2023 Players Championship (snooker)

The 2023 Players Championship (officially the 2023 Duelbits Players Championship[1]) was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 20 to 26 February 2023 at the Aldersley Leisure Village in Wolverhampton, England. The 12th ranking event of the 2022–23 season, it was the second event in the Players Series, following the World Grand Prix and preceding the Tour Championship.[2] Featuring the top 16 players on the one-year ranking list as it stood after the 2023 Welsh Open, the event was broadcast by ITV Sport in the United Kingdom, by Eurosport in Europe, and by multiple other broadcasters internationally.[3] The winner received £125,000 from a total prize fund of £385,000.

2023 Duelbits Players Championship
Tournament information
Dates20–26 February 2023 (2023-02-20 – 2023-02-26)
VenueAldersley Leisure Village
CityWolverhampton
CountryEngland
OrganisationWorld Snooker Tour
FormatRanking event
Total prize fund£385,000
Winner's share£125,000
Highest break Shaun Murphy (ENG) (145)
Final
Champion Shaun Murphy (ENG)
Runner-up Ali Carter (ENG)
Score10–4
← 2022

Neil Robertson won the 2022 event, defeating Barry Hawkins 10–5 in the final,[4] but was unable to defend the title as he was ranked outside the top 16 on the one-year ranking list at the cutoff point.[5] Shaun Murphy won the tournament, defeating Ali Carter 10–4 in the final to claim the 10th ranking title of his career and his first ranking event win since the 2020 Welsh Open. Murphy also made the tournament's five largest breaks, the highest of which was a 145 in the second frame of the final. Of the 23 century breaks made at the event, Murphy compiled 11, breaking the previous tournament record of eight centuries set by John Higgins at the 2021 event.[6]

Format

Prize fund

The event featured a prize pool of £385,000 with the winner receiving £125,000. 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 2023 Welsh Open.[2][5]

Seed Player Total Points
1  Mark Allen (NIR) 516,000
2  Ryan Day (WAL) 144,000
3  Kyren Wilson (ENG) 141,500
4  Robert Milkins (ENG) 139,500
5  Ali Carter (ENG) 136,000
6  Ding Junhui (CHN) 130,500
7  Mark Selby (ENG) 125,500
8  Luca Brecel (BEL) 116,000
9  Jack Lisowski (ENG) 115,000
10  Shaun Murphy (ENG) 112,000
11  Gary Wilson (ENG) 107,500
12  Judd Trump (ENG) 105,500
13  Tom Ford (ENG) 103,500
14  Zhou Yuelong (CHN) 79,500
15  Chris Wakelin (ENG) 73,500
16  Joe O'Connor (ENG) 72,000

Tournament draw

Results from the event are shown below. Players in bold denote match winners.

Last 16
Best of 11 frames 		Quarter-finals
Best of 11 frames 		Semi-finals
Best of 11 frames 		Final
Best of 19 frames
            
1  Mark Allen (NIR) 3
16  Joe O'Connor (ENG) 6
16 England Joe O'Connor 6
8 Belgium Luca Brecel 5
8  Luca Brecel (BEL) 6
9  Jack Lisowski (ENG) 4
16 England Joe O'Connor 4
5 England Ali Carter 6
5  Ali Carter (ENG) 6
12  Judd Trump (ENG) 5
5 England Ali Carter 6
4 England Robert Milkins 1
4  Robert Milkins (ENG) 6
13  Tom Ford (ENG) 5
5 England Ali Carter 4
10 England Shaun Murphy 10
3  Kyren Wilson (ENG) 6
14  Zhou Yuelong (CHN) 2
3 England Kyren Wilson 6
11 England Gary Wilson 1
6  Ding Junhui (CHN) 3
11  Gary Wilson (ENG) 6
3 England Kyren Wilson 3
10 England Shaun Murphy 6
7  Mark Selby (ENG) 3
10  Shaun Murphy (ENG) 6
10 England Shaun Murphy 6
2 Wales Ryan Day 0
2  Ryan Day (WAL) 6
15  Chris Wakelin (ENG) 2

Final
Final: Best of 19 frames. Referee: Brendan Moore
Aldersley Leisure Village, Wolverhampton, England, 26 February 2023
Ali Carter (5)
 England		 4–10 Shaun Murphy (10)
 England
Afternoon: 18–67, 0–145 (145), 54–68 (Carter 54), 128–4 (122), 8–46, 99–12 (59), 0–141 (141), 0–112 (112)
Evening: 0–89 (89), 0–103 (103), 72–8 (71), 87–9 (82), 48–88 (88), 0–130 (130)
122 Highest break 145
1 Century breaks 5
5 50+ breaks 7

Century breaks

There were 23 century breaks made during the event.[7] Murphy made the highest of the tournament, a 145 during the final. Of the 23, 11 were made by Murphy, including the highest five.[8]

References
  1. "Duelbits Joins Forces With WST". World Snooker. 2023-01-16. Retrieved 2023-01-30.
  2. "Updated 2022/23 Calendar". World Snooker. 2022-06-30. Retrieved 2023-01-30.
  3. "How To Watch The Duelbits Players Championship". World Snooker. 2023-02-20. Retrieved 2023-02-21.
  4. Bisset, Roddy (2022-02-13). "Robertson Lands Maiden Players Crown". World Snooker. Retrieved 2023-01-30.
  5. "1 Year Ranking List". World Snooker. Retrieved 2023-02-21.
  6. "Magician Back In Winner's Circle". World Snooker. 2023-02-26. Retrieved 2023-02-27.
  7. "Duelbits Players Championship 2023 | Centuries". World Snooker Tour. 20–26 February 2023. Archived from the original on 20 February 2023. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  8. "Murphy beats Carter to land Players Championship". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2023-03-09.
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