The 2019 Championship League was a professional non-

ranking A ranking is a relationship between a set of items, often recorded in a list, such that, for any two items, the first is either "ranked higher than", "ranked lower than", or "ranked equal to" the second. In mathematics, this is known as a weak ...

snooker Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sport played on a rectangular Billiard table#Snooker and English billiards tables, billiards table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six Billiard table#Pockets 2, pockets: one at each corner and ...

tournament, taking place from at the

Ricoh Arena The Coventry Building Society Arena (often shortened to the CBS Arena or just simply Coventry Arena, and formerly known as the Ricoh Arena) is a complex in Coventry, West Midlands, England. It includes a 32,609-seater stadium which is currentl ...

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(Group 1–6) and at the

Barnsley Metrodome The Barnsley Metrodome (Metrodome Leisure Complex) is a sports and leisure facility that was opened in 1989 by Neil Kinnock. The facility is 5 minutes from the Barnsley Interchange and close to Junction 37 off the M1. It is located along Queen ...

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

(Group 7 and the Winners' Group), both in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. It was the 12th staging of the tournament. David Gilbert made the historic 147th

maximum break A maximum break (also known as a maximum, a 147, or orally, a onefourseven) is the highest possible in snooker in normal circumstances and is a special type of . A player compiles a maximum break by potting all 15 with 15 for 120 points, fo ...

in his group 5 round robin match against

Stephen Maguire Stephen Maguire (born 13 March 1981) is a Scottish professional snooker player. He has won six major ranking tournaments, including the 2004 UK Championship, and has twice since reached the finals of that event. Maguire turned professional in ...

. It was Gilbert's second professional maximum break (he achieved his first in the 2015 Championship League), and it was the sixth consecutive year that a maximum was made in the

Championship League Championship League (officially the BetVictor Championship League Snooker) is a professional snooker tournament devised by Matchroom Sport. The event was introduced in 2008 Championship League, 2008 as an invitational qualifier to the Premier ...

. During the round robin matches,

Neil Robertson Neil Alexander Robertson (born 11 February 1982) is an Australian professional snooker player, who is a former List of World Snooker Championship winners, world champion and former List of world number one snooker players, world number one. He ...

recorded his 600th career century in Group 1, and

Ding Junhui Ding Junhui (; born 1 April 1987) is a Chinese professional snooker player. He is the most successful Asian player in the history of the sport. Throughout his career, he has won 15 major ranking titles, including three UK Championships (2005 ...

his 500th in Group 7. And during the Winners' Group round robin matches,

John Higgins John Higgins (born 18 May 1975) is a Scottish professional snooker player from Wishaw in North Lanarkshire. Since turning professional in 1992, he has won 33 ranking titles, placing him in third position on the List of snooker players by num ...

made his 750th career century break, and

Judd Trump Judd Trump (born 20 August 1989) is an English professional snooker player who is a former List of World Snooker Championship winners, world champion and the current List of world number one snooker players, world number one. He is currently in ...

also recorded his 600th.

was a two-time defending champion, having retained his

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

title with a 3–2 victory against

Zhou Yuelong Zhou Yuelong (; born 24 January 1998) is a Chinese professional snooker player. He has been runner-up at three ranking events, the January 2020 European Masters, the 2020 Snooker Shoot Out, and the 2022 Northern Ireland Open. Career Between 2 ...

in the

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

final. However, Higgins lost 3–0 to

Martin Gould Martin Gould (born 14 September 1981) is an English former professional snooker player from Pinner in the London Borough of Harrow. He has appeared in four ranking finals and won one ranking title, the 2016 German Masters. Career Gould began ...

in the semi-finals.

went on to win his second Championship League title, beating

Jack Lisowski Jack Lisowski (born 25 June 1991) is an English professional snooker player from Churchdown, Gloucestershire. He turned professional in 2010 by finishing first in the 2009/2010 International Open Series, PIOS rankings. A left-handed player, he ...

3–1 in the final.

Tournament Format

The Championship League event sees 25 professionals (including substitutes; 28 players in 2019) take part, with players earning prize money for every frame won. Matches are best of 5 frames, and the league is played from January to March 2019. The competition runs over eight groups, each consisting of seven players. From each group the top four qualify for a play-off, and the winners of the first seven play-offs qualify for the winners group. The bottom two players of each group are eliminated and the remaining four move to the next group, where they are joined by three more players until the seventh group. The winners play in the final group, and the winner of the Winners' Group play-off takes the title and a place at the 2019 Champion of Champions.

Prize fund

The breakdown of prize money for the 2019 Championship League is shown below. ;Group 1–7 *Winner: £3,000 *Runner-up: £2,000 *Semi-final: £1,000 *Frame-win (league stage): £100 *Frame-win (play-offs): £300 *Highest break: £500 ;Winners' Group *Winner: £10,000 *Runner-up: £5,000 *Semi-final: £3,000 *Frame-win (league stage): £200 *Frame-win (play-offs): £300 *Highest break: £1,000 *Tournament total: £177,800

Group 1

Group 1 was played on 1 and 2 January 2019.

was the first player to qualify for the Winners' Group, recording his 600th career century in the round-robin match against Anthony Hamilton.

Matches

* Neil Robertson 3–1 Jack Lisowski * Jimmy Robertson 0–3 Robert Milkins * Anthony Hamilton 3–2 Neil Robertson * Mark King 3–1 Ricky Walden * Jack Lisowski 1–3 Jimmy Robertson * Robert Milkins 2–3 Mark King * Ricky Walden 3–1 Anthony Hamilton * Neil Robertson 3–1 Jimmy Robertson * Jack Lisowski 3–2 Robert Milkins * Mark King 3–0 Anthony Hamilton * Ricky Walden 3–0 Robert Milkins * Jimmy Robertson 1–3 Anthony Hamilton * Neil Robertson 1–3 Ricky Walden * Jack Lisowski 3–1 Mark King * Jimmy Robertson 3–0 Ricky Walden * Robert Milkins 1–3 Anthony Hamilton * Neil Robertson 3–0 Mark King * Jack Lisowski 3–2 Anthony Hamilton * Jimmy Robertson 3–1 Mark King * Jack Lisowski 3–2 Ricky Walden * Neil Robertson 3–1 Robert Milkins

Table

Play-offs

Group 2

Group 2 was played on 3 and 4 January 2019.

was the second player to qualify for the Winners' Group.

Matches

* Judd Trump 3–0 Kyren Wilson * Luca Brecel 3–2 Jimmy Robertson * Anthony Hamilton 3–0 Judd Trump * Ricky Walden 2–3 Jack Lisowski * Kyren Wilson 3–0 Luca Brecel * Jimmy Robertson 1–3 Ricky Walden * Jack Lisowski 3–2 Anthony Hamilton * Judd Trump 1–3 Luca Brecel * Kyren Wilson 2–3 Jimmy Robertson * Ricky Walden 3–1 Anthony Hamilton * Jack Lisowski 1–3 Jimmy Robertson * Luca Brecel 3–1 Anthony Hamilton * Judd Trump 1–3 Jack Lisowski * Kyren Wilson 3–2 Ricky Walden * Luca Brecel 0–3 Jack Lisowski * Jimmy Robertson 3–2 Anthony Hamilton * Judd Trump 3–2 Ricky Walden * Kyren Wilson 3–1 Anthony Hamilton * Luca Brecel 3–0 Ricky Walden * Kyren Wilson 2–3 Jack Lisowski * Judd Trump 3–1 Jimmy Robertson

Table

Play-offs

Group 3

Group 3 was played on 7 and 8 January 2019.

was the third player to qualify for the Winners' Group.

Matches

* Mark Selby 0–3 Barry Hawkins * Stuart Bingham 2–3 Judd Trump * Jimmy Robertson 2–3 Mark Selby * Kyren Wilson 2–3 Luca Brecel * Barry Hawkins 3–2 Stuart Bingham * Judd Trump 3–1 Kyren Wilson * Luca Brecel 3–0 Jimmy Robertson * Mark Selby 2–3 Stuart Bingham * Barry Hawkins 3–1 Judd Trump * Kyren Wilson 3–0 Jimmy Robertson * Luca Brecel 3–2 Judd Trump * Stuart Bingham 3–1 Jimmy Robertson * Mark Selby 3–1 Luca Brecel * Barry Hawkins 0–3 Kyren Wilson * Stuart Bingham 3–1 Luca Brecel * Judd Trump 3–1 Jimmy Robertson * Mark Selby 3–1 Kyren Wilson * Barry Hawkins 2–3 Jimmy Robertson * Stuart Bingham 3–0 Kyren Wilson * Barry Hawkins 3–0 Luca Brecel * Mark Selby 3–1 Judd Trump

Table

Play-offs

Group 4

Group 4 was played on 9 and 10 January 2019.

Stuart Bingham Stuart Bingham (born 21 May 1976) is an English professional snooker player who is a former World Champion and Masters winner. Bingham won the 1996 World Amateur Championship but enjoyed little sustained success in the early part of his pro ...

was the fourth player to qualify for the Winners' Group.

Matches

* Ryan Day 1–3 Ali Carter * Graeme Dott 3–1 Luca Brecel * Stuart Bingham 3–1 Ryan Day * Mark Selby 3–1 Barry Hawkins * Ali Carter 3–1 Graeme Dott * Luca Brecel 0–3 Mark Selby * Barry Hawkins 3–0 Stuart Bingham * Ryan Day 3–2 Graeme Dott * Ali Carter 1–3 Luca Brecel * Mark Selby 3–2 Stuart Bingham * Barry Hawkins 1–3 Luca Brecel * Graeme Dott 3–2 Stuart Bingham * Ryan Day 3–0 Barry Hawkins * Ali Carter 3–1 Mark Selby * Graeme Dott 1–3 Barry Hawkins * Luca Brecel 0–3 Stuart Bingham * Ryan Day 1–3 Mark Selby * Ali Carter 1–3 Stuart Bingham * Graeme Dott 0–3 Mark Selby * Ali Carter 0–3 Barry Hawkins * Ryan Day 2–3 Luca Brecel

Table

Play-offs

Group 5

Group 5 was played on 21 and 22 January 2019.

Mark Selby Mark Anthony Selby (born 19 June 1983) is an English professional snooker player. Ranked List of world number one snooker players, world number one on multiple occasions, he has won a total of 24 ranking titles, placing him eighth on the all ...

was the fifth player to qualify for the Winners' Group.

Matches

* Stephen Maguire 3–0 Anthony McGill * Joe Perry 2–3 David Gilbert * Ali Carter 1–3 Stephen Maguire * Barry Hawkins 3–0 Mark Selby * Anthony McGill 3–2 Joe Perry * David Gilbert 3–1 Barry Hawkins * Mark Selby 3–0 Ali Carter * Stephen Maguire 0–3 Joe Perry * Anthony McGill 1–3 David Gilbert * Barry Hawkins 1–3 Ali Carter * Mark Selby 2–3 David Gilbert * Joe Perry 1–3 Ali Carter * Stephen Maguire 3–2 Mark Selby * Anthony McGill 3–1 Barry Hawkins * Joe Perry 0–3 Mark Selby * David Gilbert 3–1 Ali Carter * Stephen Maguire 2–3 Barry Hawkins * Anthony McGill 2–3 Ali Carter * Joe Perry 1–3 Barry Hawkins * Anthony McGill 1–3 Mark Selby * Stephen Maguire 3–1 David Gilbert ;Note Due to illness,

Luca Brecel Luca Brecel (; born 8 March 1995) is a Belgian professional snooker player. A four-time snooker world rankings, ranking event winner, Brecel is a former World Snooker Championship, World Snooker Champion, having won the 2023 World Snooker Champ ...

withdrew from the tournament prior to group 5 play. He was replaced in the group by David Gilbert.

Table

Play-offs

Group 6

Group 6 was played on 23 and 24 January 2019.

was the sixth player to qualify for the Winners' Group.

Matches

* Xiao Guodong 0–3 Martin Gould * Mark Davis 3–0 Ali Carter * David Gilbert 3–0 Xiao Guodong * Stephen Maguire 3–1 Barry Hawkins * Martin Gould 1–3 Mark Davis * Ali Carter 2–3 Stephen Maguire * Barry Hawkins 3–1 David Gilbert * Xiao Guodong 2–3 Mark Davis * Martin Gould 3–2 Ali Carter * Stephen Maguire 3–2 David Gilbert * Barry Hawkins 3–1 Ali Carter * Mark Davis 1–3 David Gilbert * Xiao Guodong 1–3 Barry Hawkins * Martin Gould 3–0 Stephen Maguire * Mark Davis 1–3 Barry Hawkins * Ali Carter 3–2 David Gilbert * Xiao Guodong 3–0 Stephen Maguire * Martin Gould 3–0 David Gilbert * Mark Davis 3–2 Stephen Maguire * Martin Gould 0–3 Barry Hawkins * Xiao Guodong 0–3 Ali Carter

Table

Play-offs

Group 7

Group 7 was played on 11 and 12 March 2019.

was the seventh and final player to qualify for the Winners' Group.

Matches

* John Higgins 3–0 Ding Junhui * Michael White 0–3 Noppon Saengkham * Stephen Maguire 0–3 John Higgins * Mark Davis 3–2 Tom Ford * Ding Junhui 3–2 Michael White * Noppon Saengkham 3–1 Mark Davis * Tom Ford 1–3 Stephen Maguire * John Higgins 3–1 Michael White * Ding Junhui 0–3 Noppon Saengkham * Mark Davis 3–2 Stephen Maguire * Tom Ford 2–3 Noppon Saengkham * Michael White 2–3 Stephen Maguire * John Higgins 3–0 Tom Ford * Ding Junhui 3–1 Mark Davis * Michael White 1–3 Tom Ford * Noppon Saengkham 3–2 Stephen Maguire * John Higgins 3–0 Mark Davis * Ding Junhui 3–1 Stephen Maguire * Michael White 3–1 Mark Davis * Ding Junhui 3–1 Tom Ford * John Higgins 3–1 Noppon Saengkham ;Note David Gilbert and

Barry Hawkins Barry Hawkins (born 23 April 1979) is an English professional snooker player from Ditton, Kent. He turned professional in 1996, but only rose to prominence in the 2004–05 snooker season when he reached the last 16 of the 2004 UK Championship, ...

withdrew from the tournament prior to group 7 play. They were replaced by

Tom Ford Thomas Carlyle Ford (born August 27, 1961) is an American fashion designer and filmmaker. He launched Tom Ford (brand), his eponymous brand in 2005, having previously been the creative director at Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent (brand), Yves Sai ...

and

Noppon Saengkham Noppon Saengkham (; born 15 July 1992) is a Thai professional snooker player. Since turning professional in 2010, he has reached one ranking final (the 2023 Scottish Open) in which he finished as runner-up to Gary Wilson. Career Early years I ...

Table

Play-offs

Winners' Group

The Winners' Group was played on 13 and 14 March 2019.

won his second Championship League title, beating

3–1 in the final. During the round robin matches,

made his 750th career century break. On the second day,

made his 600th career century in his match against

Matches

* Neil Robertson 3–1 Jack Lisowski * Judd Trump 3–1 Stuart Bingham * Martin Gould 3–2 John Higgins * Mark Selby 1–3 Neil Robertson * Jack Lisowski 3–1 Judd Trump * Stuart Bingham 1–3 Martin Gould * John Higgins 3–2 Mark Selby * Neil Robertson 1–3 Judd Trump * Jack Lisowski 3–1 Stuart Bingham * Martin Gould 0–3 Mark Selby * John Higgins 1–3 Stuart Bingham * Judd Trump 1–3 Mark Selby * Neil Robertson 3–1 John Higgins * Jack Lisowski 0–3 Martin Gould * Judd Trump 0–3 John Higgins * Stuart Bingham 1–3 Mark Selby * Neil Robertson 0–3 Martin Gould * Jack Lisowski 3–0 Mark Selby * Judd Trump 3–0 Martin Gould * Jack Lisowski 2–3 John Higgins * Neil Robertson 3–1 Stuart Bingham

Table

Play-offs

Century breaks

Total: 104 * 147 (5), 105, 100, 100 David Gilbert * 143 (3), 143 (4), 143, 141, 139, 139, 135, 122, 113, 113, 110, 109, 107, 103, 102, 100

* 143 (3), 132, 111, 106, 101, 100

* 142, 137, 136 (W), 127, 125, 115, 111, 110, 109, 105, 105, 104, 103

* 141 (6), 134, 126, 125, 113, 105

Ali Carter Allister Carter (born 25 July 1979) is an English professional snooker player. He has twice been a World Championship finalist, in 2008 and 2012, losing both finals to Ronnie O'Sullivan. He has won six ranking titles and briefly reached number t ...

* 139 (1), 128, 124, 120, 115, 110, 104

* 135, 131, 117, 115, 105, 105

* 135, 129, 124, 116, 108, 105, 104, 103, 102

* 135, 127, 104, 102

* 135 Joe Perry * 135

Ricky Walden Ricky Walden (born 11 November 1982) is an English professional snooker player from Chester. Walden turned professional in 2000 and it took him eight years to win his first ranking title at the Shanghai Masters. He has since won the 2012 Wuxi ...

* 134, 121, 120, 120, 105, 105, 101, 101

* 132 (2), 129, 123, 108

Kyren Wilson Kyren James Wilson (; born 23 December 1991) is an English professional snooker player from Kettering. He has won 10 ranking titles. Wilson made his professional tour debut in the 2010–11 snooker season, 2010–11 season after finishing fif ...

* 130 (7), 120, 118, 117, 117

* 127

* 122

Graeme Dott Graeme Dott (born 12 May 1977) is a Scottish professional snooker player and snooker coach from Larkhall. He turned professional in 1994 and first entered the top 16 in 2001. He has won two ranking titles, the 2006 World Snooker Championship ...

* 121, 100

* 120, 117 Jimmy Robertson * 117, 107, 103

* 112, 110

* 112

Xiao Guodong Xiao Guodong (; born 10 February 1989) is a Chinese professional snooker player. He turned professional in 2007 after winning the Asian Under-21 Championships. He won his first ranking event 17 years after first turning professional at the 202 ...

* 110 Michael White * 104

Anthony McGill Anthony McGill (born 5 February 1991) is a Scottish professional snooker player. He is a practice partner of retired snooker player Alan McManus. McGill turned professional in 2010, after finishing fourth in the 2009/2010 PIOS rankings. He ...

''Bold: highest break in the indicated group.''

Winnings

''Green: Won the group. Bold: Highest break in the group. All prize money in

GBP Sterling (symbol: £; currency code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound is the main unit of sterling, and the word '' pound'' is also used to refer to the British currency general ...

.''
''Parenthesis: Ranking prior to tournament start, 1 January 2019.''
Notes
⁽¹⁾ Due to illness, Luca Brecel withdrew from the tournament prior to Group 5 play.
⁽²⁾ Barry Hawkins and David Gilbert withdrew from the tournament prior to Group 7 play.

References

External links

* http://www.championshipleaguesnooker.co.uk/ * http://livescores.worldsnookerdata.com/?year=2019&month=1 {{DEFAULTSORT:Championship League

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

2019 in snooker 2019 in English sport 2019 Championship League Sport in Barnsley January 2019 sports events in the United Kingdom February 2019 sports events in the United Kingdom March 2019 sports events in the United Kingdom