2018 Championship League

Championship League
Tournament information
Dates 2 January – 29 March 2018
Venue Ricoh Arena
City Coventry
Country England
Format Non-ranking event
Total prize fund £168,900
Winner's share £10,000
Highest break England Martin Gould
Belgium Luca Brecel
(147)
Final
Champion Scotland John Higgins
Runner-up China Zhou Yuelong
Score 3–2
← 2017
2019 →
Ricoh Arena (Coventry)

The 2018 Championship League was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament taking place from 2 January to 29 March 2018.[1] It was the 11th staging of the tournament.

The defending champion John Higgins retained his title with a 3–2 final win over Zhou Yuelong. As in the previous edition of the tournament Higgins had entered the competition in Group 7 and from there won his way through to the Winners' Group.[2]

Martin Gould and Luca Brecel both made their maiden official maximum breaks in this tournament. Gould achieved his maximum in the deciding frame of his Group 6 round robin match against Li Hang. Brecel achieved his in the third frame of a 3–0 whitewash of defending champion John Higgins in their Group 7 round robin match. These were the 135th and 136th official maximum breaks and the fourth and fifth of the 2017/2018 season. It was the fifth consecutive year that a maximum was made in the Championship League, and the second consecutive year that two were made.[3]

Prize fund

The breakdown of prize money for the 2018 Championship League is shown below.[4]

  • Tournament total: £168,900

Group 1

Group 1 was played on 2 and 3 January 2018. Zhou Yuelong was the first player to qualify for the Winners' Group.[5]

Matches

Table

Pos Team Pld W L FF FA FD
1 Scotland Stephen Maguire (Q) 6 4 2 15 12 +3 Qualification to Group 1 play-off
2 China Zhou Yuelong (Q) 6 4 2 14 10 +4
3 Wales Ryan Day (Q) 6 3 3 12 13 −1
4 England Anthony Hamilton (Q) 6 3 3 12 13 −1
5 England Kyren Wilson (A) 6 3 3 11 11 0 Advances into Group 2
6 England Mark King (E) 6 2 4 14 14 0 Eliminated from the competition
7 England Michael Holt (E) 6 2 4 10 15 −5
Source:
(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
 
      
 
 
 
 
Scotland Stephen Maguire2
 
 
 
England Anthony Hamilton3
 
England Anthony Hamilton2
 
 
 
China Zhou Yuelong3
 
China Zhou Yuelong3
 
 
Wales Ryan Day2
 

Group 2

Group 2 was played on 4 and 5 January 2018. Mark Selby was the second player to qualify for the Winners' Group, recording his 500th career century in the Group 2 final against Barry Hawkins.[6]

Matches

Notes

* Neil Robertson had to pull out of the Championship League due to personal reasons after his fifth match. Results from Robertson's previous matches were removed from the group table.[7]


Table

Pos Team Pld W L FF FA FD
1 England Barry Hawkins (Q) 5 5 0 15 6 +9 Qualification to Group 2 play-off
2 Wales Ryan Day (Q) 5 3 2 11 9 +2
3 England Mark Selby (Q) 5 2 3 12 10 +2
4 England Kyren Wilson (Q) 5 2 3 9 10 −1
5 England Anthony Hamilton (A) 5 2 3 8 11 −3 Advances into Group 3
6 Scotland Stephen Maguire (E) 5 1 4 4 13 −9 Eliminated from the competition
7 Australia Neil Robertson (E) 0 0 0 0 0 0
Source:
(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
 
      
 
 
 
 
England Barry Hawkins3
 
 
 
England Kyren Wilson1
 
England Barry Hawkins1
 
 
 
England Mark Selby3
 
Wales Ryan Day0
 
 
England Mark Selby3
 

Group 3

Group 3 was played on 8 and 9 January 2018. Kyren Wilson was the third player to qualify for the Winners' Group.[8]

Matches

Notes

Anthony McGill withdrew before the tournament and was replaced by Tom Ford.

Table

Pos Team Pld W L FF FA FD
1 Northern Ireland Mark Allen (Q) 6 4 2 15 8 +7 Qualification to Group 3 play-off
2 England Barry Hawkins (Q) 6 4 2 14 9 +5
3 England Kyren Wilson (Q) 6 4 2 13 13 0
4 England Tom Ford (Q) 6 3 3 12 11 +1
5 England Ali Carter (A) 6 3 3 11 13 −2 Advances into Group 4
6 England Anthony Hamilton (E) 6 2 4 12 15 −3 Eliminated from the competition
7 Wales Ryan Day (E) 6 1 5 9 17 −8
Source:
(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
 
      
 
 
 
 
Northern Ireland Mark Allen 3
 
 
 
England Tom Ford 2
 
Northern Ireland Mark Allen 1
 
 
 
England Kyren Wilson 3
 
England Barry Hawkins 1
 
 
England Kyren Wilson 3
 

Group 4

Group 4 was played on 10 and 11 January 2018. Ali Carter was the fourth player to qualify for the Winners' Group.[9]

Matches

Notes

* Mark Allen had to withdraw due to family reasons prior to his second match in the group. The result from Allen's first match in the group was removed from the group table.[7]

Table

Pos Team Pld W L FF FA FD
1 England Judd Trump (Q) 5 4 1 13 4 +9 Qualification to Group 4 play-off
2 England Barry Hawkins (Q) 5 4 1 13 7 +6
3 England Shaun Murphy (Q) 5 2 3 9 12 −3
4 England Ali Carter (Q) 5 2 3 8 10 −2
5 China Liang Wenbo (A) 5 2 3 7 12 −5 Advances into Group 5
6 England Tom Ford (E) 5 1 4 7 12 −5 Eliminated from the competition
7 Northern Ireland Mark Allen (E) 0 0 0 0 0 0
Source:
(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
 
      
 
 
 
 
England Judd Trump0
 
 
 
England Ali Carter 3
 
England Ali Carter3
 
 
 
England Shaun Murphy 1
 
England Barry Hawkins2
 
 
England Shaun Murphy 3
 

Group 5

Group 5 was played on 23 and 24 January 2018. Mark Williams was the fifth player to qualify for the Winners' Group.[10]

Matches

Notes

Barry Hawkins, Shaun Murphy and Liang Wenbo withdrew from the tournament and were replaced by Joe Perry, David Gilbert and Ben Woollaston.

Table

Pos Team Pld W L FF FA FD
1 England Judd Trump (Q) 6 4 2 16 8 +8 Qualification to Group 5 play-off
2 England Ben Woollaston (Q) 6 4 2 15 11 +4
3 Wales Mark Williams (Q) 6 4 2 13 8 +5
4 England Ricky Walden (Q) 6 3 3 13 13 0
5 England Martin Gould (A) 6 3 3 12 12 0 Advances into Group 6
6 England Joe Perry (E) 6 2 4 9 15 −6 Eliminated from the competition
7 England David Gilbert (E) 6 1 5 5 16 −11
Source:
(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
 
      
 
 
 
 
England Judd Trump2
 
 
 
England Ricky Walden3
 
England Ricky Walden1
 
 
 
Wales Mark Williams 3
 
England Ben Woollaston1
 
 
Wales Mark Williams3
 

Group 6

Group 6 was played on 25 and 26 January 2018. Martin Gould was the sixth player to qualify for the Winners' Group.[11]

Matches

Table

Pos Team Pld W L FF FA FD
1 England Martin Gould (Q) 6 5 1 16 8 +8 Qualification to Group 6 play-off
2 England Judd Trump (Q) 6 4 2 14 7 +7
3 England Ricky Walden (Q) 6 4 2 12 13 −1
4 China Li Hang (Q) 6 3 3 14 11 +3
5 Scotland Graeme Dott (A) 6 3 3 13 14 −1 Advances into Group 7
6 Wales Michael White (E) 6 1 5 8 15 −7 Eliminated from the competition
7 England Ben Woollaston (E) 6 1 5 7 16 −9
Source:
(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
 
      
 
 
 
 
England Martin Gould 3
 
 
 
China Li Hang 2
 
England Martin Gould 3
 
 
 
England Judd Trump 0
 
England Judd Trump 3
 
 
England Ricky Walden 0
 

Group 7

Group 7 was played on 26 and 27 March 2018. John Higgins was the seventh player to qualify for the Winners' Group.[12]

Matches

Notes

Graeme Dott and Li Hang withdrew from the tournament prior to Group 7 play. They were replaced by Dominic Dale and Jimmy Robertson.

Table

Pos Team Pld W L FF FA FD
1 England Judd Trump (Q) 6 5 1 16 8 +8 Qualification to Group 7 play-off
2 England Jimmy Robertson (Q) 6 5 1 15 9 +6
3 Scotland John Higgins (Q) 6 4 2 14 10 +4
4 England Ricky Walden (Q) 6 3 3 12 12 0
5 Wales Dominic Dale (E) 6 2 4 11 13 −2 Eliminated from the competition
6 England Robert Milkins (E) 6 1 5 8 16 −8
7 Belgium Luca Brecel (E) 6 1 5 7 15 −8
Source:
(E) Eliminated; (Q) Qualified to the phase indicated.

Play-offs

 
Semi Finals
Best of 5 frames		Final
Best of 5 frames
 
      
 
 
 
 
England Judd Trump 3
 
 
 
England Ricky Walden 1
 
England Judd Trump2
 
 
 
Scotland John Higgins 3
 
England Jimmy Robertson 1
 
 
Scotland John Higgins 3
 

Winners' Group

The Winners' Group was played on 28 and 29 March 2018. In the final, John Higgins defeated Zhou Yuelong 3–2 to retain his Championship League title and win it for the second time in his career.[2]

Matches

Notes

* Zhou Yuelong was awarded the first frame, due to Mark Selby arriving late.

Table

Pos Team Pld W L FF FA FD
1 Scotland John Higgins (Q) 6 5 1 17 8 +9 Qualification to the Winners' Group play-off
2 England Ali Carter (Q) 6 5 1 16 10 +6
3 China Zhou Yuelong (Q) 6 3 3 15 12 +3
4 England Mark Selby (Q) 6 3 3 12 10 +2
5 England Kyren Wilson (E) 6 3 3 12 13 −1 Eliminated from the competition
6 Wales Mark Williams (E) 6 1 5 9 17 −8
7 England Martin Gould (E) 6 1 5 5 16 −11
Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source:
(E) Eliminated; (Q) Qualified to the phase indicated.

Play-offs

 
Semi Finals
Best of 5 frames		Final
Best of 5 frames
 
      
 
 
 
 
Scotland John Higgins3
 
 
 
England Mark Selby 2
 
Scotland John Higgins 3
 
 
 
China Zhou Yuelong 2
 
England Ali Carter 0
 
 
China Zhou Yuelong 3
 

Century breaks

Total: 116

Bold: highest break in the indicated group.

Winnings

No. Player 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 W TOTAL
1 Scotland John Higgins 6200 15200 21400
2 China Zhou Yuelong 6200 10500 16700
3 England Judd Trump 2300 3200 4300 5100 14900
4 England Ali Carter 1100 5600 6200 12900
5 England Kyren Wilson 1100 2400 6600 2400 12500
6 England Mark Selby 6300 6000 12300
7 England Barry Hawkins(3) 4900 2700 3200 10800
8 England Ricky Walden 4500 2200 2500 9200
9 England Martin Gould 1200 6900 1000 9100
10 Wales Mark Williams 6600 1800 8400
11 England Anthony Hamilton 4700 1100 1200 7000
12 Wales Ryan Day 3300 2100 900 6300
13 Northern Ireland Mark Allen(2) 4700 100 4800
14 England Shaun Murphy(3) 4100 4100
15 Scotland Stephen Maguire 3100 700 3800
16 England Tom Ford 2800 700 3500
= England Ben Woollaston 2800 700 3500
18 China Li Hang(4) 3000 3000
19 England Jimmy Robertson 2800 2800
20 Australia Neil Robertson(1) 1700 1700
21 England Mark King 1400 1400
22 Scotland Graeme Dott(4) 1300 1300
23 China Liang Wenbo(3) 1200 1200
= Belgium Luca Brecel 1200 1200
25 Wales Dominic Dale 1100 1100
26 England Michael Holt 1000 1000
27 England Joe Perry 900 900
28 Wales Michael White 800 800
= England Robert Milkins 800 800
30 England David Gilbert 500 500
Total prize money 20,800 19,200 20,000 17,200 19,700 19,200 19,700 43,100 168,900

Green: won the group. Bold: highest break in the group. All prize money in GBP.
Notes
(1) Neil Robertson withdrew due to personal reasons after his fifth match in Group 2.
(2) Mark Allen withdrew due to family reasons after his first match in Group 4.
(3) Barry Hawkins, Shaun Murphy and Liang Wenbo withdrew from the tournament prior to Group 5 play.
(4) Graeme Dott and Li Hang withdrew from the tournament prior to Group 7 play.

References

  1. ↑ "2017/18 World Snooker Calendar" (PDF). World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. 14 July 2017. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
  2. 1 2 "Higgins Retains Championship League Crown". Championship League Snooker. Matchroom Sport Ltd. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  3. ↑ "Gould Makes Maiden 147". World Snooker. 26 January 2018. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
  4. ↑ "Home - Championship League Snooker". Championship League Snooker.
  5. ↑ "Zhou Wins CLS Group One - World Snooker". 4 January 2018.
  6. ↑ "Selby Makes 500th Century - World Snooker". 5 January 2018.
  7. 1 2 "Fixtures and results". championshipleaguesnooker.co.uk. Perform. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  8. ↑ "Kyren Wilson Is Group 3 Champion - Championship League Snooker". 9 January 2018.
  9. ↑ "Ali Carter Is Group 4 Champion - Championship League Snooker". 11 January 2018.
  10. ↑ "Williams Is Group 5 Champ - Championship League Snooker". 24 January 2018.
  11. ↑ "Gould Takes Group 6 Honours - Championship League Snooker". 26 January 2018.
  12. ↑ "Higgins Takes Final Berth In Winners' Group". Championship League Snooker. Matchroom Sport Ltd. 27 March 2018.
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