2021 Championship League (invitational) explained

Tournament Name:BetVictor Championship League Invitational
Venue:Ballroom, Stadium MK
Location:Milton Keynes
Country:England
Organisation:Matchroom Sport
Format:Non-ranking event
Total Prize Fund:£182,700
Winners Share:£10,000 (plus bonuses)
Highest Break: (147)
Score:3–2
Previous:2020 (ranking)
←2020 (invitational)
Next:2021 (ranking)→
2022 (invitational)

The 2021 Championship League Invitational was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament, that took place from in the Ballroom, Stadium MK in Milton Keynes, England.[1] It is the 16th staging of the tournament.

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]

Groups 1–7
Winners' Group

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

Play-offs

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

Play-offs

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

Play-offs

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

NoteZhao Xintong, who had qualified from group 3, withdrew from the tournament prior to group 4 play.

Play-offs

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

Play-offs

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

NoteRonnie O'Sullivan, who had qualified from group 5, withdrew from the tournament prior to group 6 play.

Play-offs

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

Play-offs

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

Play-offs

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.Player1234567WTOTAL
1 (5)1,1004,2002,7006,10015,20029,300
2 (15)2,8004,7003,2006,8009,30026,800
3 (6)5,0003,1006,4006,80021,300
4 (23)28006,2006,20015,200
5 (22)2,9006,5001,40010,800
6 (1)6,3002,0008,300
7 (21)6,4001,8008,200
8 (19)1,1001,2004,6006,900
9 (4)1,1004,1001,5006,700
10 (17)5,1001,2006,300
11 (24)4,6001,2005,800
12 (13)2,5002,7005,200
13 (29)2,8001,8004,600
14 (12)3,1001,1004,200
15 (26)2,4001,0003,400
16(a) (28)3,1003,100
17(b) (3)3,0003,000
18 (11)2,8002,800
19 (20)1,2001,4002,600
20 (23)1,1001,0002,100
21 (29)1,2001,200
22 (16)1,0001,000
23 (2)900900
data-sort-value=24= (30)900900
25 (14)800800
26 (25)700700
27 (27)600600
Total prize money20,10019,90019,80019,60020,30020,60019,70042,700182,700
Green: Won the group. Bold: Highest break in the group. All prize money in GBP.
Parenthesis: Ranking 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.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Calendar 2020/2021. 25 December 2020. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. 24 December 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201224175428/http://livescores.worldsnookerdata.com/?year=2021&month=1. dead.
  2. Web site: 30 October 2020. Wilson Claims Championship League Crown. https://web.archive.org/web/20201101024058/https://wst.tv/wilson-claims-championship-league-crown/. dead. 1 November 2020. World Snooker.
  3. Web site: 2020–21 snooker calendar. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20201225070126/https://wst.tv/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Click-here-for-the-calendar-1.pdf . 25 December 2020 . 4 January 2021. World Snooker Tour.
  4. Web site: Home - Championship League Snooker. Matchroom.
  5. Web site: Zhou Progresses In BetVictor Championship League . https://web.archive.org/web/20210106063300/https://wst.tv/zhou-progresses-in-betvictor-championship-league/. dead. 6 January 2021. World Snooker Tour. 5 January 2021.
  6. Web site: Dott Wins Group Two . https://web.archive.org/web/20210108082300/https://wst.tv/dott-wins-group-two/. dead. 8 January 2021. World Snooker Tour. 7 January 2021.
  7. Web site: Higgins Wins Group Three. https://web.archive.org/web/20210110140516/https://wst.tv/higgins-wins-group-three/. dead. 10 January 2021. World Snooker Tour. 9 January 2021.
  8. Web site: Trump Reaches Winners' Group. https://web.archive.org/web/20210212193337/https://wst.tv/trump-reaches-winners-group/. dead. 12 February 2021. World Snooker Tour. 9 February 2021.
  9. Web site: Wilson Through in Championship League. https://web.archive.org/web/20210212023533/https://wst.tv/wilson-through-in-championship-league/ . dead . 12 February 2021 . World Snooker Tour. 11 February 2021.
  10. Web site: Carter Through in Milton Keynes. https://web.archive.org/web/20210423150342/https://wst.tv/carter-through-in-milton-keynes/. dead. 23 April 2021. World Snooker Tour. 13 February 2021.
  11. Web site: Williams Takes Last Spot. https://web.archive.org/web/20210401033314/https://wst.tv/williams-takes-last-spot/. dead. 1 April 2021. World Snooker Tour. 31 March 2021.
  12. Web site: Wilson: In a League of His Own. https://web.archive.org/web/20210403003251/https://wst.tv/wilson-in-a-league-of-his-own/. dead. 3 April 2021. World Snooker Tour. 2 April 2021.
  13. Web site: BetVictor Championship League 2021 (Stage One) Centuries . World Snooker Tour . 4–9 January 2021 . 9 February 2021 . 15 February 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210215005841/https://livescores.worldsnookerdata.com/Centuries/CenturyBreaks/14175/betvictor-championship-league-2021-stage-one . dead .
  14. Web site: BetVictor Championship League 2021 (Stage Two) Centuries . World Snooker Tour . 8–13 February 2021 . 9 February 2021 . 27 February 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210227002905/https://livescores.worldsnookerdata.com/Centuries/CenturyBreaks/14176/betvictor-championship-league-2021-stage-two . dead .
  15. Web site: BetVictor Championship League 2021 (Stage Three) Centuries . https://web.archive.org/web/20210414222919/https://livescores.worldsnookerdata.com/Centuries/CenturyBreaks/14177/betvictor-championship-league-2021-stage-three . dead . 14 April 2021 . World Snooker Tour . 30 March – 2 April 2021 .

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