2020 Championship League (2019–20 Season)

The 2020 Championship League (also known as the 2020 Matchroom.com Championship League) was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that took place from 1 to 11 June 2020 at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes, England. The event featured 64 players from the World Snooker Tour 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. The event was one of the first live sporting events in the United Kingdom since the start of the coronavirus lockdown in March 2020.

Luca Brecel won the event after finishing top of the final group ahead of Ben Woollaston, Stuart Bingham and Ryan Day. The event was broadcast on ITV4 in the United Kingdom, Eurosport across Europe, Superstars Online, Youku and Zhibo.tv in China, Fox Sports in Australia and Sky in New Zealand. Elsewhere, the event was broadcast on Matchroom Sport.

Tournament format

The 2020 Championship League was held between 1 and 11 June 2020 at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes, England. The tournament took place without an audience whilst maintaining social distancing. Originally due to take place in Leicester, 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 prior to taking part. The event was sponsored by Matchroom Sport and broadcast live domestically on ITV4. It was also broadcast by Eurosport across Europe, Superstars Online, Youku and Zhibo.tv in China, Fox Sports in Australia and Sky 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 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 won all three group games to qualify from group 2, losing a frame to both Elliot Slessor and Daniel Wells. David Gilbert drew his second match against Jak Jones, but won against Stuart Carrington 3–0 to progress, with Carrington scoring only five points. Belgian player Luca Brecel and Englishman Jack Lisowski both defeated Oliver Lines and drew against Robbie Williams. 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 won all three matches leading Mark Davis. Ryan Day and Kyren Wilson 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 drew his first match against Joe Perry, but won his other two matches to lead the group. Liang Wenbo 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. Gary Wilson won group 14, scoring four century breaks in ten frames. Both Ronnie O'Sullivan and Tom Ford won groups on 5 June, with O'Sullivan not losing a single frame. Stuart Bingham and Ricky Walden 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. Ben Woollaston won group 8, but spent the tournament estranged from his wife Tatiana Woollaston

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