2022 Players Championship (snooker)
The 2022 Players Championship (officially the 2022 Cazoo Players Championship) was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place from 7 to 13 February 2022 at Aldersley Leisure Village in Wolverhampton, England.[1] It was the tenth ranking event of the 2021–22 season, and the second event of the Cazoo Cup, following the World Grand Prix and preceding the Tour Championship.[1] It featured the top 16 ranked players on the one-year ranking list. The event was broadcast by ITV4 in the United Kingdom,[2] and Eurosport in the rest of Europe.
Tournament information | |
---|---|
Dates | 7–13 February 2022 |
Venue | Aldersley Leisure Village |
City | Wolverhampton |
Country | England |
Organisation | World Snooker Tour |
Format | Ranking event |
Total prize fund | £385,000 |
Winner's share | £125,000 |
Highest break | Kyren Wilson (ENG) (141) |
Final | |
Champion | Neil Robertson (AUS) |
Runner-up | Barry Hawkins (ENG) |
Score | 10–5 |
← 2021 2023 → |
Zhao Xintong and Hossein Vafaei made their debuts in the event, with Zhao seeded number one after winning the 2021 UK Championship and the 2022 German Masters.[3] Both debutants lost in the first round, with Barry Hawkins defeating Zhao 6–3 and John Higgins beating Vafaei by the same score.[4][5]
Higgins was the defending champion, having beaten Ronnie O'Sullivan 10–3 in the 2021 final.[6] However, Higgins lost 4–6 to Jimmy Robertson in the quarter-finals.[7] The final was contested between Hawkins, who had previously won the tournament in 2014, and Neil Robertson, who had been runner-up in 2012, 2013, and 2019.[8][9] Robertson defeated Hawkins 10–5 in a final that featured five century breaks, four by Robertson and a 137 by Hawkins.[10] It was Robertson's first Players Championship title, the 22nd ranking title of his career, and his third tournament win of the season, following the 2021 English Open and the 2022 Masters.[11]
Prize fund
The breakdown of prize money for the event is shown below:
- Winner: £125,000
- Runner-up: £50,000
- Semi-final: £30,000
- Quarter-final: £15,000
- Last 16: £10,000
- Highest break: £10,000
- Total: £385,000
Seeding list
The seedings for the tournament were based on the one-year ranking list up to and including the 2022 German Masters.[1]
Seed | Player | Total points |
---|---|---|
1 | Zhao Xintong (CHN) | 291,000 |
2 | Luca Brecel (BEL) | 183,000 |
3 | Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG) | 175,000 |
4 | Mark Williams (WAL) | 145,000 |
5 | Mark Allen (NIR) | 139,500 |
6 | Neil Robertson (AUS) | 118,000 |
7 | John Higgins (SCO) | 114,000 |
8 | David Gilbert (ENG) | 95,500 |
9 | Yan Bingtao (CHN) | 93,000 |
10 | Hossein Vafaei (IRN) | 91,500 |
11 | Kyren Wilson (ENG) | 81,000 |
12 | Ricky Walden (ENG) | 78,000 |
13 | Gary Wilson (ENG) | 72,000 |
14 | Judd Trump (ENG) | 68,000 |
15 | Jimmy Robertson (ENG) | 62,500 |
16 | Barry Hawkins (ENG) | 59,500 |
Tournament draw
Last 16 Best of 11 frames | Quarter-finals Best of 11 frames | Semi-finals Best of 11 frames | Final Best of 19 frames | ||||||||||||||||
1 | Zhao Xintong (CHN) | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
16 | Barry Hawkins (ENG) | 6 | |||||||||||||||||
16 | Barry Hawkins | 6 | |||||||||||||||||
9 | Yan Bingtao | 5 | |||||||||||||||||
8 | David Gilbert (ENG) | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
9 | Yan Bingtao (CHN) | 6 | |||||||||||||||||
16 | Barry Hawkins | 6 | |||||||||||||||||
12 | Ricky Walden | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
5 | Mark Allen (NIR) | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
12 | Ricky Walden (ENG) | 6 | |||||||||||||||||
12 | Ricky Walden | 6 | |||||||||||||||||
4 | Mark Williams | 5 | |||||||||||||||||
4 | Mark Williams (WAL) | 6 | |||||||||||||||||
13 | Gary Wilson (ENG) | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
16 | Barry Hawkins | 5 | |||||||||||||||||
6 | Neil Robertson | 10 | |||||||||||||||||
3 | Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG) | 6 | |||||||||||||||||
14 | Judd Trump (ENG) | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
3 | Ronnie O'Sullivan | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
6 | Neil Robertson | 6 | |||||||||||||||||
6 | Neil Robertson (AUS) | 6 | |||||||||||||||||
11 | Kyren Wilson (ENG) | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
6 | Neil Robertson | 6 | |||||||||||||||||
15 | Jimmy Robertson | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
7 | John Higgins (SCO) | 6 | |||||||||||||||||
10 | Hossein Vafaei (IRN) | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
7 | John Higgins | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
15 | Jimmy Robertson | 6 | |||||||||||||||||
2 | Luca Brecel (BEL) | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
15 | Jimmy Robertson (ENG) | 6 |
Final
Final: Best of 19 frames. Referee: Jan Verhaas Aldersley Leisure Village, Wolverhampton, England, 13 February 2022 | ||
Barry Hawkins (16) England |
5–10 | Neil Robertson (6) Australia |
Afternoon: 91–0 (91), 18–64, 55–75 (Hawkins 55), 0–107 (107), 0–105 (105), 0–130 (130), 71–0, 141–0 (137) Evening: 1–90 (58), 1–118 (64, 54), 92–0, 96–26 (61), 15–120 (116), 0–91 (51), 1–77 (73) | ||
137 | Highest break | 130 |
1 | Century breaks | 4 |
4 | 50+ breaks | 9 |
Century breaks
A total of 25 century breaks were made during the tournament.[12]
- 141 – Kyren Wilson
- 139, 135, 132, 123, 103, 100 – Yan Bingtao
- 137, 126, 115 – Barry Hawkins
- 134, 108, 101 – John Higgins
- 130, 116, 114, 107, 105, 100 – Neil Robertson
- 127 – Ronnie O'Sullivan
- 123 – Ricky Walden
- 107, 103, 102 – Mark Williams
- 102 – Jimmy Robertson
References
- "Updated 2021–22 Snooker Calendar". World Snooker Tour. 18 August 2021
- "WST, Matchroom and ITV Agree New Two Year Deal for Broadcast of Four Events". World Snooker Tour. 18 January 2021
- "Zhao Targets More Titles". World Snooker. 4 February 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
- "Players Championship Snooker 2022: John Higgins beats Hossein Vafaei to advance to the quarter-finals". Eurosport. 9 February 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
- "Players Championship snooker 2022: Barry Hawkins topples No. 1 seed Zhao Xintong to reach quarter-finals". Eurosport. 8 February 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
- World Snooker Tour (28 February 2021). "Wonderful Higgins Thrashes O'Sullivan". World Snooker Tour. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
- "Snooker results: Jimmy Robertson beats John Higgins 6-4 at the Players Championship". www.sportinglife.com. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
- "Hawk Flies Through To Final". World Snooker. 11 February 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
- "Players Championship 2022: Neil Robertson eases past namesake Jimmy to book Barry Hawkins final". Eurosport UK. 12 February 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
- "Players Championship 2022 - Neil Robertson triumphs over Barry Hawkins to claim another title". Eurosport UK. 13 February 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
- "Robertson wins Players Championship". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
- "Cazoo Players Championship 2022 | Centuries". World Snooker Tour. 7–13 February 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2022.