The 2020 Championship League (also known as the 2020 Matchroom.com Championship League) was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that took place from 1 to 11 June 2020 at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes, England. It was the 14th edition of the Championship League. The event featured 64 players from the World Snooker Tour competing in three rounds of round-robin groups of four players. The initial group stage matches were played between 1 and 8 June, the group winners' stage on 9 and 10 June, and the finals stage on 11 June. It was one of the first live sporting events to be held in the United Kingdom since the start of the coronavirus lockdown in March 2020.
Luca Brecel won the tournament, finishing top of the final group ahead of Ben Woollaston, Stuart Bingham and Ryan Day. The event was broadcast on ITV4 in the United Kingdom, Eurosport across Europe, Superstars Online, Youku and Zhibo.tv in China, Fox Sports in Australia and Sky in New Zealand. Elsewhere, the event was broadcast on Matchroom Sport.
Tournament format The 2020 Championship League was held between 1 and 11 June 2020 at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes, England. The tournament took place without an audience whilst maintaining social distancing. Originally due to take place in Leicester, the event was moved to Milton Keynes because of the on-site facilities at the venue, meaning that the players and officials did not need to leave the location for the duration of their involvement once they had arrived. All players were tested for COVID-19 prior to taking part. The event was sponsored by Matchroom Sport and broadcast live domestically on ITV4. It was also broadcast by Eurosport across Europe, Superstars Online, Youku and Zhibo.tv in China, Fox Sports in Australia and Sky in New Zealand.
There were 64 snooker professionals taking part in the event. The competition began with 16 rounds of group matches, each group consisting of four players. Two groups were played to a finish every day from 1 to 8 June, using a two-table setup in the arena. The groups were contested using a round-robin format, with six matches played in each group. All matches were played as the best of four frames, with three points awarded for a win and one point for a draw. Group positions were determined by points scored, frame difference and then head-to-head results between players who were tied. Places that were still tied were then determined by the highest made in the group.
The 16 players that topped the group tables qualified for the group winners' stage, consisting of four groups of four players. Two of the four groups played to a finish on 9 June and the other two groups on 10 June, again using two tables. The four winners from the group winners' stage qualified for the tournament finals played on 11 June using a single table. The winner of this final group took the Championship League title and a place at the 2020 Champion of Champions.
Prize fund The breakdown of prize money for the tournament is shown below.
Group stage Winner: £4,000 Runner-up: £2,000 Third place: £1,500 Fourth place: £1,000
Group winners' stage Winner: £6,000 Runner-up: £2,500 Third place: £2,000 Fourth place: £1,500
Final group Winner: £20,000 Runner-up: £8,000 Third place: £4,000 Fourth place: £2,000
Tournament total: £218,000
Tournament summary Group stages
The first round of group games was played from 1 to 8 June. Reigning world champion Judd Trump won all three group games to qualify from group 2, losing a frame to both Elliot Slessor and Daniel Wells. David Gilbert drew his second match against Jak Jones, but won against Stuart Carrington 3–0 to progress, with Carrington scoring only five points. Belgian player Luca Brecel and Englishman Jack Lisowski both defeated Oliver Lines and drew against Robbie Williams. Brecel made a break of 138 during his win over Lines and took a 2–1 lead over Lisowski. He required a break higher than 138, but was unable, tying the match at 2–2, with Brecel progressing. In group 3, Mark Joyce won all three matches leading Mark Davis. Ryan Day and Kyren Wilson met in the final match of group 12, with the victor winning the group. Day won the first two frames, before Wilson won frame 3. With the higher break, a 111, Wilson could progress with a 2–2 draw, however Day made a break of 86 to win.
In group 4, Harvey Chandler drew his first match against Joe Perry, but won his other two matches to lead the group. Liang Wenbo won group 5 with three wins whilst Joe O'Connor finished second, who made the highest break of his career, and of the event a 143 in his draw with Mark Selby. Gary Wilson won group 14, scoring four century breaks in ten frames. Both Ronnie O'Sullivan and Tom Ford won groups on 5 June, with O'Sullivan not losing a single frame. Stuart Bingham and Ricky Walden both finished group 1 with a win and two draws. The final match of the group was between Jamie Clarke and Jordan Brown. Jordan requiring a 3–0 win to progress, but the match was won by Clarke. Bingham won the group with a break of 94, but Walden made a 89 break, but played a harder shot on the , attempting to make a maximum break. Ben Woollaston won group 8, but spent the tournament estranged from his wife Tatiana Woollaston, who had been refereeing the event due to the social distancing rules.
Barry Hawkins won group 7, ahead of Anthony McGill with two wins and a draw. Former world champion Neil Robertson lost his opening match to Ashley Carty, who won the group. Martin O'Donnell and Mark Allen both won two matches, before they met in the final match of the round. The match finished 2–2, with O'Donnell winning the group with a better frame difference. Group 6 was won by Sam Craigie, who finished above Masters finalist Ali Carter.
Winners' and final groups The 16 group winners were split into four groups, labelled A through D and played on 9 and 10 June. Three players finished on six points in group C. Ronnie O'Sullivan won a fourth straight match without losing a frame, before winning 3–1 against Sam Craigie, who defeated Stuart Bingham in his first match, and defeated Harvey Chandler in the final match. The match between O'Sullivan and Bingham would decide the winner of the group, but Bingham won 3–0 to lead the other players on frame difference.
Martin O'Donnell defeated Sam Woollaston 3–1, before Woollaston won his next two matches 3–0, with three century breaks over Tom Ford to win the group on frame difference. Luca Brecel won group A after defeating Ashley Carty, and drawing his other two games 2–2. When leading Mark Joyce 2–0, Brecel missed hitting a on three occasions forcing him to forfeit the frame. Ryan Day defeated reigning world champion Judd Trump in the opening match of group B, which he went on to win with two other draws. In the final match, against Barry Hawkins, Day needed to win one frame to go through to the final group, and won frame one with a break of 62.
The final group was played on 11 June. The opening match was between Brecel and Bingham, with Brecel winning all three frames. Woollaston then defeated Ryan Day 3–1, before Day drew his remaining two matches to finish the group fourth on two points. Stuart Bingham defeated Woollaston 3–1 finishing third with four points. The final match was between Brecel and Woollaston. Woolaston could win the tournament with a win, or Brecel would win the championship. Brecel won the first frame, with a break of 67, but Woollaston won the second frame after a on the . In the third frame, Woollaston took a 2–1 lead, with a century break of 126, so whoever won the final frame would win the event. In the deciding frame, Brecel made a break of 111 to draw the match, and win the tournament, ahead of Woollaston, who finished as runner-up.
Group stage The group stage consisted of 16 groups, each containing four players. Two groups played to a finish each day from 1 to 8 June.
Order of play Date Group 1 June Group 2 1 June Group 13 2 June Group 3 2 June Group 9 3 June Group 4 3 June Group 12 4 June Group 5 4 June Group 14 Date Group 5 June Group 10 5 June Group 15 6 June Group 1 6 June Group 8 7 June Group 7 7 June Group 16 8 June Group 6 8 June Group 11
Group 1 Group 1 was played on 6 June.
Matches
Stuart Bingham 3–0 Jamie Clarke Ricky Walden 2–2 Jordan Brown Ricky Walden 3–0 Jamie Clarke Stuart Bingham 2–2 Jordan Brown Stuart Bingham 2–2 Ricky Walden Jordan Brown 0–3 Jamie Clarke
Table Player 1 3 1 2 0 7 4 +3 94 5 2 3 1 2 0 7 4 +3 89 5 3 3 1 0 2 3 6 −3 105 3 4 3 0 2 1 4 7 −3 74 2
Group 2 Group 2 was played on 1 June.
Matches
Judd Trump 3–0 David Grace Daniel Wells 1–3 Elliot Slessor Daniel Wells 2–2 David Grace Judd Trump 3–1 Elliot Slessor Elliot Slessor 3–1 David Grace Judd Trump 3–1 Daniel Wells
Table Player 1 3 3 0 0 9 2 +7 63 9 2 3 2 0 1 7 5 +2 106 6 3 3 0 1 2 4 8 −4 85 1 4 3 0 1 2 3 8 −5 39 1
Group 3 Group 3 was played on 2 June.
Matches
Mark Davis 1–3 Mark Joyce Michael Holt 3–1 Louis Heathcote Michael Holt 1–3 Mark Joyce Mark Davis 2–2 Louis Heathcote Michael Holt 1–3 Mark Davis Mark Joyce 3–1 Louis Heathcote
Table Player 1 3 3 0 0 9 3 +6 101 9 2 3 1 1 1 6 6 0 66 4 3 3 1 0 2 5 7 −2 65 3 4 3 0 1 2 4 8 −4 121 1
Group 4 Group 4 was played on 3 June.
Matches
Mark King 1–3 Sam Baird Joe Perry 2–2 Harvey Chandler Joe Perry 2–2 Sam Baird Mark King 1–3 Harvey Chandler Joe Perry 2–2 Mark King Sam Baird 1–3 Harvey Chandler
Table Player 1 3 2 1 0 8 4 +4 101 7 2 3 1 1 1 6 6 0 96 4 3 3 0 3 0 6 6 0 74 3 4 3 0 1 2 4 8 −4 85 1
Group 5 Group 5 was played on 4 June.
Matches
Mark Selby 3–1 Lee Walker Liang Wenbo 3–1 Joe O'Connor Liang Wenbo 3–0 Lee Walker Mark Selby 2–2 Joe O'Connor Joe O'Connor 3–1 Lee Walker Mark Selby 0–3 Liang Wenbo
Table Player 1 3 3 0 0 9 1 +8 117 9 2 3 1 1 1 6 6 0 143 4 3 3 1 1 1 5 6 −1 89 4 4 3 0 0 3 2 9 −7 66 0
Group 6 Group 6 was played on 8 June.
Matches
Matthew Selt 0–3 Sam Craigie Ali Carter 1–3 Dominic Dale Ali Carter 2–2 Sam Craigie Matthew Selt 2–2 Dominic Dale Ali Carter 3–1 Matthew Selt Sam Craigie 3–0 Dominic Dale
Table Player 1 3 2 1 0 8 2 +6 131 7 2 3 1 1 1 6 6 0 114 4 3 3 1 1 1 5 6 −1 67 4 4 3 0 1 2 3 8 −5 137 1
Group 7 Group 7 was played on 7 June.
Matches
Anthony McGill 2–2 Craig Steadman Barry Hawkins 3–0 Hammad Miah Barry Hawkins 3–0 Craig Steadman Anthony McGill 3–1 Hammad Miah Barry Hawkins 2–2 Anthony McGill Craig Steadman 0–3 Hammad Miah
Table Player 1 3 2 1 0 8 2 +6 96 7 2 3 1 2 0 7 5 +2 107 5 3 3 1 0 2 4 6 −2 75 3 4 3 0 1 2 2 8 −6 53 1
Group 8 Group 8 was played on 6 June.
Matches
Ben Woollaston 3–0 Liam Highfield Jimmy Robertson 3–0 Thor Chuan Leong Jimmy Robertson 2–2 Liam Highfield Ben Woollaston 3–0 Thor Chuan Leong Liam Highfield 3–0 Thor Chuan Leong Jimmy Robertson 2–2 Ben Woollaston
Table Player 1 3 2 1 0 8 2 +6 71 7 2 3 1 2 0 7 4 +3 81 5 3 3 1 1 1 5 5 0 95 4 4 3 0 0 3 0 9 −9 65 0
Group 9 Group 9 was played on 2 June.
Matches
Jack Lisowski 3–0 Oliver Lines Luca Brecel 2–2 Robbie Williams Luca Brecel 3–0 Oliver Lines Jack Lisowski 2–2 Robbie Williams Robbie Williams 0–3 Oliver Lines Jack Lisowski 2–2 Luca Brecel
Table Player 1 3 1 2 0 7 4 +3 138 5 2 3 1 2 0 7 4 +3 104 5 3 3 1 0 2 3 6 −3 136 3 4 3 0 2 1 4 7 −3 84 2
Group 10 Group 10 was played on 5 June.
Matches
Ronnie O'Sullivan 3–0 Kishan Hirani Chris Wakelin 3–0 Michael Georgiou Chris Wakelin 2–2 Kishan Hirani Ronnie O'Sullivan 3–0 Michael Georgiou Ronnie O'Sullivan 3–0 Chris Wakelin Michael Georgiou 1–3 Kishan Hirani
Table Player 1 3 3 0 0 9 0 +9 116 9 2 3 1 1 1 5 5 0 119 4 3 3 1 1 1 5 6 −1 35 4 4 3 0 0 3 1 9 −8 39 0
Group 11 Group 11 was played on 8 June.
Matches
Mark Allen 3–1 Nigel Bond Martin O'Donnell 3–0 Michael White Martin O'Donnell 3–1 Nigel Bond Mark Allen 3–1 Michael White Michael White 3–0 Nigel Bond Mark Allen 2–2 Martin O'Donnell
Table Player 1 3 2 1 0 8 3 +5 62 7 2 3 2 1 0 8 4 +4 85 7 3 3 1 0 2 4 6 −2 60 3 4 3 0 0 3 2 9 −7 61 0
Group 12