2019–20 Championship League

The 2019–2020 Championship League was a professional snooker tournament, taking place over most of the 2019-20 snooker season from 7 October 2019 to 5 March 2020 at the Morningside Arena in Leicester, England. The event features seven group stages before a finals stage in March 2020; the first four played in October, two in January, and the final group played in March. It was the 13th staging of the Championship League. The event featured a total prize fund of £182,400 with the winner receiving £20,700. The losing finalist received £6,000 more than the winner due to having played in all groups starting from Group 3.

2020 Championship League (March)
Tournament information
Dates7 October 2019 – 5 March 2020
VenueMorningside Arena
CityLeicester
CountryEngland
FormatNon-ranking event
Total prize fund£182,400
Winner's share£10,000 (plus bonuses)
Highest break Judd Trump (ENG) (145)
Final
Champion Scott Donaldson (SCO)
Runner-up Graeme Dott (SCO)
Score3–0
← 2019
2020 →

Martin Gould was the defending champion, having won the 2019 edition of the tournament, beating Jack Lisowski 3–1 in the final.[1] However, Gould did not participate in this event. Scott Donaldson won the tournament, having qualified from group four and defeated Graeme Dott 3–0 in the final. This was the first professional snooker title of Donaldson's career.

Tournament format
The event took place at the Morningside Arena in Leicester (shown setup for basketball).

The Championship League was a professional snooker event that took place between 7 October 2019 to 5 March 2020 at the Morningside Arena in Leicester, England.[2] All matches were the best of 5 frames, and played as a round-robin, with seven groups consisting of seven players. From each group the top four players qualified for a knockout round, the winner of which qualified for an eighth "winners group". The lowest two players of each group are eliminated and the remaining four move to the next group, where they are joined by three more participants.[3]

The winners group is played in the same way, with the winner of the knockout phase named as champion, and a place at the 2020 Champion of Champions.[3][4] The event was sponsored by sports betting company BetVictor;[3] and was broadcast via streaming on various betting websites, as well as on zhibo.tv in China.[5]

Prize fund

The breakdown of prize money for the 2019–20 Championship League is shown below.[6]

  • Tournament total: £182,400

Tournament summary
Scott Donaldson playing a shot with the rest
Scott Donaldson won his first professional championship at the event.

Group 1 was played on 7 and 8 October 2019, where Neil Robertson defeated Ryan Day 3–2 in the final.[7][8] The second group was played on 9 and 10 October,[7] with Stuart Bingham defeating Mark Selby 3–1 to win the group.[9] After this, Selby and Barry Hawkins declined to continue, and were replaced by Xiao Guodong and Ben Woollaston, but both were eliminated in the third group.[10] Group 3 was played on 21 and 22 October 2019,[7] with Gary Wilson defeating Kyren Wilson 3–0.[11] The group 3 matches saw a record number of century breaks made in a Championship League group with a total of 24, beating the record of 23 from the previous year's Winners' Group.[12]

The fourth group was played on 23 and 24 October 2019.[7] Scott Donaldson defeated compatriot Graeme Dott 3–0 in the final.[13] Group 5 was played on 6 and 7 January 2020.[7] Mark Williams won all six of his group matches, but lost in the first round against David Gilbert 2–3. Anthony McGill defeated Gilbert in the final to win the group.[14] On 8 and 9 January 2020 in group six; Judd Trump won after a 3–1 victory over Graeme Dott.[15] Trump also made the highest break of the tournament, a 145 in group six.[16] Group 7 was played on 2 and 3 March 2020.[7] Dott defeated Williams 3–1 to be the last qualifier.[17]

The Winners' Group was played on 4 and 5 March 2020. On the first day, Trump made his 700th career century break in his round-robin match against McGill.[18][19] The four players who qualified from the Winner's Group were Trump, Dott, McGill and Donaldson.[20] Donaldson defeated Trump 3–1, whilst Dott beat Williams 3–2.[21] Donaldson won his first professional tournament with a 3–0 victory over Dott in the final.[22] Due to the additional prizes for frame wins, Donaldson was awarded a total of £20,700 throughout the tournament.[21]

Group 1

Group 1 was played on 7 and 8 October 2019. Neil Robertson was the first player to qualify for the Winners' Group.

Matches

Table
Pos Player Pld W L FF FA FD
1  Barry Hawkins (ENG) 6 6 0 18 8 +10 Qualification to Group 1 play-off
2  Neil Robertson (AUS) 6 4 2 13 11 +2
3  Mark Selby (ENG) 6 3 3 12 12 0
4  Ryan Day (WAL) 6 2 4 13 14 −1
5  Jack Lisowski (ENG) 6 2 4 12 14 −2 Advances into Group 2
6  Jimmy Robertson (ENG) 6 2 4 10 14 −4 Eliminated from the competition
7  Luca Brecel (BEL) 6 2 4 10 15 −5
Source: Championship League Snooker by Matchroom Sport

Play-offs
 
Semi-finals
Best of 5 frames		Final
Best of 5 frames
 
      
 
 
 
 
 Barry Hawkins (ENG) 0
 
 
 
 Ryan Day (WAL) 3
 
 Ryan Day (WAL) 2
 
 
 
 Neil Robertson (AUS) 3
 
 Neil Robertson (AUS) 3
 
 
 Mark Selby (ENG) 2
 

Group 2

Group 2 was played on 9 and 10 October 2019. Stuart Bingham was the second player to qualify for the Winners' Group.

Matches

Table
Pos Player Pld W L FF FA FD
1  Kyren Wilson (ENG) 6 5 1 17 7 +10 Qualification to Group 2 play-off
2  Gary Wilson (ENG) 6 4 2 13 9 +4
3  Stuart Bingham (ENG) 6 4 2 13 13 0
4  Mark Selby (ENG) 6 3 3 15 9 +6
5  Barry Hawkins (ENG) 6 3 3 12 13 −1 Advances into Group 3
6  Ryan Day (WAL) 6 1 5 7 15 −8 Eliminated from the competition
7  Jack Lisowski (ENG) 6 1 5 6 17 −11
Source: Championship League Snooker by Matchroom Sport

Play-offs
 
Semi-finals
Best of 5 frames		Final
Best of 5 frames
 
      
 
 
 
 
 Kyren Wilson (ENG) 1
 
 
 
 Mark Selby (ENG) 3
 
 Mark Selby (ENG) 1
 
 
 
 Stuart Bingham (ENG) 3
 
 Gary Wilson (ENG) 0
 
 
 Stuart Bingham (ENG) 3
 

Group 3

Group 3 was played on 21 and 22 October 2019. Gary Wilson was the third player to qualify for the Winners' Group.

Matches
Note

Barry Hawkins and Mark Selby withdrew from the tournament prior to group 3 play.

Table
Pos Player Pld W L FF FA FD
1  Gary Wilson (ENG) 6 5 1 16 11 +5 Qualification to Group 3 play-off
2  Tom Ford (ENG) 6 4 2 16 8 +8
3  Kyren Wilson (ENG) 6 3 3 14 14 0
4  Matthew Selt (ENG) 6 3 3 12 14 −2
5  Graeme Dott (SCO) 6 2 4 11 12 −1 Advances into Group 4
6  Xiao Guodong (CHN) 6 2 4 11 15 −4 Eliminated from the competition
7  Ben Woollaston (ENG) 6 2 4 9 15 −6
Source: Championship League Snooker by Matchroom Sport

Play-offs
 
Semi-finals
Best of 5 frames		Final
Best of 5 frames
 
      
 
 
 
 
 Gary Wilson (ENG) 3
 
 
 
 Matthew Selt (ENG) 1
 
 Gary Wilson (ENG) 3
 
 
 
 Kyren Wilson (ENG) 0
 
 Tom Ford (ENG) 2
 
 
 Kyren Wilson (ENG) 3
 

Group 4

Group 4 was played on 23 and 24 October 2019. Scott Donaldson was the fourth player to qualify for the Winners' Group.

Matches

Table
Pos Player Pld W L FF FA FD
1  Scott Donaldson (SCO) 6 5 1 17 8 +9 Qualification to Group 4 play-off
2  Kyren Wilson (ENG) 6 5 1 17 12 +5
3  Graeme Dott (SCO) 6 4 2 15 13 +2
4  Joe Perry (ENG) 6 2 4 12 14 −2
5  Tom Ford (ENG) 6 2 4 12 15 −3 Advances into Group 5
6  Ali Carter (ENG) 6 2 4 12 15 −3 Eliminated from the competition
7  Matthew Selt (ENG) 6 1 5 9 17 −8
Source: Championship League Snooker by Matchroom Sport

Play-offs
 
Semi-finals
Best of 5 frames		Final
Best of 5 frames
 
      
 
 
 
 
 Scott Donaldson (SCO) 3
 
 
 
 Joe Perry (ENG) 2
 
 Scott Donaldson (SCO) 3
 
 
 
 Graeme Dott (SCO) 0
 
 Kyren Wilson (ENG) 2
 
 
 Graeme Dott (SCO) 3
 

Group 5

Group 5 was played on 6 and 7 January 2020. Anthony McGill was the fifth player to qualify for the Winners' Group.

Matches

Table
Pos Player Pld W L FF FA FD
1  Mark Williams (WAL) 6 6 0 18 5 +13 Qualification to Group 5 play-off
2  Joe Perry (ENG) 6 3 3 14 12 +2
3  Anthony McGill (SCO) 6 3 3 11 12 −1
4  David Gilbert (ENG) 6 3 3 11 13 −2
5  Graeme Dott (SCO) 6 2 4 11 14 −3 Advances into Group 6
6  Tom Ford (ENG) 6 2 4 11 15 −4 Eliminated from the competition
7  Kyren Wilson (ENG) 6 2 4 9 14 −5
Source: Championship League Snooker by Matchroom Sport

Play-offs
 
Semi-finals
Best of 5 frames		Final
Best of 5 frames
 
      
 
 
 
 
 Mark Williams (WAL) 2
 
 
 
 David Gilbert (ENG) 3
 
 David Gilbert (ENG) 2
 
 
 
 Anthony McGill (SCO) 3
 
 Joe Perry (ENG) 2
 
 
 Anthony McGill (SCO) 3
 

Group 6

Group 6 was played on 8 and 9 January 2020. Judd Trump was the sixth player to qualify for the Winners' Group.

Matches

Table
Pos Player Pld W L FF FA FD
1  David Gilbert (ENG) 6 5 1 16 10 +6 Qualification to Group 6 play-off
2  Judd Trump (ENG) 6 4 2 14 10 +4
3  John Higgins (SCO) 6 4 2 14 13 +1
4  Graeme Dott (SCO) 6 3 3 14 12 +2
5  Mark Williams (WAL) 6 3 3 14 12 +2 Advances into Group 7
6  Joe Perry (ENG) 6 2 4 11 14 −3 Eliminated from the competition
7  Mark King (ENG) 6 0 6 6 18 −12
Source: Championship League Snooker by Matchroom Sport

Play-offs
 
Semi-finals
Best of 5 frames		Final
Best of 5 frames
 
      
 
 
 
 
 David Gilbert (ENG) 2
 
 
 
 Graeme Dott (SCO) 3
 
 Graeme Dott (SCO) 2
 
 
 
 Judd Trump (ENG) 3
 
 Judd Trump (ENG) 3
 
 
 John Higgins (SCO) 1
 

Group 7

Group 7 was played on 2 and 3 March 2020. Graeme Dott was the seventh and final player to qualify for the Winners' Group.

Matches

Table
Pos Player Pld W L FF FA FD
1  John Higgins (SCO) 6 5 1 17 4 +13 Qualification to Group 7 play-off
2  Graeme Dott (SCO) 6 4 2 13 9 +4
3  David Gilbert (ENG) 6 4 2 13 11 +2
4  Mark Williams (WAL) 6 3 3 11 11 0
5  Lyu Haotian (CHN) 6 2 4 9 14 −5 Eliminated from the competition
6  Ricky Walden (ENG) 6 2 4 8 13 −5
7  Robert Milkins (ENG) 6 1 5 7 16 −9
Source: Championship League Snooker by Matchroom Sport

Play-offs
 
Semi-finals
Best of 5 frames		Final
Best of 5 frames
 
      
 
 
 
 
 John Higgins (SCO) 1
 
 
 
 Mark Williams (WAL) 3
 
 Mark Williams (WAL) 1
 
 
 
 Graeme Dott (SCO) 3
 
 Graeme Dott (SCO) 3
 
 
 David Gilbert (ENG) 0
 

Winners' Group

The Winners' Group was played on 4 and 5 March 2020. Scott Donaldson defeated Graeme Dott to win the tournament.

Matches

Table
Pos Player Pld W L FF FA FD
1  Judd Trump (ENG) 6 6 0 18 7 +11 Qualification to Winners' Group play-off
2  Graeme Dott (SCO) 6 4 2 16 9 +7
3  Anthony McGill (SCO) 6 3 3 14 13 +1
4  Scott Donaldson (SCO) 6 3 3 12 12 0
5  Neil Robertson (AUS) 6 3 3 11 13 −2 Eliminated from the competition
6  Stuart Bingham (ENG) 6 2 4 8 13 −5
7  Gary Wilson (ENG) 6 0 6 6 18 −12
Source: Championship League Snooker by Matchroom Sport

Play-offs
 
Semi-finals
Best of 5 frames		Final
Best of 5 frames
 
      
 
 
 
 
 Judd Trump (ENG) 1
 
 
 
 Scott Donaldson (SCO) 3
 
 Scott Donaldson (SCO) 3
 
 
 
 Graeme Dott (SCO) 0
 
 Graeme Dott (SCO) 3
 
 
 Anthony McGill (SCO) 2
 

Century breaks

A total of 104 century breaks were made during the event.[16]

Bold: highest break in the indicated group.

Winnings
No. Player 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 W TOTAL
1  Graeme Dott (SCO) (21) 1,100 4,400 1,100 4,900 6,100 9,100 26,700
2  Scott Donaldson (SCO) (29) 6,500 14,200 20,700
3  Judd Trump (ENG) (1) 6,700 7,900 14,600
4  Anthony McGill (SCO) (26) 5,900 6,400 12,300
5  Kyren Wilson (ENG) (9) 3,000 4,300 3,800 900 12,000
6  Gary Wilson (ENG) (19) 2,300 6,650 1,200 10,150
7  David Gilbert (ENG) (12) 4,600 3,200 2,300 10,100
8  Mark Williams (WAL) (3) 3,400 1,400 4,300 9,100
9  Mark Selby (ENG) (5) 3,300 5,200 8,500
10  Neil Robertson (AUS) (4) 6,100 2,200 8,300
11  Stuart Bingham (ENG) (13) 6,100 1,600 7,700
12  Joe Perry (ENG) (16) 2,800 3,000 1,100 6,900
13  John Higgins (SCO) (6) 2,700 3,500 6,200
14  Tom Ford (ENG) (25) 3,200 1,200 1,600 6,000
15  Ryan Day (WAL) (20) 4,800 700 5,500
16  Barry Hawkins (ENG) (10) 2,800 1,200 4,000
17  Matthew Selt (ENG) (28) 2,500 900 3,400
18  Jack Lisowski (ENG) (11) 1,200 600 1,800
19  Xiao Guodong (CHN) (23) 1,350 1,350
20  Ali Carter (ENG) (17) 1,200 1,200
21  Jimmy Robertson (ENG) (22) 1,000 1,000
=  Luca Brecel (BEL) (27) 1,000 1,000
23  Ben Woollaston (ENG) (40) 900 900
=  Lyu Haotian (CHN) (24) 900 900
25  Ricky Walden (ENG) (30) 800 800
26  Robert Milkins (ENG) (39) 700 700
27  Mark King (ENG) (32) 600 600
Total prize money 20,200 19,100 20,000 20,800 20,500 20,600 18,600 42,600 182,400

Green: Won the group. Bold: Highest break in the group. All prize money in GBP.
Parenthesis: Ranking prior to tournament start, 7 October 2019.

References
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    18. Kane, Desmond (5 March 2020). "Trump hits record-breaking 700th century break at Championship League". Eurosport. Archived from the original on 29 August 2020. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
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