The 2020 Championship League (also known as the 2020 Matchroom.com Championship League) was a professional non-ranking

snooker Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sports, cue sport played on a Billiard table#Snooker and English billiards tables, rectangular table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six Billiard table#Pockets 2, pockets, one at each corner and o ...

tournament that took place from 1 to 11 June 2020 at the

Marshall Arena The Marshall Arena (formerly known as Arena MK, also Milton Keynes Arena) is a multi-purpose arena in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England, located beside Stadium MK. The multi-use event space is positioned over three floors and anticipates m ...

Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city and the largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was over . The River Great Ouse forms its northern boundary; a tributary ...

, England. The event featured 64 players from the

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 ar ...

featuring three rounds of round-robin groups of four. The initial group stage matches were played between 1 and 8 June, with the group winners' stage played on 9 and 10 June, before the finals stage on 11 June. It was the 14th edition of the

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 ...

. The event was one of the first live sporting events in the United Kingdom since the start of the

coronavirus lockdown Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of non-pharmaceutical interventions colloquially known as lockdowns (encompassing stay-at-home orders, curfews, quarantines, and similar societal restrictions) have been implemented in numerous countrie ...

in March 2020.

Luca Brecel Luca Brecel (born 8 March 1995) is a Belgian professional snooker player. He won the European Under-19 title at the age of 14 and went on to break Stephen Hendry's record as the youngest player ever to compete at the Crucible Theatre. He made hi ...

won the event after finishing top of the final group ahead of

Ben Woollaston Ben Woollaston (born 14 May 1987) is an English professional snooker player from Leicester. His sole professional title came at the minor-ranking third Players Tour Championship event in 2011. Woollaston's only ranking event final came at the ...

Stuart Bingham Stuart Bingham (born 21 May 1976) is an English professional snooker player who is a former world and Masters champion. Bingham won the 1996 World Amateur Championship but enjoyed little sustained success in the early part of his professional ...

and Ryan Day. The event was broadcast on

ITV4 ITV4 is a Television in the United Kingdom, British free-to-air television channel which was launched on 1 November 2005. It is owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc, and is part of the ITV (TV network), ITV network. The channel h ...

in the United Kingdom,

Eurosport Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery through Warner Bros. Discovery Sports#Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe properties, its international sports unit, it operates two ...

across Europe,

Superstars Online A superstar is a widely acclaimed celebrity. Superstar or superstars may also refer to: People * Warhol superstars, the associates of Andy Warhol * WWE Superstar, a branding term referring to a WWE wrestler * Superstar Billy Graham (born 1943) ...

Youku Youku Tudou Inc. (formerly Youku Inc.), doing business as Youku (), is a video hosting service based in Beijing, China. It operates as a subsidiary of Alibaba Group Holding Limited. Youku has its headquarters in the Sinosteel Plaza in Haidian ...

and Zhibo.tv in China,

Fox Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the Fo ...

in Australia and

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in New Zealand. Elsewhere, the event was broadcast on

Matchroom Sport Matchroom Sport is a sporting event promotions company founded by English entrepreneur Barry Hearn and run by Hearn and his son Eddie Hearn. It first came to attention in the sports of snooker and boxing and is also involved in pool (cue sports), ...

Tournament format

The 2020 Championship League was held between 1 and 11 June 2020 at the

, England. The tournament took place without an audience whilst maintaining

social distancing In public health, social distancing, also called physical distancing, (NB. Regula Venske is president of the PEN Centre Germany.) is a set of non-pharmaceutical interventions or measures intended to prevent the spread of a contagious disea ...

. Originally due to take place in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

, the event was moved to Milton Keynes because of the on-site facilities at the venue, meaning that the players and officials did not need to leave the location for the duration of their involvement once they had arrived. All players were tested for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

prior to taking part. The event was sponsored by

and broadcast live domestically on

. It was also broadcast by

across Europe,

and Zhibo.tv in China,

in Australia and

in New Zealand. There were 64 snooker professionals who took part in the event. The competition began with 16 rounds of group matches with each group consisting of four players. Two groups were played to a finish every day from 1 to 8 June, using a two-

table Table may refer to: * Table (furniture), a piece of furniture with a flat surface and one or more legs * Table (landform), a flat area of land * Table (information), a data arrangement with rows and columns * Table (database), how the table data ...

setup in the arena. The groups were contested using a round-robin format, with six matches played in each group. All matches 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 are tied. Places that were still tied were then determined by the highest made in the group. The 16 players that topped the group tables qualified for the group winners' stage, consisting of four groups of four players. Two of the four groups played to a finish on 9 June and the other two groups on 10 June, again using two tables. The four winners from the group winners' stage qualified for the tournament finals played on 11 June using a single table. The winner of this final group took the Championship League title and a place at the 2020 Champion of Champions.

Prize fund

The breakdown of prize money for the tournament is shown below. ;Group stage *Winner: £4,000 *Runner-up: £2,000 *Third place: £1,500 *Fourth place: £1,000 ;Group winners' stage *Winner: £6,000 *Runner-up: £2,500 *Third place: £2,000 *Fourth place: £1,500 ;Final group *Winner: £20,000 *Runner-up: £8,000 *Third place: £4,000 *Fourth place: £2,000 *Tournament total: £218,000

Tournament summary

Group stages

The first round of group games were played from 1 to 8 June. Reigning world champion

Judd Trump Judd Trump (born 20 August 1989) is an English professional snooker player, a former world champion and former world number one. Widely regarded as one of the sport's most talented players, he is currently sixth on the list of all-time ranki ...

won all three group games to qualify from group 2, losing a frame to both

Elliot Slessor Elliot Slessor (born 4 August 1994) is an English professional snooker player. In May 2013, Slessor qualified for the 2013–14 and 2014–15 professional Main Tour as one of four semi-finalists from the first Q School event. Career Slessor ...

and Daniel Wells. David Gilbert drew his second match against

Jak Jones Jak Jones (born 29 July 1993) is a Welsh professional snooker player. Jones was born in Cwmbran, Wales. He became a professional in 2010 at the age of 16, by winning the 2010 European Under 19 Snooker Championship in Malta. Career Professio ...

, but won against

Stuart Carrington Stuart Carrington (born 14 May 1990) is an English professional snooker player. He practises frequently with Steven Hallworth and Ian Glover in Grimsby. In May 2011, Carrington qualified for the 2011–12 professional Main Tour as one of fou ...

3–0 to progress, with Carrington scoring only five points. Belgian player

and Englishman

Jack Lisowski Jack Adam Lisowski (born 25 June 1991) is an English professional snooker player from Churchdown, Gloucestershire. He turned professional in 2010 by finishing first in the 2009/2010 PIOS rankings. A left-handed player, he is known for his atta ...

both defeated

Oliver Lines Oliver Lines (born 16 June 1995) is an English professional snooker player who practices at Northern Snooker Centre in Leeds. He is the son of professional snooker player Peter Lines. Career Amateur Lines switched sports from football to snooke ...

and drew against

Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stud ...

. Brecel made a break of 138 during his win over Lines and took a 2–1 lead over Lisowski. He required a break higher than 138, but was unable, tying the match at 2-2, with Brecel progressing. In group 3,

Mark Joyce Mark Joyce (born 11 August 1983) is an English professional snooker player who lives in Walsall. He began his professional career by playing Challenge Tour in 2003. Joyce enjoyed an outstanding amateur career, winning the European Under-19 Cham ...

won all three matches leading

Mark Davis Mark Davis may refer to: Entertainers *Mark Davis (talk show host), American radio talk show host * Mark Jonathan Davis (born 1965), American actor/singer and creator of Richard Cheese *Mark Davis, American bassist and founding member for the band ...

. Ryan Day and

Kyren Wilson Kyren Wilson (; born 23 December 1991) is an English professional snooker player from Kettering and a five-time ranking event winner. He has been a runner-up at two of the three Triple Crown events, having reached the final at both the 2018 ...

met in the final match of group 12, with the victor winning the group. Day won the first two frames, before Wilson won frame 3. With the higher break, a 111, Wilson could progress with a 2–2 draw, however Day made a break of 86 to win. In group 4,

Harvey Chandler Harvey Chandler (born 19 April 1995) is a former English professional snooker player from Northamptonshire. Career In August 2017, he came through three rounds of qualifying to play the main draw at the 2017 Paul Hunter Classic. He defeated Li ...

drew his first match against Joe Perry, but won his other two matches to lead the group.

Liang Wenbo Liang Wenbo (; born 25 March 1987) is a Chinese professional snooker player based at the Oracle Snooker Club, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, England. Liang, who plays left-handed, has reached one Triple Crown final, made three Masters appearances, and ...

won group 5 with three wins whilst Joe O'Connor finished second, who made the highest break of his career, and of the event a 143 in his draw with

Mark Selby Mark Anthony Selby (born 19 June 1983) is an English professional snooker player, who is a four-time World Snooker Champion. Ranked world number one on multiple occasions, he has won a total of 21 ranking titles, placing him eighth on the ...

. Gary Wilson won group 14, scoring four

century break In snooker, a century break (also century, sometimes called a ton) is a of 100 points or more, compiled in one to the table. A century break requires potting at least 25 consecutive balls, and the ability to score centuries is regarded as a m ...

s in ten frames. Both

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, ...

and

Tom Ford Thomas Carlyle Ford (born August 27, 1961) is an American fashion designer and filmmaker. He launched his eponymous luxury brand in 2005, having previously served as the creative director at Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent. Ford wrote and directe ...

won groups on 5 June, with O'Sullivan not losing a single frame.

and

Ricky Walden Ricky Walden (born 11 November 1982) is an English professional snooker player from Chester. Walden turned professional in 2000 and it took him eight years to win his first ranking title at the Shanghai Masters. He has since won the 2012 Wuxi ...

both finished group 1 with a win and two draws. The final match of the group was between Jamie Clarke and Jordan Brown. Jordan requiring a 3–0 win to progress, but the match was won by Clarke. Bingham won the group with a break of 94, but Walden made a 89 break, but played a harder shot on the , attempting to make a

maximum break A maximum break (also known as a maximum, a 147, or orally, a one-four-seven) is the highest possible in a single of snooker. A player compiles a maximum break by potting all 15 with 15 for 120 points, followed by all six for a further 27 ...

won group 8, but spent the tournament estranged from his wife

Tatiana Woollaston Tatiana Woollaston (born Tatiana Torchilo, alternative spelling Tatiana Tarchyla, be, Таццяна Тарчыла, 8 November 1986 in Pinsk, Soviet Union)

, who had been refereeing the event due to the social distancing rules.

Barry Hawkins Barry Hawkins (born 23 April 1979) is an English professional snooker player from Ditton, Kent. He turned professional in 1996, but only rose to prominence in the 2004–05 snooker season, when he reached the last 16 of the 2004 UK Championsh ...

won group 7, ahead of

Anthony McGill Anthony McGill (born 5 February 1991) is a Scottish professional snooker player. He is a practice partner of retired snooker player Alan McManus. McGill turned professional in 2010, after finishing fourth in the 2009/2010 PIOS rankings. He wo ...

with two wins and a draw. Former world champion

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 ...

lost his opening match to

Ashley Carty Ashley Carty (born 17 July 1995) is a former professional snooker player based in Thurcroft, Rotherham Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then ...

, who won the group.

Martin O'Donnell Martin O'Donnell (born May 1, 1955) is an American composer known for his work on video game developer Bungie's series, such as '' Myth'', ''Oni'', ''Halo'', and ''Destiny''. O'Donnell collaborated with his musical colleague Michael Salvatori ...

and

Mark Allen Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Finn ...

both won two matches, before they met in the final match of the round. The match finished 2-2, with O'Donnell winning the group with a better frame difference. Group 6 was won by

Sam Craigie Sam Craigie (born 29 December 1993) is an English professional snooker player from Newcastle. He enjoyed a successful junior career before turning professional in 2011. Career Early career Craigie qualified for the 2011/2012 Main Tour after ...

, who finished above Masters finalist

Ali Carter Allister Carter (born 25 July 1979) is an English professional snooker player. He has twice been the World Championship runner-up, in 2008 and 2012, losing both finals to Ronnie O'Sullivan. He has won four ranking titles and briefly reached numb ...

Winner's and final groups

The 16 groups winners were split into four groups, labelled A through D and played on 9 and 10 June. Three players finished on six points in group C. Ronnie O'Sullivan won a fourth straight match without losing a frame, before winning 3–1 against Sam Craigie, who defeated Stuart Bingham in his first match, and defeated Harvey Chandler in the final match. The match between O'Sullivan and Bingham would decide the winner of the group, but Bingham won 3–0 to lead the other players on frame difference. Martin O'Donnell defeated Sam Woollaston 3–1, before Woollaston won his next two matches 3–0, with three century breaks over Tom Ford to win the group on frame difference. Luca Brecel won group A after defeating Ashley Carty, and drawing his other two games 2-2. When leading Mark Joyce 2–0, Brecel missed hitting a on three occasions forcing him to forfeit the frame. Ryan Day defeated reigning world champion Judd Trump in the opening match of group B, which he went on to win with two other draws. In the final match, against Barry Hawkins, Day needed to win one frame to go through to the final group, and won frame one with a break of 62. The final group was played on 11 June. The opening match was between Brecel and Bingham, with Brecel winning all three frames. Woollaston then defeated Ryan Day 3–1, before Day drew his remaining two matches to finish the group fourth on two points. Stuart Bingham defeated Woollaston 3-1 finishing third with four points. The final match was between Brecel and Woollaston. Woolaston could win the tournament with a win, or Brecel would win the championship. Brecel won the first frame, with a break of 67, but Woollaston won the second frame after a on the . In the third frame, Woollaston took a 2–1 lead, with a century break of 126, so whoever won the final frame would win the event. In the deciding frame, Brecel made a break of 111 to draw the match, and win the tournament, ahead of Woollaston, who finished as runner-up.

Main draw

Group stage

The group stage consisted of 16 groups, each containing four players. Two groups played to a finish each day from 1 to 8 June.

Group 1

Group 1 was played on 6 June.

Group 2

Group 2 was played on 1 June.

Group 3

Group 3 was played on 2 June.

Group 4

Group 4 was played on 3 June.

Group 5

Group 5 was played on 4 June.

Group 6

Group 6 was played on 8 June.

Group 7

Group 7 was played on 7 June.

Group 8

Group 8 was played on 6 June.

Group 9

Group 9 was played on 2 June.

Group 10

Group 10 was played on 5 June.

Group 11

Group 11 was played on 8 June.

Group 12

Group 12 was played on 3 June.

Group 13

Group 13 was played on 1 June.

Group 14

Group 14 was played on 4 June.

Group 15

Group 15 was played on 5 June.

Group 16

Group 16 was played on 7 June.

Group winners' stage

The group winners' stage consisted of four groups, each containing four players. Groups C and D played to a finish on 9 June. Groups A and B played to a finish on 10 June.

Group A

Group B

Group C

Group D

Final group

The tournament finals, consisting of one final group of four players, was played on 11 June.

won the event after finishing top of the final group, with

the runner-up. Key:P=Matchesplayed; W=Matcheswon; D=Matchesdrawn; L=Matcheslost; FW=Frameswon; FL=Frameslost; FD=Framedifference; HB=Highestbreak

Century breaks

A total of 53 century breaks were made during the event. The highest was a 143 made by Joe O'Connor in group 5. Scores in bold denote highest break in the indicated group. *143 (5) Joe O'Connor *141 (FG), 134 (D), 127, 126, 101

*138 (9), 111, 109, 106, 105

*137 (6)

Matthew Selt Matthew Selt (born 7 March 1985) is an English professional snooker player originally from Romford, east London and now living in Chelmsford, Essex. He qualified for the professional tour by finishing seventh on the Pontin's International Open ...

*136

*134 (14), 132 (A), 125, 107, 100 Gary Wilson *131, 123

*130 (B), 114

*130 (15)

*128

*122, 107, 105, 103 Ryan Day *121 (3)

Louis Heathcote Louis Heathcote (born 3 July 1997) is an English professional snooker player. Career In May 2019, Heathcote came through Q-School - Event 2 by winning six matches to earn a two-year card on the World Snooker Tour for the 2019–20 and 2020–2 ...

*120, 117, 100 (13) David Gilbert *119 (10)

Chris Wakelin Chris Wakelin (born 16 March 1992) is an English professional snooker player from Rugby, Warwickshire. He practices in Bar 8 in Rugby. Career Early career Wakelin started playing snooker aged 8, when his parents Mark and Angie bought him his ...

*119 (16), 107, 106

*117, 103, 100

*116, 112, 104 (C), 101

*114

*111 (12)

*107 (7), 106

*106 (2)

*105 (1) Jamie Clarke *104

*102

Chen Feilong Chen Feilong (born 4 September 1982) is a former professional Chinese snooker player, playing on the World Snooker Tour from the 2018–19 season. Career He has been awarded a two-year professional tour card following his performances on the C ...

*101 (4)

*101

References

External links

Matchroom Sport – Championship League Snooker

World Snooker – Calendar 2019/2020
{{DEFAULTSORT:Championship League

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

2020 in snooker 2020 in English sport June 2020 sports events in the United Kingdom 2020 Championship League