2022 Championship League
Tournament information
Dates28 June – 29 July 2022 (2022-06-28 – 2022-07-29)
VenueMorningside Arena
CityLeicester
CountryEngland
OrganisationMatchroom Sport
FormatRanking event
Total prize fund£328,000
Winner's share£33,000
Highest break Zhao Xintong (CHN) (145)
Final
Champion Luca Brecel (BEL)
Runner-up Lu Ning (CHN)
Score3–1

The 2022 Championship League was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place from 28 June to 29 July 2022 at the Morningside Arena in Leicester, England. The event featured 128 players and was played as three rounds of round-robin groups of four, before a best-of-five final. It was the 19th edition of the Championship League and the first ranking tournament of the 2022–23 snooker season.

David Gilbert was the defending champion, having defeated Mark Allen 3–1 in the final of the previous ranking edition of the tournament. However, he was knocked out during the second group stage of this edition.

Luca Brecel won the tournament, defeating Lu Ning 3–1 to win his third ranking title and second Championship League title.

Tournament format

The 2022 Championship League took place from 28 June to 29 July 2022 at the Morningside Arena in Leicester, England.[1] 128 players took part in the event. The competition began with 32 rounds of group matches with each group consisting of four players.[2] Two groups were played to a finish every day during four blocks, from 28 June to 1 July, from 4 to 7 July, from 11 to 14 July, and from 18 to 21 July 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 in group play were played as 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 break made in the group.[3]

The 32 players that topped the group tables qualified for the group winners' stage, consisting of eight groups of four players. The eight winners from the group winners' stage qualified for the two final groups, with the final taking place later on the same day. The winner took the Championship League title and a place at the 2022 Champion of Champions.

Prize fund

The breakdown of prize money for the tournament is shown below.[1]

Stage One

Stage One consisted of 32 groups, each containing four players.[4]

Order of play

Date Group
28 June Group 13
28 June Group 24
29 June Group 4
29 June Group 31
30 June Group 6
30 June Group 26
1 July Group 10
1 July Group 29
Date Group
4 July Group 1
4 July Group 27
5 July Group 15
5 July Group 32
6 July Group 9
6 July Group 30
7 July Group 3
7 July Group 23
Date Group
11 July Group 5
11 July Group 28
12 July Group 21
12 July Group 22
13 July Group 18
13 July Group 20
14 July Group 17
14 July Group 25
Date Group
18 July Group 11
18 July Group 14
19 July Group 2
19 July Group 7
20 July Group 16
20 July Group 19
21 July Group 8
21 July Group 12

Group 1

Group 1 was played on 4 July.

Matches

Table

Pos. Player P W D L FW FL FD HB Pts
1  Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG) 3 3 0 0 9 2 +7 121 9
2  Alexander Ursenbacher (SUI) 3 2 0 1 7 5 +2 105 6
3  Alfie Burden (ENG) 3 0 1 2 4 8 −4 79 1
4  Farakh Ajaib (PAK) 3 0 1 2 3 8 −5 79 1

Group 2

Group 2 was played on 19 July.

Matches

Table

Pos. Player P W D L FW FL FD HB Pts
1  Jamie Clarke (WAL) 3 1 2 0 7 4 +3 62 5
2  Judd Trump (ENG) 3 1 2 0 7 5 +2 76 5
3  Sean O'Sullivan (ENG) 3 1 0 2 4 7 −3 65 3
4  Peng Yisong (CHN) 3 0 2 1 5 7 −2 133 2

Group 3

Group 3 was played on 7 July.

Matches

Table

Pos. Player P W D L FW FL FD HB Pts
1  Ben Woollaston (ENG) 3 3 0 0 9 1 +8 127 9
2  Mark Selby (ENG) 3 2 0 1 7 4 +3 113 6
3  James Cahill (ENG) 3 1 0 2 4 7 −3 70 3
4  Zhang Jiankang (CHN) 3 0 0 3 1 9 −8 0

Group 4

Group 4 was played on 29 June.

Matches

Table

Pos. Player P W D L FW FL FD HB Pts
1  Zhao Xintong (CHN) 3 3 0 0 9 1 +8 105 9
2  Hammad Miah (ENG) 3 1 1 1 5 6 −1 57 4
3  Michael Holt (ENG) 3 1 0 2 5 7 −2 75 3
4  Adam Duffy (ENG) 3 0 1 2 3 8 −5 1

Group 5

Group 5 was played on 11 July.

Matches

Table

Pos. Player P W D L FW FL FD HB Pts
1  Mark Williams (WAL) 3 3 0 0 9 2 +7 140 9
2  Li Hang (CHN) 3 1 1 1 6 6 0 111 4
3  Andrew Pagett (WAL) 3 1 0 2 4 7 −3 94 3
4  Rory McLeod (JAM) 3 0 1 2 4 8 −4 56 1

Group 6

Group 6 was played on 30 June.

Matches

Table

Pos. Player P W D L FW FL FD HB Pts
1  Michael Judge (IRL) 3 1 2 0 7 5 +2 77 5
2  Kyren Wilson (ENG) 3 0 3 0 6 6 0 98 3
3  Zhang Anda (CHN) 3 0 3 0 6 6 0 66 3
4  Luke Simmonds (ENG) 3 0 2 1 5 7 −2 65 2

Group 7

Group 7 was played on 19 July.

Matches

Table

Pos. Player P W D L FW FL FD HB Pts
1  Shaun Murphy (ENG) 3 2 1 0 8 2 +6 144 7
2  Ben Mertens (BEL) 3 2 1 0 8 4 +4 117 7
3  Xu Si (CHN) 3 1 0 2 4 7 −3 61 3
4  Liam Highfield (ENG) 3 0 0 3 2 9 −7 70 0

Group 8

Group 8 was played on 21 July.

Matches

Table

Pos. Player P W D L FW FL FD HB Pts
1  Michael White (WAL) 3 2 0 1 7 3 +4 107 6
2  Mark Joyce (ENG) 3 2 0 1 6 5 +1 65 6
3  Jack Lisowski (ENG) 3 1 1 1 6 6 0 70 4
4  Julien Leclercq (BEL) 3 0 1 2 3 8 −5 92 1

Group 9

Group 9 was played on 6 July.

Matches

Table

Pos. Player P W D L FW FL FD HB Pts
1  Yuan Sijun (CHN) 3 3 0 0 9 0 +9 95 9
2  Barry Hawkins (ENG) 3 2 0 1 6 4 +2 105 6
3  Ken Doherty (IRL) 3 0 1 2 3 8 −5 52 1
4  Lei Peifan (CHN) 3 0 1 2 2 8 −6 56 1

Group 10

Group 10 was played on 1 July.

Matches

Table

Pos. Player P W D L FW FL FD HB Pts
1  Luca Brecel (BEL) 3 2 1 0 8 3 +5 98 7
2  Robbie Williams (ENG) 3 1 2 0 7 5 +2 70 5
3  Zhao Jianbo (CHN) 3 1 0 2 4 6 −2 90 3
4  Oliver Brown (ENG) 3 0 1 2 3 8 −5 1

Group 11

Group 11 was played on 18 July.

Matches

Table

Pos. Player P W D L FW FL FD HB Pts
1  Stuart Bingham (ENG) 3 2 0 1 6 4 +2 69 6
2  Peter Devlin (ENG) 3 1 2 0 7 4 +3 61 5
3  Cao Yupeng (CHN) 3 0 2 1 5 7 −2 104 2
4  Peter Lines (ENG) 3 0 2 1 4 7 −3 72 2

Group 12

Group 12 was played on 21 July.

Matches

Table

Pos. Player P W D L FW FL FD HB Pts
1  Mark Allen (NIR) 3 3 0 0 9 2 +7 142 9
2  Himanshu Jain (IND) 3 1 1 1 5 5 0 64 4
3  Jenson Kendrick (ENG) 3 0 2 1 5 7 −2 62 2
4  Stuart Carrington (ENG) 3 0 1 2 3 8 −5 67 1

Group 13

Group 13 was played on 28 June.

Matches

Table

Pos. Player P W D L FW FL FD HB Pts
1  Aaron Hill (IRL) 3 1 2 0 7 4 +3 101 5
2  David Grace (ENG) 3 1 2 0 7 5 +2 75 5
3  Ben Hancorn (ENG) 3 0 3 0 6 6 0 88 3
4  Craig Steadman (ENG) 3 0 1 2 3 8 −5 55 1

Group 14

Group 14 was played on 18 July.

Matches

Table

Pos. Player P W D L FW FL FD HB Pts
1  Hossein Vafaei (IRN) 3 2 1 0 8 2 +6 70 7
2  Tian Pengfei (CHN) 3 2 1 0 8 3 +5 103 7
3  Ryan Thomerson (AUS) 3 1 0 2 4 7 −3 99 3
4  Ng On-yee (HKG) 3 0 0 3 1 9 −8 94 0

Group 15

Group 15 was played on 5 July.

Matches

Table

Pos. Player P W D L FW FL FD HB Pts
1  Ricky Walden (ENG) 3 2 1 0 8 4 +4 106 7
2  Gerard Greene (NIR) 3 1 1 1 6 6 0 65 4
3  Jackson Page (WAL) 3 1 0 2 5 7 −2 130 3
4  Andy Lee (HKG) 3 1 0 2 5 7 −2 125 3

Group 16

Group 16 was played on 20 July.

Matches

Table

Pos. Player P W D L FW FL FD HB Pts
1  David Gilbert (ENG) 3 2 1 0 8 2 +6 100 7
2  Florian Nüßle (AUT) 3 2 0 1 6 4 +2 61 6
3  Joe O'Connor (ENG) 3 1 1 1 6 6 0 111 4
4  Zak Surety (ENG) 3 0 0 3 1 9 −8 55 0

Group 17

Group 17 was played on 14 July.

Matches

Table

Pos. Player P W D L FW FL FD HB Pts
1  Ali Carter (ENG) 3 2 1 0 8 2 +6 70 7
2  Wu Yize (CHN) 3 1 2 0 7 5 +2 120 5
3  Robbie McGuigan (NIR) 3 0 2 1 4 7 −3 88 2
4  Louis Heathcote (ENG) 3 0 1 2 3 8 −5 113 1

Group 18

Group 18 was played on 13 July.

Matches

Table

Pos. Player P W D L FW FL FD HB Pts
1  Daniel Wells (WAL) 3 2 1 0 8 3 +5 80 7
2  Dominic Dale (WAL) 3 1 1 1 6 6 0 88 4
3  Matthew Selt (ENG) 3 0 3 0 6 6 0 141 3
4  Duane Jones (WAL) 3 0 1 2 3 8 −5 80 1

Group 19

Group 19 was played on 20 July.

Matches

Table

Pos. Player P W D L FW FL FD HB Pts
1  Jordan Brown (NIR) 4 3 1 0 11 4 +7 115 10
2  Mark Davis (ENG) 4 1 1 2 7 9 −2 104 4
3  Ross Muir (SCO) 4 0 2 2 5 10 −5 94 2

Jimmy White withdrew from the group due to travel issues.[citation needed]

Group 20

Group 20 was played on 13 July.

Matches

Table

Pos. Player P W D L FW FL FD HB Pts
1  Chang Bingyu (CHN) 3 2 0 1 6 3 +3 108 6
2  Zhou Yuelong (CHN) 3 1 2 0 7 4 +3 135 5
3  Mark King (ENG) 3 1 1 1 5 6 −1 58 4
4  Fergal O'Brien (IRL) 3 0 1 2 3 8 −5 59 1

Group 21

Group 21 was played on 12 July.

Matches

Table

Pos. Player P W D L FW FL FD HB Pts
1  Stephen Maguire (SCO) 3 1 2 0 7 4 +3 87 5
2  Si Jiahui (CHN) 3 1 2 0 7 5 +2 93 5
3  Mitchell Mann (ENG) 3 0 3 0 6 6 0 80 3
4  Matthew Stevens (WAL) 3 0 1 2 3 8 −5 81 1

Group 22

Group 22 was played on 12 July.

Matches

Table

Pos. Player P W D L FW FL FD HB Pts
1  Jimmy Robertson (ENG) 3 1 2 0 7 4 +3 133 5
2  Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (THA) 3 1 2 0 7 5 +2 118 5
3  Ian Martin (ENG) 3 1 0 2 4 6 −2 3
4  Marco Fu (HKG) 3 0 2 1 4 7 −3 95 2

Group 23

Group 23 was played on 7 July.

Matches

Table

Pos. Player P W D L FW FL FD HB Pts
1  Elliot Slessor (ENG) 3 2 1 0 8 4 +4 79 7
2  Andrew Higginson (ENG) 3 1 2 0 7 4 +3 95 5
3  Joe Perry (ENG) 3 1 1 1 6 5 +1 117 4
4  Lukas Kleckers (GER) 3 0 0 3 1 9 −8 0

Group 24

Group 24 was played on 28 June.

Matches

Table

Pos. Player P W D L FW FL FD HB Pts
1  Robert Milkins (ENG) 3 2 1 0 8 3 +5 78 7
2  Andy Hicks (ENG) 3 2 1 0 8 4 +4 93 7
3  Sanderson Lam (ENG) 3 1 0 2 4 7 −3 100 3
4  Allan Taylor (ENG) 3 0 0 3 3 9 −6 54 0

Group 25

Group 25 was played on 14 July.

Matches

Table

Pos. Player P W D L FW FL FD HB Pts
1  Pang Junxu (CHN) 3 2 1 0 8 4 +4 137 7
2  Ryan Day (WAL) 3 1 2 0 7 4 +3 125 5
3  Dylan Emery (WAL) 3 0 2 1 5 7 −2 103 2
4  Reanne Evans (ENG) 3 0 1 2 3 8 −5 55 1

Group 26

Group 26 was played on 30 June.

Matches

Table

Pos. Player P W D L FW FL FD HB Pts
1  Chris Wakelin (ENG) 3 2 0 1 6 4 +2 77 6
2  Tom Ford (ENG) 3 1 1 1 6 5 +1 76 4
3  Ian Burns (ENG) 3 1 1 1 6 6 0 131 4
4  Anton Kazakov (UKR) 3 1 0 2 4 7 −3 57 3

Group 27

Group 27 was played on 4 July.

Matches

Table

Pos. Player P W D L FW FL FD HB Pts
1  Jamie Jones (WAL) 3 2 1 0 8 3 +5 134 7
2  David Lilley (ENG) 3 1 1 1 5 5 0 138 4
3  Sam Craigie (ENG) 3 0 3 0 6 6 0 71 3
4  Andres Petrov (EST) 3 0 1 2 3 8 −5 1

Group 28

Group 28 was played on 11 July.

Matches

Table

Pos. Player P W D L FW FL FD HB Pts
1  Gary Wilson (ENG) 3 2 1 0 8 2 +6 115 7
2  Jak Jones (WAL) 3 1 1 1 5 5 0 133 4
3  Barry Pinches (ENG) 3 0 3 0 6 6 0 61 3
4  Harvey Chandler (ENG) 3 0 1 2 2 8 −6 1

Group 29

Group 29 was played on 1 July.

Matches

Table

Pos. Player P W D L FW FL FD HB Pts
1  Lu Ning (CHN) 3 3 0 0 9 2 +7 135 9
2  John Astley (ENG) 3 1 1 1 6 5 +1 60 4
3  Chen Zifan (CHN) 3 1 1 1 5 5 0 75 4
4  Oliver Lines (ENG) 3 0 0 3 1 9 −8 56 0

Group 30

Group 30 was played on 6 July.

Matches

Table

Pos. Player P W D L FW FL FD HB Pts
1  Lyu Haotian (CHN) 3 2 1 0 8 3 +5 135 7
2  Fraser Patrick (SCO) 3 1 1 1 5 6 −1 101 4
3  Haydon Pinhey (ENG) 3 1 0 2 5 6 −1 100 3
4  Graeme Dott (SCO) 3 1 0 2 4 7 −3 72 3

Group 31

Group 31 was played on 29 June.

Matches

Table

Pos. Player P W D L FW FL FD HB Pts
1  Anthony Hamilton (ENG) 3 2 1 0 8 3 +5 130 7
2  Noppon Saengkham (THA) 3 2 0 1 7 4 +3 90 6
3  Ashley Hugill (ENG) 3 0 2 1 5 7 −2 65 2
4  Steven Hallworth (ENG) 3 0 1 2 2 8 −6 96 1

Group 32

Group 32 was played on 5 July.

Matches

Table

Pos. Player P W D L FW FL FD HB Pts
1  Xiao Guodong (CHN) 3 3 0 0 9 3 +6 112 9
2  Rod Lawler (ENG) 3 1 1 1 6 6 0 62 4
3  Scott Donaldson (SCO) 3 0 2 1 5 7 −2 97 2
4  Nutcharut Wongharuthai (THA) 3 0 1 2 4 8 −4 54 1

Stage Two

Stage Two consisted of eight groups, each containing four players.[5]

Order of play

Date Group
25 July Group E
25 July Group F
26 July Group C
26 July Group H
Date Group
27 July Group A
27 July Group D
28 July Group B
28 July Group G

Group A

Group A was played on 27 July.

Matches

Table

Pos. Player P W D L FW FL FD HB Pts
1  Pang Junxu (CHN) 3 2 1 0 8 4 +4 104 7
2  Yuan Sijun (CHN) 3 1 2 0 7 4 +3 74 5
3  Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG) 3 1 0 2 4 6 −2 127 3
4  Ali Carter (ENG) 3 0 1 2 3 8 −5 80 1

Group B

Group B was played on 28 July.

Matches

Table

Pos. Player P W D L FW FL FD HB Pts
1  Luca Brecel (BEL) 3 2 1 0 8 2 +6 114 7
2  Daniel Wells (WAL) 3 1 2 0 7 4 +3 79 5
3  Chris Wakelin (ENG) 3 1 1 1 5 5 0 139 4
4  Jamie Clarke (WAL) 3 0 0 3 0 9 −9 52 0

Group C

Group C was played on 26 July.

Matches

Table

Pos. Player P W D L FW FL FD HB Pts
1  Stuart Bingham (ENG) 3 2 1 0 8 3 +5 120 7
2  Jamie Jones (WAL) 3 1 1 1 6 5 +1 130 4
3  Ben Woollaston (ENG) 3 1 0 2 3 7 −4 100 3
4  Jordan Brown (NIR) 3 0 2 1 5 7 −2 117 2

Group D

Group D was played on 27 July.

Matches

Table

Pos. Player P W D L FW FL FD HB Pts
1  Zhao Xintong (CHN) 3 2 1 0 8 2 +6 145 7
2  Gary Wilson (ENG) 3 2 0 1 6 4 +2 115 6
3  Mark Allen (NIR) 3 1 1 1 5 6 −1 104 4
4  Chang Bingyu (CHN) 3 0 0 3 2 9 −7 136 0

Group E

Group E was played on 25 July.

Matches

Table

Pos. Player P W D L FW FL FD HB Pts
1  Lu Ning (CHN) 3 2 1 0 8 3 +5 129 7
2  Stephen Maguire (SCO) 3 2 0 1 7 3 +4 73 6
3  Mark Williams (WAL) 3 1 0 2 3 6 −3 133 3
4  Aaron Hill (IRL) 3 0 1 2 2 8 −6 73 1

Group F

Group F was played on 25 July.

Matches

Table

Pos. Player P W D L FW FL FD HB Pts
1  Lyu Haotian (CHN) 3 2 1 0 8 3 +5 79 7
2  Hossein Vafaei (IRN) 3 1 1 1 5 5 0 124 4
3  Jimmy Robertson (ENG) 3 0 3 0 6 6 0 87 3
4  Michael Judge (IRL) 3 0 1 2 3 8 −5 76 1

Group G

Group G was played on 28 July.

Matches

Table

Pos. Player P W D L FW FL FD HB Pts
1  Ricky Walden (ENG) 3 2 1 0 8 3 +5 135 7
2  Shaun Murphy (ENG) 3 2 0 1 7 5 +2 112 6
3  Anthony Hamilton (ENG) 3 1 1 1 6 5 +1 116 4
4  Elliot Slessor (ENG) 3 0 0 3 1 9 −8 53 0

Group H

Group H was played on 26 July.

Matches

Table

Pos. Player P W D L FW FL FD HB Pts
1  Xiao Guodong (CHN) 3 2 1 0 8 4 +4 127 7
2  Michael White (WAL) 3 2 0 1 7 4 +3 131 6
3  Robert Milkins (ENG) 3 0 2 1 4 7 −3 75 2
4  David Gilbert (ENG) 3 0 1 2 4 8 −4 102 1

Stage Three

Stage Three consisted of two groups, each containing four players.[6]

Group 1

Group 1 was played on 29 July.

Matches

Table

Pos. Player P W D L FW FL FD HB Pts
1  Lu Ning (CHN) 3 2 1 0 8 4 +5 139 7
2  Ricky Walden (ENG) 3 0 3 0 6 6 0 130 3
3  Stuart Bingham (ENG) 3 0 2 1 5 7 −2 131 2
4  Pang Junxu (CHN) 3 0 2 1 5 7 −2 107 2

Group 2

Group 2 was played on 29 July.

Matches

Table

Pos. Player P W D L FW FL FD HB Pts
1  Luca Brecel (BEL) 3 2 0 1 7 3 +4 108 6
2  Xiao Guodong (CHN) 3 2 0 1 7 4 +3 111 6
3  Zhao Xintong (CHN) 3 2 0 1 6 4 +2 138 6
4  Lyu Haotian (CHN) 3 0 0 3 0 9 −9 0

Final

Final: Best of 5 frames. Referee: John Pellew
Morningside Arena, Leicester, England, 29 July 2022.
Lu Ning
 China
1–3 Luca Brecel
 Belgium
Frame scores: 67–68, 73–0, 15–72, 0–125 (100)
73 Highest break 100
0 Century breaks 1

Century breaks

A total of 106 century breaks were made during the tournament.[7][8][9][10][11]

References

  1. ^ a b "Tournament".
  2. ^ "Championship League 2022 Ranking Draw". championshipleaguesnooker.co.uk. 8 June 2022.
  3. ^ "Championship League Draw". World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. 8 June 2022. Archived from the original on 8 June 2022.
  4. ^ "Stage One".
  5. ^ "Stage Two".
  6. ^ "Stage Three".
  7. ^ "Championship League Snooker 2022 (Stage One WK1) | Centuries". World Snooker Tour. 28 June – 1 July 2022. Archived from the original on 4 July 2022. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  8. ^ "Championship League Snooker 2022 (Stage One WK2) | Centuries". World Snooker Tour. 4–7 July 2022. Archived from the original on 5 July 2022. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  9. ^ "Championship League Snooker 2022 (Stage One WK3) | Centuries". World Snooker Tour. 11–15 July 2022. Archived from the original on 11 July 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  10. ^ "Championship League Snooker 2022 (Stage One WK4) | Centuries". World Snooker Tour. 18–21 July 2022. Archived from the original on 18 July 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  11. ^ "Championship League Snooker 2022 (Stage Two & Stage Three) | Centuries". World Snooker Tour. 25–29 July 2022. Archived from the original on 25 July 2022. Retrieved 25 July 2022.