2023 Championship League (ranking)
The 2023 Championship League was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place from 26 June to 21 July 2023 at the Morningside Arena in Leicester, England. 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 fourth edition of the ranking version of the Championship League, and the first ranking tournament of the 2023–24 snooker season. Luca Brecel was the reigning champion, having defeated Lu Ning 3–1 in the final of the previous ranking edition of the tournament. However, he opted not to enter the draw for the tournament and consequently was not defending the title. Other notable players choosing not to enter the draw were Mark Selby, Jack Lisowski, John Higgins, Mark Allen and Ding Junhui. Six players who were due to enter the tournament, withdrew and were replaced including Ronnie O'Sullivan, Neil Robertson and Marco Fu. Shaun Murphy won the tournament, defeating Mark Williams 3 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Championship League
Championship League is a professional snooker tournament, devised by Matchroom Sport. A ranking event version of the tournament began from September 2020, played similarly to its invitational, non-ranking counterpart but with some minor changes and opened to the entire World Snooker Tour. The tournament was originally held at the Crondon Park Golf Club in Stock, Essex, from its debut in 2008 until 2016. From 2017 to 2018, it was held at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry. Luca Brecel is the reigning champion of the ranking edition and John Higgins is the reigning champion of the invitational edition. History and format The event was introduced in 2008 by Barry Hearn to provide additional competition and a qualifier to the Premier League Snooker. 25 professionals take part, there is no audience. 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 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lu Ning
Lu Ning (, born 1 January 1994 in Jilin) is a professional snooker player from the People's Republic of China. Lu is among ten Chinese players currently suspended from the professional tour amid a match-fixing investigation. Career Lu's first appearance in a ranking tournament was in the wildcard round of the 2012 World Open, where he defeated 1996 British Open winner Nigel Bond 5–4 in Haikou. He met Mark Selby in the first round and, despite taking the first two frames, Lu lost 3–5. Lu continued to show his talent in the next local ranking tournament, the 2012 China Open. He was awarded a wildcard to compete against Welsh player Jamie Jones, where Lu won 5–3. He won against 2005 world snooker champion Shaun Murphy by 5–2, with two centuries. However, in the second round Ali Carter won 5–1. 2012–13 season In the 2012/2013 season Lu was awarded a place in the wildcard round for five ranking events, losing at this stage in four of them. At the International Cham ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Michael Holt (snooker Player)
Michael Holt (born 7 August 1978) is an English former professional snooker player from Nottingham. A former world Top 20 player, he has won one ranking event – the 2020 Snooker Shoot Out – and two minor-ranking tournaments. He has been runner-up at two ranking events – the 2016 Riga Masters and the 2019 Snooker Shoot Out. He also reached the semi-finals of the 2013 Shanghai Masters as well as five further quarter-finals. Career 2001–2010 Holt lost in the final qualifying round of the World Snooker Championship in 2001 and 2002. Holt almost qualified for the 2004 event – he was 9–5 ahead in his final qualifying match against Anthony Hamilton, before losing the next five frames to lose the match. In the 2005 World Snooker Championship, he beat his friend Paul Hunter in the first round. In the second round he faced Steve Davis, losing 10–13 after having led 8–2. For the 2005 tournament he used eBay to auction the sponsorship space on his waistcoat to Cabaret, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Steven Hallworth
Steven Hallworth (born 1 December 1995) is an English former professional snooker player. He is the only ever qualified professional from Lincoln. He is a practice partner of Stuart Carrington. Career Junior Hallworth started playing snooker aged 10 after trying pool on a family holiday. He then found success in junior and amateur levels and was given the opportunity to play future World Champion Mark Selby aged 12 in 2009, after winning that year's Under-17 Lincoln and District Billiards and Snooker Association crown. He was also one 8 finalists in the 2010 Rileys Future Stars competition run by Ronnie O'Sullivan, but lost out to Joel Walker. Amateur Hallworth then progressed on to Players Tour Championship events in 2011 and Q School in 2013, but it wasn't until the 2013–14 when Hallworth started to progress to the main rounds of PTC events, a 4–3 defeat to Kurt Maflin in the Paul Hunter Classic and a 4–0 loss to former World Champion Mark Williams in the Antwe ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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World Snooker Tour
The World Snooker Tour (WST) is the main professional snooker tour, consisting of approximately 128 players competing on a circuit of up to 28 tournaments each season. The World Snooker Tour is administered by World Snooker Ltd, the commercial arm of professional snooker, which introduced the World Snooker Tour name, logo, and revised website as part of a 2020 rebranding. The principal stakeholder in World Snooker Ltd is Matchroom Sport, which owns 51 percent of the company; the sport's governing body, the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA), owns 26 percent. To compete on the World Snooker Tour, players must be WPBSA members. Background The current incarnation of the World Snooker Tour was created in the early 1970s when the WPBSA took over the running of the professional game. At the time of the takeover, in 1971, there were only a handful of professional events to play in, but further events were gradually added throughout the 1970s, and by the end o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2023 Champion Of Champions
The 2023 Champion of Champions (officially the 2023 Cazoo Champion of Champions) was a professional snooker tournament that took between 13 and 19 November 2023 at the University of Bolton Stadium in Bolton, England. The 13th edition of the Champion of Champions since the tournament was first staged in 1978, it featured 16 participants, primarily winners of significant tournaments since the previous year's event. As an invitational tournament, it carried no world ranking points. It immediately followed the 2023 International Championship which ended on 12 November. The winner received £150,000 from a total prize fund of £440,000. Ronnie O'Sullivan was the defending champion, having defeated Judd Trump in the previous final. However, O'Sullivan withdrew from the tournament, citing mental and physical health reasons, and was replaced by Ding Junhui in the draw. Mark Allen won the event, defeating Trump in the final. Format The 16 players were divided into four groups of f ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Billiard Table
A billiard table or billiards table is a bounded table on which cue sports are played. In the modern era, all billiards tables (whether for carom billiards, pool, pyramid or snooker) provide a flat surface usually made of quarried slate, that is covered with cloth (usually of a tightly woven worsted wool called baize), and surrounded by vulcanized rubber cushions, with the whole thing elevated above the floor. More specific terms are used for specific sports, such as snooker table and pool table, and different-sized billiard balls are used on these table types. An obsolete term is billiard board, used in the 16th and 17th centuries. Parts and equipment Cushions Cushions (also sometimes called "rail cushions", "cushion rubber", or rarely "bumpers") are located on the inner sides of a table's wooden . There are several different materials and design philosophies associated with cushion rubber. These cushions are made from an elastic material such as vulcanized rubber (gum or sy ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Marco Fu
Marco Fu Ka-chun, MH, JP (, born 8 January 1978) is a Hong Kong professional snooker player. He is a three-time ranking event winner, having won the 2007 Grand Prix, the 2013 Australian Goldfields Open and the 2016 Scottish Open. He has been a runner-up at two Triple Crown events, at the 2008 UK Championship and the 2011 Masters. In addition, Fu has reached the semi-finals of the World Championship twice—in 2006 and in 2016. Fu reached a career-high ranking of fifth in the world in 2017. He turned professional in 1998 and has remained on the World Snooker Tour to-date. Despite not competing in events during the COVID-19 pandemic, Fu was given an invitational place to remain on the tour during the 2021–22 snooker season. As a prolific break-builder, Fu has compiled over 500 century breaks in professional competition, including five maximum breaks. A cultural icon in Hong Kong, Fu presented a 10-episode chat show called ' on ViuTV. Career Early career Marco Fu wa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Neil Robertson
Neil Robertson (born 11 February 1982) is an Australian professional snooker player who is a former world champion and former world number one. The only Australian to have won a ranking event, he is also the only player from outside the United Kingdom to have completed snooker's Triple Crown, having won the World Championship in 2010, the Masters in 2012 and 2022, and the UK Championship in 2013, 2015 and 2020. He has claimed a career total of 23 ranking titles, having won at least one professional tournament every year since 2006. A prolific break-builder, Robertson has compiled more than 850 century breaks in professional competition, including five maximum breaks. He is the fourth player in professional snooker history to reach the 800-century mark, after Ronnie O'Sullivan, John Higgins and Judd Trump. In the 2013–14 season, he became the first player to make 100 centuries in a single season, finishing with a record 103 centuries. Life and career Early career Robert ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ronnie O'Sullivan
Ronald Antonio O'Sullivan (born 5 December 1975) is an English professional snooker player who is the current world champion and world number one. Widely recognised as one of the most talented and accomplished players in the sport's history, he has won the World Snooker Championship seven times, a modern-era record he holds jointly with Stephen Hendry. He has won a record seven Masters and a record seven UK Championship titles for a record total of 21 Triple Crown titles, the most achieved by any player. He holds the record for the most ranking titles, with 39, and has been world number one on seven season ending occasions. After an impressive amateur career, O'Sullivan turned professional in 1992, aged 16. He won his first professional ranking event at the 1993 UK Championship aged 17 years and 358 days, making him the youngest player to win a ranking title, a record he still holds. He is also the youngest player to win the Masters, which he first achieved in 1995, aged ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ding Junhui
Ding Junhui (; born 1 April 1987) is a Chinese professional snooker player. He is the most successful Asian player in the history of the sport. Throughout his career, he has won 14 major ranking titles, including three UK Championships (2005, 2009, 2019). He has twice reached the final of the Masters, winning once in 2011. In 2016, he became the first Asian player to reach the final of the World Championship. Ding began playing snooker at age nine and rose to international prominence in 2002 after winning the Asian Under-21 Championship and the Asian Championship. At age 15, he became the youngest winner of the IBSF World Under-21 Championship. In 2003, Ding turned professional at the age of 16. His first major professional successes came in 2005 when he won the China Open and the UK Championship, becoming the first player from outside Great Britain and Ireland to win the title. During his career, he has compiled more than 600 century breaks, including six maximum breaks, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mark Allen (snooker Player)
Mark Allen (born 22 February 1986) is a Northern Irish professional snooker player from Antrim. He won the World Amateur Championship in 2004, turned professional the following year, and took only three seasons to reach the top 16. In his fourth professional season, he beat the defending champion Ronnie O’Sullivan en route to the semi-finals of the 2009 World Championship, where he lost to the eventual winner John Higgins. Allen reached his first ranking event final at the 2011 UK Championship, losing to Judd Trump. He won his first ranking title the following year at the 2012 World Open. He has won eight ranking titles to date, most recently the 2022 UK Championship. He captured his first Triple Crown title at the 2018 Masters. A prolific break-builder, Allen has compiled more than 550 century breaks in professional competition. He has made two maximum breaks, achieving his first in the 2016 UK Championship and his second in the 2021 Northern Ireland Open qualifying r ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |