2021 Championship League (invitational)

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.

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

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 John Higgins (Q) 6 5 1 15 8 +7 Qualification to Group 1 play-off
2 Zhou Yuelong (Q) 6 4 2 16 10 +6
3 Stuart Bingham (Q) 6 4 2 16 11 +5
4 Graeme Dott (Q) 6 4 2 15 13 +2
5 Gary Wilson (A) 6 2 4 12 15 −3 Advances into Group 2
6 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (E) 6 2 4 10 15 −5 Eliminated from the competition
7 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
 
      
 
 
 
 
 John Higgins3
 
 
 
 Graeme Dott1
 
 John Higgins2
 
 
 
 Zhou Yuelong3
 
 Zhou Yuelong3
 
 
 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 John Higgins (Q) 6 5 1 15 11 +4 Qualification to Group 2 play-off
2 Matthew Selt (Q) 6 4 2 14 9 +5
3 Scott Donaldson (Q) 6 4 2 14 10 +4
4 Graeme Dott (Q) 6 3 3 14 12 +2
5 Kyren Wilson (A) 6 2 4 11 15 −4 Advances into Group 3
6 Gary Wilson (E) 6 2 4 9 15 −6 Eliminated from the competition
7 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
 
      
 
 
 
 
 John Higgins2
 
 
 
 Graeme Dott3
 
 Graeme Dott3
 
 
 
 Scott Donaldson1
 
 Matthew Selt0
 
 
 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 John Higgins (Q) 6 4 2 16 10 +6 Qualification to Group 3 play-off
2 Kyren Wilson (Q) 6 4 2 13 12 +1
3 Zhao Xintong (Q) 6 3 3 13 15 −2
4 Tom Ford (Q) 6 3 3 12 12 0
5 Mark Selby (A) 6 3 3 11 12 −1 Advances into Group 4
6 Scott Donaldson (E) 6 2 4 12 14 −2 Eliminated from the competition
7 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
 
      
 
 
 
 
 John Higgins3
 
 
 
 Tom Ford2
 
 John Higgins3
 
 
 
 Kyren Wilson0
 
 Kyren Wilson3
 
 
 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 Judd Trump (Q) 6 4 2 15 8 +7 Qualification to Group 4 play-off
2 Mark Selby (Q) 6 4 2 12 10 +2
3 Mark Williams (Q) 6 3 3 12 12 0
4 Kyren Wilson (Q) 6 3 3 11 11 0
5 Barry Hawkins (A) 6 3 3 11 12 −1 Advances into Group 5
6 Tom Ford (E) 6 2 4 13 14 −1 Eliminated from the competition
7 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
 
      
 
 
 
 
 Judd Trump3
 
 
 
 Kyren Wilson2
 
 Judd Trump3
 
 
 
 Mark Selby0
 
 Mark Selby3
 
 
 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 Ali Carter (Q) 6 5 1 16 8 +8 Qualification to Group 5 play-off
2 Ronnie O'Sullivan (Q) 6 4 2 14 8 +6
3 Kyren Wilson (Q) 6 4 2 13 13 0
4 Mark Williams (Q) 6 3 3 12 13 −1
5 Joe Perry (A) 6 2 4 11 13 −2 Advances into Group 6
6 Barry Hawkins (E) 6 2 4 10 15 −5 Eliminated from the competition
7 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
 
      
 
 
 
 
 Ali Carter1
 
 
 
 Mark Williams3
 
 Mark Williams2
 
 
 
 Kyren Wilson3
 
 Ronnie O'Sullivan2
 
 
 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 Ali Carter (Q) 6 5 1 17 6 +11 Qualification to Group 6 play-off
2 Anthony McGill (Q) 6 5 1 16 12 +4
3 David Gilbert (Q) 6 3 3 12 13 −1
4 Mark Williams (Q) 6 3 3 11 13 −2
5 Joe Perry (A) 6 2 4 12 13 −1 Advances into Group 7
6 Liang Wenbo (E) 6 2 4 12 15 −3 Eliminated from the competition
7 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
 
      
 
 
 
 
 Ali Carter3
 
 
 
 Mark Williams2
 
 Ali Carter3
 
 
 
 Anthony McGill2
 
 Anthony McGill3
 
 
 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 Yan Bingtao (Q) 6 6 0 18 7 +11 Qualification to Group 7 play-off
2 Mark Williams (Q) 6 4 2 15 10 +5
3 David Gilbert (Q) 6 4 2 14 11 +3
4 Joe Perry (Q) 6 3 3 14 13 +1
5 Anthony McGill (E) 6 3 3 12 13 −1 Eliminated from the competition
6 Neil Robertson (E) 6 1 5 9 17 −8
7 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
 
      
 
 
 
 
 Yan Bingtao0
 
 
 
 Joe Perry3
 
 Joe Perry1
 
 
 
 Mark Williams3
 
 Mark Williams3
 
 
 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 John Higgins (Q) 6 5 1 16 5 +11 Qualification to Winners' Group play-off
2 Graeme Dott (Q) 6 5 1 16 9 +7
3 Mark Williams (Q) 6 3 3 14 12 +2
4 Kyren Wilson (Q) 6 3 3 12 15 −3
5 Judd Trump (E) 6 2 4 10 13 −3 Eliminated from the competition
6 Ali Carter (E) 6 2 4 7 14 −7
7 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
 
      
 
 
 
 
 John Higgins2
 
 
 
 Kyren Wilson3
 
 Kyren Wilson3
 
 
 
 Mark Williams2
 
 Graeme Dott0
 
 
 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 Kyren Wilson (5) 1100 4200 2700 6100 15200 29300
2 Mark Williams (15) 2800 4700 3200 6800 9300 27800
3 John Higgins (6) 5000 3100 6400 6800 21300
4 Graeme Dott (23) 2800 6200 6200 15200
5 Ali Carter (22) 2900 6500 1400 10800
6 Judd Trump (1) 6300 2000 8300
7 Zhou Yuelong (21) 6400 1800 8200
8 Joe Perry (19) 1100 1200 4600 6900
9 Mark Selby (4) 1100 4100 1500 6700
10 Anthony McGill (17) 5100 1200 6300
11 Scott Donaldson (24) 4600 1200 5800
12 David Gilbert (13) 2500 2700 5200
13 Tom Ford (29) 2800 1800 4600
14 Stuart Bingham (12) 3100 1100 4200
15 Matthew Selt (26) 2400 1000 3400
16 Zhao Xintong(a) (28) 3100 3100
17 Ronnie O'Sullivan(b) (3) 3000 3000
18 Yan Bingtao (11) 2800 2800
19 Gary Wilson (20) 1200 1400 2600
20 Barry Hawkins (23) 1100 1000 2100
21 Liang Wenbo (29) 1200 1200
22 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (16) 1000 1000
23 Neil Robertson (2) 900 900
= Li Hang (30) 900 900
25 Jack Lisowski (14) 800 800
26 Kurt Maflin (25) 700 700
27 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.
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