WST has now shared more information regarding the first part of the 2020/21 season
WST can now announce that all of the first eight fixtures on the 2020/21 calendar will be held at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes.
We are delighted to continue working with the staff at the Marshall Arena, who were a tremendous help staging last season’s Championship League and Tour Championship under trying circumstances, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Every endeavour has been taken to minimise the risk of tournaments being postponed over the coming months. Having already successfully held tournaments at the Marshall Arena, we have demonstrated the ability to proceed in a safe manner under lockdown conditions.
We clearly hope that there will be no need to return to lockdown, at local or national level, but holding these events in Milton Keynes gives us the best possible chance to ensure they are delivered to our broadcasters and partners, as well players and fans.
The third leg of this season’s Championship League will now take place from October 26th to 30th. It was originally scheduled to be played from October 23rd to 27th. The BetVictor Shoot Out will now be held in February, with precise dates to be confirmed in due course.
Updated Calendar
SEPTEMBER
13-20 – Championship League – Milton Keynes
21-27 – European Masters – Milton Keynes
28-Oct 5 – Championship League – Milton Keynes
OCTOBER
12-18 – English Open – Milton Keynes
26-30 – Championship League – Milton Keynes
NOVEMBER
2-8 – Champion of Champions – Milton Keynes
10-14 – Qualifiers – BetVictor German Masters – Milton Keynes
16-22 – Northern Ireland Open – Milton Keynes
24-6 Dec – Betway UK Championship – York
DECEMBER
7-13 – Scottish Open – Venue TBC
14-20 – Coral World Grand Prix – Venue TBC
It will not please everyone one, but it’s probably the most sensible approach in order to make sure that the schedule events can be held safely.
Good job its Milton Keynes and not Crawley !.Not sure what his nibs thinks of M K though.
Almost everything is Milton Keynes Open now… 🙂
They will all probably get awfully sick of Milton Keynes! I don’t know the Arena, but it must be large enough for 8 tables, with some of those events. Despite that, the prominence of the Championship League makes it fairly clear that they are mainly looking at TV revenue with 2 tables in play.
I think they ought to run the Shoo-out in China, to break up the back-to-back series there in March-May 2021. It could be a really nice event if organised properly. It was always a non-starter in 2020 with social distancing at least.
My current contract finishes on 20th November, which would be perfect to go to York for the UK Championship if they accept any spectators by then.