Snooker Champions League is a very important event in the snooker billiards world. The first event was held in 2008. Currently, this event is divided into the "old version" Champions League and the "new version" Champions League. Moreover, the two versions of the Champions League, , co-exist. means: after the new version of the Champions League began in 2020, the old version of the Champions League is still being held. Of course, whether this situation will continue in the future depends on WST's subsequent event planning.
1-Old version of Snooker Champions League
The old version of Snooker Champions League adopts the invitational method, and the results of the game have no impact on the players' world rankings, so it is also called the invitational Champions League. During the event's hosting and development, the rules have been revised several times. Before 2010, there were 4 games per game, and now there are 5 games per game.
Each event invites 25 world's top snooker masters to participate. The event schedule will first arrange 7 groups of tour competitions, and finally the finals of the winner group will be held.
Tour competition stage, 7 people in Group 1, 2~7 each group pre-ordered 3 people. After the start of the first group, the seven people in the group played in 5 games and 3 wins in the group stage. Each player played 6 group matches in total. If he won 1 game, he would add 1 point. If he lost, he would not score. After the group stage, the top 4 places entered the knockout round, which also had 5 games and 3 wins. According to the group points ranking, the first place was against the fourth place and the second place against the third place, and then the two semi-final winners entered the final. The winner of the final is the group champion of this group and will automatically enter the winner group participating in the finals.
When comparing group rankings, when multiple players score the same score, the number of winning games and losing games will be compared. When the number of winning games and losing games will be the same, the mutual results between the players who have not scored are continued.
, the other three players who entered the knockout stage but did not win the championship and the fifth-place player in the group stage will enter the next group, with a total of 7 players in the next group pre-ordered three players, and continue to the tour of the next group, and the players who ranked 6th and 7th in the group will be eliminated. This cycle will be completed until the end of the 7th group competition, the champion of the 7th group enters the winner group, the tour phase ends, and the finals will be held.
finals, the 7 people in the winner group adopt the same competition rules as each group in the tour stage to determine the championship. The champion in the winner group is the championship of this Champions League.
By the way, the concept of "group" in the invited version of the snooker Champions League is somewhat similar to the "station" in the volleyball tournament. The championship of a certain group is equivalent to the championship of a certain station in the volleyball tournament. This may be because all the competitions in the snooker Champions League are basically played in one place, and the organizers of the event adopt the concept of group.
2-New version of Snooker Champions League
In 2020 during the epidemic, the new version of Snooker Champions League was born as a sports event that resumed competition earlier and was upgraded to a ranking competition, so it is also called the ranking version of the championship league. The ranking version of the Champions League adopts a 4-inning system. The final scores that may appear between the two players are: 3-0, 3-1 or 2-2, and there is a draw. In the 4-inning group stage, the player wins the group points and adds 3 points, and adds 1 point to the draw, and no points will be scored if he loses.
How many people will participate in each new version of the Champions League? The official did not give clear rules. The latest one was held from July to August 2021, with 128 participants. The competition is divided into four stages: the first stage group stage, the second stage group stage, the third stage group stage and the final. In the first stage of the
competition, 128 players were divided into 32 groups, with 4 people in each group, and the first place in each group advanced to the next stage. In the second stage, 32 players were divided into 8 groups, with 4 people in each group, and the first place in each group advanced to the next stage. In the third stage, 8 players were divided into 2 groups, with 4 people in each group, and the first place in the two groups advanced to the final. The winner of the final is the champion of this Champions League.
3-The main differences between new and old versions of the Champions League
Difference 1: old version is an invitational tournament, and the competition does not affect professional rankings. The new version is a ranking competition, and the results of each game will affect the contestants' world professional ranking points.
Difference 2: 25 participants in the old version of , with fewer contestants. The number of participants in the new version reached 128, with a large number of contestants.
Difference 3: The old version of adopts a multi-round tour system, and players who failed to enter the winner's group in the previous group may have the chance to continue to move to the next group. The new version is a multi-stage group knockout round, and the last three players who failed to win the first place in the group were eliminated directly.
Difference 4: The old version of is relatively small, and many players use it as a training competition. Some players even give up participating but give up participating (of course, there are still many top experts invited to participate, and because the competition does not affect their professional ranking, the players will be more relaxed when attacking, and the excitement of the competition is also good). The new version has relatively many bonuses and affects the professional ranking of participants, so the contestants will pay more attention to the competition.
In fact, the snooker Champions League competition system is not static, and it is likely to change in the future. After all, many snooker billiards events are still relatively short, and many rules are gradually adjusted as the number of games is held.
4-Previous Champions
2008: Joe Perry (England)
2009: Judd Trump (England)
2010: Fu Jiajun (Hong Kong, China)
2011: Matthew Stevens (Welsh)
2012: Ding Junhui (China)
2013: Martin Gould (England)
2014: Judd Trump (England)
2015: Stewart Bingham (England)
2016 Year: Judd Trump (England)
2017: John Higgins (Scotland)
2018: John Higgins (Scotland)
2020: Scott Donaldson (Scotland)
2020: Luca Brechel (Belgium)
2020: Karen Wilson (UK)
(3 sessions in 2020)
2021: Karen Wilson (UK)
2021: David Gilbert (England)
(3 sessions in 2021, and 1 session has not ended)
