 12 +2
5 England Kyren Wilson (A) 6 2 4 11 15 −4 Advances into Group 3
6 England Gary Wilson (E) 6 2 4 9 15 −6 Eliminated from the competition
7 England Stuart Bingham (E) 6 1 5 11 16 −5
Source: Championship League Snooker
(A) Advance to a further round; (E) Eliminated; (Q) Qualified to the phase indicated

Play-offs[]

 
Semi-finals
Best of 5 frames		Final
Best of 5 frames
 
      
 
 
 
 
Scotland John Higgins2
 
 
 
Scotland Graeme Dott3
 
Scotland Graeme Dott3
 
 
 
Scotland Scott Donaldson1
 
England Matthew Selt0
 
 
Scotland Scott Donaldson3
 

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[]

Table[]

Pos Team Pld W L FF FA FD
1 Scotland John Higgins (Q) 6 4 2 16 10 +6 Qualification to Group 3 play-off
2 England Kyren Wilson (Q) 6 4 2 13 12 +1
3 China Zhao Xintong (Q) 6 3 3 13 15 −2
4 England Tom Ford (Q) 6 3 3 12 12 0
5 England Mark Selby (A) 6 3 3 11 12 −1 Advances into Group 4
6 Scotland Scott Donaldson (E) 6 2 4 12 14 −2 Eliminated from the competition
7 England Matthew Selt (E) 6 2 4 10 12 −2
Source: Championship League Snooker
(A) Advance to a further round; (E) Eliminated; (Q) Qualified to the phase indicated

Play-offs[]

 
Semi-finals
Best of 5 frames		Final
Best of 5 frames
 
      
 
 
 
 
Scotland John Higgins3
 
 
 
England Tom Ford2
 
Scotland John Higgins3
 
 
 
England Kyren Wilson0
 
England Kyren Wilson3
 
 
China Zhao Xintong1
 

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[]

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
1 England Judd Trump (Q) 6 4 2 15 8 +7 Qualification to Group 4 play-off
2 England Mark Selby (Q) 6 4 2 12 10 +2
3 Wales Mark Williams (Q) 6 3 3 12 12 0
4 England Kyren Wilson (Q) 6 3 3 11 11 0
5 England Barry Hawkins (A) 6 3 3 11 12 −1 Advances into Group 5
6 England Tom Ford (E) 6 2 4 13 14 −1 Eliminated from the competition
7 England Jack Lisowski (E) 6 2 4 8 15 −7
Source: Championship League Snooker
(A) Advance to a further round; (E) Eliminated; (Q) Qualified to the phase indicated

Play-offs[]

 
Semi-finals
Best of 5 frames		Final
Best of 5 frames
 
      
 
 
 
 
England Judd Trump3
 
 
 
England Kyren Wilson2
 
England Judd Trump3
 
 
 
England Mark Selby0
 
England Mark Selby3
 
 
Wales Mark Williams2
 

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[]

Table[]

Pos Team Pld W L FF FA FD
1 England Ali Carter (Q) 6 5 1 16 8 +8 Qualification to Group 5 play-off
2 England Ronnie O'Sullivan (Q) 6 4 2 14 8 +6
3 England Kyren Wilson (Q) 6 4 2 13 13 0
4 Wales Mark Williams (Q) 6 3 3 12 13 −1
5 England Joe Perry (A) 6 2 4 11 13 −2 Advances into Group 6
6 England Barry Hawkins (E) 6 2 4 10 15 −5 Eliminated from the competition
7 England Mark Selby (E) 6 1 5 10 16 −6
Source: Championship League Snooker
(A) Advance to a further round; (E) Eliminated; (Q) Qualified to the phase indicated

Play-offs[]

 
Semi-finals
Best of 5 frames		Final
Best of 5 frames
 
      
 
 
 
 
England Ali Carter1
 
 
 
Wales Mark Williams3
 
Wales Mark Williams2
 
 
 
England Kyren Wilson3
 
England Ronnie O'Sullivan2
 
 
England Kyren Wilson3
 

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[]

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
1 England Ali Carter (Q) 6 5 1 17 6 +11 Qualification to Group 6 play-off
2 Scotland Anthony McGill (Q) 6 5 1 16 12 +4
3 England David Gilbert (Q) 6 3 3 12 13 −1
4 Wales Mark Williams (Q) 6 3 3 11 13 −2
5 England Joe Perry (A) 6 2 4 12 13 −1 Advances into Group 7
6 China Liang Wenbo (E) 6 2 4 12 15 −3 Eliminated from the competition
7 China Li Hang (E) 6 1 5 9 17 −8
Source: Championship League Snooker
(A) Advance to a further round; (E) Eliminated; (Q) Qualified to the phase indicated

Play-offs[]

 
Semi-finals
Best of 5 frames		Final
Best of 5 frames
 
      
 
 
 
 
England Ali Carter3
 
 
 
Wales Mark Williams2
 
England Ali Carter3
 
 
 
Scotland Anthony McGill2
 
Scotland Anthony McGill3
 
 
England David Gilbert1
 

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[]

Table[]

Pos Team Pld W L FF FA FD
1 China Yan Bingtao (Q) 6 6 0 18 7 +11 Qualification to Group 7 play-off
2 Wales Mark Williams (Q) 6 4 2 15 10 +5
3 England David Gilbert (Q) 6 4 2 14 11 +3
4 England Joe Perry (Q) 6 3 3 14 13 +1
5 Scotland Anthony McGill (E) 6 3 3 12 13 −1 Eliminated from the competition
6 Australia Neil Robertson (E) 6 1 5 9 17 −8
7 Norway Kurt Maflin (E) 6 0 6 7 18 −11
Source: Championship League Snooker
(E) Eliminated; (Q) Qualified to the phase indicated

Play-offs[]

 
Semi-finals
Best of 5 frames		Final
Best of 5 frames
 
      
 
 
 
 
China Yan Bingtao0
 
 
 
England Joe Perry3
 
England Joe Perry1
 
 
 
Wales Mark Williams3
 
Wales Mark Williams3
 
 
England David Gilbert1
 

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[]

Table[]

Pos Team Pld W L FF FA FD
1 Scotland John Higgins (Q) 6 5 1 16 5 +11 Qualification to Winners' Group play-off
2 Scotland Graeme Dott (Q) 6 5 1 16 9 +7
3 Wales Mark Williams (Q) 6 3 3 14 12 +2
4 England Kyren Wilson (Q) 6 3 3 12 15 −3
5 England Judd Trump (E) 6 2 4 10 13 −3 Eliminated from the competition
6 England Ali Carter (E) 6 2 4 7 14 −7
7 China Zhou Yuelong (E) 6 1 5 9 16 −7
Source: Championship League Snooker
(E) Eliminated; (Q) Qualified to the phase indicated

Play-offs[]

 
Semi-finals
Best of 5 frames		Final
Best of 5 frames
 
      
 
 
 
 
Scotland John Higgins2
 
 
 
England Kyren Wilson3
 
England Kyren Wilson3
 
 
 
Wales Mark Williams2
 
Scotland Graeme Dott0
 
 
Wales Mark Williams3
 

Century breaks[]

Total: A total of 147 century breaks were made during the tournament.[13][14][15]

Bold: highest break in the indicated group.

Winnings[]

No. Player 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 W TOTAL
1 England Kyren Wilson (5) 1100 4200 2700 6100 15200 29300
2 Wales Mark Williams (15) 2800 4700 3200 6800 9300 27800
3 Scotland John Higgins (6) 5000 3100 6400 6800 21300
4 Scotland Graeme Dott (23) 2800 6200 6200 15200
5 England Ali Carter (22) 2900 6500 1400 10800
6 England Judd Trump (1) 6300 2000 8300
7 China Zhou Yuelong (21) 6400 1800 8200
8 England Joe Perry (19) 1100 1200 4600 6900
9 England Mark Selby (4) 1100 4100 1500 6700
10 Scotland Anthony McGill (17) 5100 1200 6300
11 Scotland Scott Donaldson (24) 4600 1200 5800
12 England David Gilbert (13) 2500 2700 5200
13 England Tom Ford (29) 2800 1800 4600
14 England Stuart Bingham (12) 3100 1100 4200
15 England Matthew Selt (26) 2400 1000 3400
16 China Zhao Xintong(a) (28) 3100 3100
17 England Ronnie O'Sullivan(b) (3) 3000 3000
18 China Yan Bingtao (11) 2800 2800
19 England Gary Wilson (20) 1200 1400 2600
20 England Barry Hawkins (23) 1100 1000 2100
21 China Liang Wenbo (29) 1200 1200
22 Thailand Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (16) 1000 1000
23 Australia Neil Robertson (2) 900 900
= China Li Hang (30) 900 900
25 England Jack Lisowski (14) 800 800
26 Norway Kurt Maflin (25) 700 700
27 England 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[]

  1. ^ "Calendar 2020/2021". World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. Archived from the original on 24 December 2020. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
  2. ^ "Wilson Claims Championship League Crown". World Snooker. 30 October 2020.
  3. ^ "2020–21 snooker calendar" (PDF). World Snooker Tour. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 December 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  4. ^ "Home - Championship League Snooker". Matchroom.
  5. ^ "Zhou Progresses In BetVictor Championship League". World Snooker Tour. 5 January 2021.
  6. ^ "Dott Wins Group Two". World Snooker Tour. 7 January 2021.
  7. ^ "Higgins Wins Group Three". World Snooker Tour. 9 January 2021.
  8. ^ "Trump Reaches Winners' Group". World Snooker Tour. 9 February 2021.
  9. ^ "Wilson Through in Championship League". World Snooker Tour. 11 February 2021.
  10. ^ "Carter Through in Milton Keynes". World Snooker Tour. 13 February 2021.
  11. ^ "Williams Takes Last Spot". World Snooker Tour. 31 March 2021.
  12. ^ "Wilson: In a League of His Own". World Snooker Tour. 2 April 2021.
  13. ^ "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.
  14. ^ "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.
  15. ^ "BetVictor Championship League 2021 (Stage Three) | Centuries". World Snooker Tour. 30 March – 2 April 2021.[permanent dead link]

External links[]

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