The 2019–2020 Championship League was a professional

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

tournament, taking place over most of the 2019-20 snooker season from 7 October 2019 to 5 March 2020 at the

Morningside Arena The Leicester Arena (officially known as the Mattioli Arena due to sponsorship reasons) is a multi-purpose sports arena located in Leicester, England. The arena has a seating capacity for 3,000 spectators and its main tenants are the Leicester ...

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

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The event features seven group stages before a finals stage in March 2020; the first four played in October, two in January, and the final group played in March. It was the 13th staging of the

Championship League Championship League (officially the BetVictor Championship League Snooker) is a professional snooker tournament devised by Matchroom Sport. The event was introduced in 2008 Championship League, 2008 as an invitational qualifier to the Premier ...

. The event featured a total prize fund of £182,400 with the winner receiving £20,700. The losing finalist received £6,000 more than the winner due to having played in all groups starting from Group 3.

Martin Gould Martin Gould (born 14 September 1981) is an English former professional snooker player from Pinner in the London Borough of Harrow. He has appeared in four ranking finals and won one ranking title, the 2016 German Masters. Career Gould began ...

was the defending champion, having won the 2019 edition of the tournament, beating

Jack Lisowski Jack 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 International Open Series, PIOS rankings. A left-handed player, he ...

3–1 in the final. However, Gould did not participate in this event.

Scott Donaldson Scott Donaldson (born 19 March 1994) is a Scottish professional snooker player. Donaldson turned professional in 2012 after winning the 2012 EBSA European Snooker Championship and gained a two-year tour card for the 2012–13 and 2013–14 ...

won the tournament, having qualified from group four and defeated

Graeme Dott Graeme Dott (born 12 May 1977) is a Scottish professional snooker player and snooker coach from Larkhall. He turned professional in 1994 and first entered the top 16 in 2001. He has won two ranking titles, the 2006 World Snooker Championship ...

3–0 in the final. This was the first professional snooker title of Donaldson's career.

Tournament format

The

was a professional

event that took place between 7 October 2019 to 5 March 2020 at the

, England. All matches were the best of 5 , and played as a round-robin, with seven groups consisting of seven players. From each group the top four players qualified for a knockout round, the winner of which qualified for an eighth "winners group". The lowest two players of each group are eliminated and the remaining four move to the next group, where they are joined by three more participants. The winners group is played in the same way, with the winner of the knockout phase named as champion, and a place at the

2020 Champion of Champions The 2020 Champion of Champions (officially the 2020 888sport Champion of Champions) was a professional snooker tournament that took place between 2 and 8 November 2020 at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes, England. It was the tenth Champion o ...

. The event was sponsored by sports betting company

BetVictor BetVictor, founded in 1946, is an online gambling company based in Gibraltar, owned by British businessman and racehorse owner Michael Tabor. It provides services such as sports betting and online casinos. History The company was founded ...

; and was broadcast via

streaming Streaming media refers to multimedia delivered through a network for playback using a media player. Media is transferred in a ''stream'' of packets from a server to a client and is rendered in real-time; this contrasts with file downl ...

on various betting websites, as well as on zhibo.tv in China.

Prize fund

The breakdown of prize money for the 2019–20 Championship League is shown below. ;Group 1–7 *Winner: £3,000 *Runner-up: £2,000 *Semi-final: £1,000 *Frame-win (league stage): £100 *Frame-win (play-offs): £300 *Highest break: £500 ;Winners' Group *Winner: £10,000 *Runner-up: £5,000 *Semi-final: £3,000 *Frame-win (league stage): £200 *Frame-win (play-offs): £300 *Highest break: £1,000 *Tournament total: £182,400

Tournament summary

Group 1 was played on 7 and 8 October 2019, where

Neil Robertson Neil Alexander Robertson (born 11 February 1982) is an Australian professional snooker player, who is a former List of World Snooker Championship winners, world champion and former List of world number one snooker players, world number one. He ...

defeated Ryan Day 3–2 in the final. The second group was played on 9 and 10 October, with

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

defeating

Mark Selby Mark Anthony Selby (born 19 June 1983) is an English professional snooker player. Ranked List of world number one snooker players, world number one on multiple occasions, he has won a total of 24 ranking titles, placing him eighth on the all ...

3–1 to win the group. After this, Selby and

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 Championship, ...

declined to continue, and were replaced by

Xiao Guodong Xiao Guodong (; born 10 February 1989) is a Chinese professional snooker player. He turned professional in 2007 after winning the Asian Under-21 Championships. He won his first ranking event 17 years after first turning professional at the 202 ...

and

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 Players Tour Championship 2011/2012 – Event 3, third Players Tour Championship event in 2011. W ...

, but both were eliminated in the third group. Group 3 was played on 21 and 22 October 2019, with Gary Wilson defeating

Kyren Wilson Kyren James Wilson (; born 23 December 1991) is an English professional snooker player from Kettering. He has won 10 ranking titles. Wilson made his professional tour debut in the 2010–11 snooker season, 2010–11 season after finishing fif ...

3–0. The group 3 matches saw a record number of century breaks made in a Championship League group with a total of 24, beating the record of 23 from the previous year's Winners' Group. The fourth group was played on 23 and 24 October 2019.

defeated compatriot

3–0 in the final. Group 5 was played on 6 and 7 January 2020. Mark Williams won all six of his group matches, but lost in the first round against David Gilbert 2–3.

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 ...

defeated Gilbert in the final to win the group. On 8 and 9 January 2020 in group six;

Judd Trump Judd Trump (born 20 August 1989) is an English professional snooker player who is a former List of World Snooker Championship winners, world champion and the current List of world number one snooker players, world number one. He is currently in ...

won after a 3–1 victory over

. Trump also made the highest break of the tournament, a 145 in group six. Group 7 was played on 2 and 3 March 2020. Dott defeated Williams 3–1 to be the last qualifier. The Winners' Group was played on 4 and 5 March 2020. On the first day, Trump made his 700th career

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 ...

in his round-robin match against McGill. The four players who qualified from the Winner's Group were Trump, Dott, McGill and Donaldson. Donaldson defeated Trump 3–1, whilst Dott beat Williams 3–2. Donaldson won his first professional tournament with a 3–0 victory over Dott in the final. Due to the additional prizes for frame wins, Donaldson was awarded a total of £20,700 throughout the tournament.

Group 1

Group 1 was played on 7 and 8 October 2019.

was the first player to qualify for the Winners' Group.

Matches

* Luca Brecel 0–3 Mark Selby * Barry Hawkins 3–1 Neil Robertson * Jack Lisowski 1–3 Luca Brecel * Jimmy Robertson 1–3 Ryan Day * Mark Selby 1–3 Barry Hawkins * Neil Robertson 0–3 Jimmy Robertson * Luca Brecel 2–3 Barry Hawkins * Ryan Day 2–3 Jack Lisowski * Mark Selby 2–3 Neil Robertson * Jimmy Robertson 3–2 Jack Lisowski * Ryan Day 1–3 Neil Robertson * Barry Hawkins 3–2 Jack Lisowski * Luca Brecel 1–3 Ryan Day * Mark Selby 3–1 Jimmy Robertson * Barry Hawkins 3–2 Ryan Day * Neil Robertson 3–1 Jack Lisowski * Luca Brecel 3–2 Jimmy Robertson * Mark Selby 0–3 Jack Lisowski * Barry Hawkins 3–0 Jimmy Robertson * Mark Selby 3–2 Ryan Day * Luca Brecel 1–3 Neil Robertson

Table

Play-offs

Group 2

Group 2 was played on 9 and 10 October 2019.

was the second player to qualify for the Winners' Group.

Matches

* Kyren Wilson 3–0 Stuart Bingham * Gary Wilson 3–0 Jack Lisowski * Barry Hawkins 2–3 Kyren Wilson * Mark Selby 3–0 Ryan Day * Stuart Bingham 3–1 Gary Wilson * Jack Lisowski 0–3 Mark Selby * Kyren Wilson 2–3 Gary Wilson * Ryan Day 3–0 Barry Hawkins * Stuart Bingham 3–2 Jack Lisowski * Mark Selby 2–3 Barry Hawkins * Ryan Day 2–3 Jack Lisowski * Gary Wilson 3–1 Barry Hawkins * Kyren Wilson 3–0 Ryan Day * Stuart Bingham 3–2 Mark Selby * Gary Wilson 3–0 Ryan Day * Jack Lisowski 1–3 Barry Hawkins * Kyren Wilson 3–2 Mark Selby * Stuart Bingham 1–3 Barry Hawkins * Gary Wilson 0–3 Mark Selby * Stuart Bingham 3–2 Ryan Day * Kyren Wilson 3–0 Jack Lisowski

Table

Play-offs

Group 3

Group 3 was played on 21 and 22 October 2019. Gary Wilson was the third player to qualify for the Winners' Group.

Matches

defeated

to win the tournament.

Matches

* Neil Robertson 3–1 Stuart Bingham * Gary Wilson 2–3 Scott Donaldson * Anthony McGill 2–3 Neil Robertson * Judd Trump 3–2 Graeme Dott * Stuart Bingham 3–0 Gary Wilson * Scott Donaldson 1–3 Judd Trump * Neil Robertson 3–1 Gary Wilson * Graeme Dott 2–3 Anthony McGill * Stuart Bingham 0–3 Scott Donaldson * Judd Trump 3–2 Anthony McGill * Graeme Dott 3–2 Scott Donaldson * Gary Wilson 2–3 Anthony McGill * Neil Robertson 1–3 Graeme Dott * Stuart Bingham 1–3 Judd Trump * Gary Wilson 0–3 Graeme Dott * Scott Donaldson 0–3 Anthony McGill * Neil Robertson 0–3 Judd Trump * Stuart Bingham 3–1 Anthony McGill * Gary Wilson 1–3 Judd Trump * Stuart Bingham 0–3 Graeme Dott * Neil Robertson 1–3 Scott Donaldson

Table

Play-offs

Century breaks

A total of 104

s were made during the event.*Group 1 - *Group 2 - *Group 3 - *Group 4 - *Group 5 - *Group 6 - *Group 7 - *Final group - * 145 (6), 139 (W), 132, 128, 127, 127, 122, 120, 117, 114, 107, 100

* 143 (4), 125, 121, 110, 109, 107, 106, 105, 105, 101, 100, 100, 100

* 140, 132, 126, 118, 106, 105, 103, 100

* 139 (5), 126, 115, 109, 106

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

* 138, 128, 121, 114, 111 Joe Perry * 138, 117, 105, 103, 101 David Gilbert * 137, 135, 116, 109, 107, 105 Mark Williams * 137, 114, 114, 108

* 134 (2), 133, 131 (1), 130, 117

* 134 (3), 132, 132, 125, 119, 108, 105, 103, 101, 100 Gary Wilson * 134, 130, 118, 108, 101

* 134 (3), 127, 113, 109

* 133, 130 (7), 121, 109, 107, 101

John Higgins John Higgins (born 18 May 1975) is a Scottish professional snooker player from Wishaw in North Lanarkshire. Since turning professional in 1992, he has won 33 ranking titles, placing him in third position on the List of snooker players by num ...

* 132

* 129, 116, 102

* 126, 101 Ryan Day * 125

Lyu Haotian Lyu Haotian (; born 29 November 1997) is a Chinese professional snooker player, notable for being one of the youngest snooker players to have played in professional tournaments, aged only 14. He reached the quarter-finals of the 2012 Internatio ...

* 118, 111

* 111

* 108, 101

* 107, 101, 101 Jimmy Robertson * 103

Matthew Selt Matthew Selt (born 7 March 1985) is an English professional snooker player. He qualified for the professional tour by finishing seventh in the Pontin's International Open Series in 2006/2007. Selt played in his first professional final in 2014 ...

''Bold: highest break in the indicated group.''

Winnings

''Green: Won the group. Bold: Highest break in the group. All prize money in

GBP Sterling (symbol: £; currency code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound is the main unit of sterling, and the word '' pound'' is also used to refer to the British currency general ...

.''
''Parenthesis: Ranking prior to tournament start, 7 October 2019.''

References

External links

Matchroom Sport – Championship League Snooker

World Snooker – Calendar 2019/2020
{{DEFAULTSORT:Championship League 2019 2020 2019 in snooker 2019 in English sport 2020 in snooker 2020 in English sport October 2019 sports events in the United Kingdom January 2020 sports events in the United Kingdom March 2020 sports events in the United Kingdom 2019-20 Championship League