CHAMPIONSHIP LEAGUE SNOOKER has returned with some huge names competing in Leicester – but two huge names are already OUT.
Recently crowned world champion Kyren Wilson was the top seed but could only win one of his three group games.
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Snooker legend Ronnie O’Sullivan started the tournament as heavy favourite after a summer tour of Asia and Europe – but The Rocket is also OUT having fallen to He Guoqiang in his final group match.
Shaun Murphy will defend his crown after he thrashed Mark Williams in last year’s final to claim the title.
SunSport has all the information you need ahead of the first ranking tournament of the season.
When is Championship League Snooker?
- The Championship League started on Monday, June 10.
- The tournament will run until Wednesday, July 3.
- Morningside Arena in Leicester will host.
What is the Championship League format?
The competition sees 128 players split into 32 groups of four, with the winner of each group progressing to Stage Two.
Stage Two will feature eight groups of four.
The remaining eight group winners will then be separated into two final groups during Stage Three, with the winner of both groups facing each other in the final.
How to watch the Championship League?
- The Championship League will be broadcast live on Matchroom.live.
- You can access Matchroom.live online with a day pass for £1.99, monthly pass for £5.99 or an annual pass for £49.99.
- Coverage will begin from 12pm each day.
Championship League groups
*Qualified in bold
Group 1 – Kyren Wilson, Scott Donaldson, Baipat Siripaporn, Daniel Womersley
Group 2 – Ronnie O’Sullivan, He Guoqiang, Mitchell Mann, Kayden Brierley
Group 3 – Shaun Murphy, Tian Pengfei, Reanne Evans, Steven Hallworth
Group 4 – Mark Williams, David Grace, Yuyu Bai, Connor Benzey
Group 5 – Ali Carter, Xing Zihao, Kreishh Gurbaxani, Joshua Thomond
Group 6 – Gary Wilson, Joe Perry, Michael Holt, Huang Jiahao
Group 7 – Tom Ford, Sanderson Lam, Robbie McGuigan, Barry Pinches
Group 8 – Jak Jones, Jordan Brown, Bulcsu Revesz, Antoni Kowalski
Group 9 – John Higgins, Hailong Ma, Ben Mertens, Artemijs Zizins
Group 10 – Rob Milkins, Jackson Page, Andrew Higginson, Lulian Boiko
Group 11 – Ryan Day, Marco Fu, Hammad Miah, Liam Davies
Group 12 – Jack Lisowski, Mark Davis, Jiang Jun, Anton Kazakov
Group 13 – Si Jiahui, Jimmy Robertson, Zak Surety, Lee Daegyu
Group 14 – Hossein Vafaei, Louis Heathcote, Manasawin Phetmalaikul, Josh Mulholland
Group 15 – Dave Gilbert, Xu Si, Andrew Pagett, Duane Jones
Group 16 – Zhou Yuelong, Fan Zhengyi, Alfie Burden, Mink Nutcharut
Group 17 – Chris Wakelin, Ian Burns, Liam Pullen, Rory McLeod
Group 18 – Stuart Bingham, Anthony Hamilton, Ahmed Aly Elsayed, Hamim Hussain
Group 19 – Noppon Saengkham, Long Zehuang, Lei Peifan, Alfie Davies
Group 20 – Pang Junxu, Stuart Carrington, Gong Chenzi, Gerard Greene
Group 21 – Neil Robertson, Jamie Clark, Ka Wai Cheung, Zachary Richardson
Group 22 – Joe O’Connor, Aaron Hill, Oliver Lines, Harvey Chandler
Group 23 – Stephen Maguire, Michael White, Dean Young, Ryan Davies
Group 24 – Ricky Walden, Martin O’Donnell, Rory Thor, Umut Dikme
Group 25 – Robbie Williams, Matthew Stevens, Farakh Ajaib, Haydon Pinhey
Group 26 – Matt Selt, Graeme Dott, Alexander Ursenbacher, Florian Nuessle
Group 27 – Yuan Sijun, David Lilley, Liam Graham, Paul Deaville
Group 28 – Wu Yize, Ross Muir, Allan Taylor, Joshua Cooper
Group 29 – Dominic Dale, Ben Woolaston, Stan Moody, Dylan Emery
Group 30 – Jamie Jones, Liu Hongyu, Ishpreet Singh Chadha, Chris Totten
Group 31 – Elliott Slessor, Ashley Carty, Mostafa Dorgham, Simon Blackwell
Group 32 – Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, Daniel Wells, Julien Leclercq, Mark Joyce
Championship League Schedule
Stage One
10th June – Table One: Group 11, Table Two: Group 21
11th June – Table One: Group 4, Table Two: Group 17
12th June – Table One: Group 25, Table Two: Group 31
13th June – Table One: Group 22, Table Two: Group 23
14th June – Table One: Group 10, Table Two: Group 32
15th June – Table One: Group 29, Table Two: Group 30
17th June – Table One: Group 26, Table Two: Group 27
18th June – Table One: Group 24, Table Two: Group 28
19th June – Table One: Group 26, Table Two: Group 27
20th June – Table One: Group 1, Table Two: Group 14
21st June – Table One: Group 13, Table Two: Group 18
22nd June – Table One: Group 19, Table Two: Group 20
24th June – Table One: Group 6, Table Two: Group 9
25th June – Table One: Group 2, Table Two: Group 12
26th June – Table One: Group 5, Table Two: Group 16
27th June – Table One: Group 3, Table Two: Group 15
Stage Two
June 28 – Group B – He Guoqiang, Stuart Bingham, Ashley Carty, Group 15 winner
June 28 – Group C – Hossein Vafaei, Long Zehuang, Jamie Jones, Group 3 winner
June 29 – Group A – Scott Donaldson, Fan Zhengyi, Chris Wakelin, Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
June 29 – Group E – Ali Carter, Jack Lisowski, Neil Robertson, Wu Yize.
July 1 – Group D – Mark Williams, Si Jiahui, Stuart Carrington, Ben Woollaston
July 1 – Group H – Jak Jones, Ma Hailong, Martin O’Donnell, Matthew Stevens
July 2 – Group F – Gary Wilson, Ryan Day, Joe O’Connor, David Lilley
July 2 – Group G – Robbie McGuigan, Jackson Page, Michael White, Alexander Ursenbacher
July 3 – Stage Three begins
July 3 – Final
Championship League prize money
Here is a breakdown of the prize money – with no prize for a maximum break – on offer this year:
Stage 1
- Winner: £3,000
- Runner-up: £2,000
- Third place: £1,000
Stage 2
- Winner: £4,000
- Runner-up: £3,000
- Third place: £2,000
- Third place: £1,000
Stage 3
- Winner: £6,000
- Runner-up: £4,000
- Third place: £2,000
- Third place: £1,000
The Final
- Winner: £20,000
- Runner-up: £10,000
