WST has published some more information about the first ranking event of the 2021/22 season:

Wednesday 9 Jun 2021 10:23AM

Championship League Snooker’s ranking event will return this summer as 128 players compete for the title at Morningside Arena, Leicester.

The tournament takes place over three stages, starting on Sunday, July 18. Winners’ Week will run from Monday, August 9, concluding with Finals Day on Friday, August 13.

Championship League Snooker Ranking Event 2021
Stage 1:
18-23 July
26-30 July
2-6 August

Stage 2:
August 9-12

Stage 3:
August 13

Details of how to watch will be announced soon.

The CLS isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but I’m glad it’s back on the calendar as the first event of the season. I believe that this is the best possible start for the young and rookies. It may be just one day for most of them, it’s still seven matches, and at least 14 frames, against 7 different opponents, including some of the best. And they have a real chance to win a little something too. Even if it’s not much, it’s definitely better for those who need to gain experience than playing just one best of seven, getting beaten and go away, penniless.

Corrigendum: Mr Rerack correctly pointed out in comments that I was getting confused and the format I descibed above was the format of the WST Pro Series. So, if the format here is the same as for last year ranking CLS, the groups are four players groups and the matches best of 4. It’s still better than just one best of 7.

WST also reported on the team event in China:

Shanghai Success At CBSA Cup

The ‘One Belt, One Road’ Shaanxi 2021 CBSA Cup National Snooker Team Championship was won by a Shanghai team represented by Tian Pengfei, Lu Ning and Zhao Jianbo, following a 4-2 victory against the Sichuan team of Zhou Yuelong, Zhang Jiankang and Cai Wei.

Held at the Shaanxi Tennis Centre, the competition saw 35 teams contest the title, won previously by Team Guangdong last December.

This year it would be Team Shanghai that would emerge victorious, a 4-3 semi-final victory against Team Lanzhou secured on the final pink, followed by a 4-2 final success against Sichuan in the title match enough to secure the 150,000 RMB top prize.

There were seven centuries made during the event in all, with a high break of 140 compiled by Cao Yupeng. Notably, there was also a break of 110 by Zhang Anda and Cao Yupeng in a doubles frame.

Ding and Yan Bingtao are the only “big names” who did not enter. Yan actually stayed in the UK after the World Championship: he’s in Sheffield with his girlfriend.

And here is the google translation of the report published by the CBSA via weibo

Taiwan Association Cup ends Tian Pengfei leads Shanghai team 4-2 and Sichuan team wins championship

​​News from the official website of the China Billiards Association On June 9, 2021, the “Belt and Road” Shaanxi China Taiwan Association Cup National Snooker Team Championship entered the final match day. In the finals, Tian Pengfei, Lu Ning and Zhao Jianbo represented The Shanghai team defeated Zhou Yuelong, Zhang Jiankang, and Cai Wei’s Sichuan team 4-2 and raised the championship trophy.

The China Taiwan Association Cup National Snooker Team Championship has been held in Xi’an, Shaanxi for two consecutive years. Last year, the Guangdong team composed of Fang Xiongman, Huang Jiahao and Browning broke through 32 teams to win the championship. This year, the number of teams in the event has increased to 35, and the participation of professional players such as Liang Wenbo, Xiao Guodong, Zhou Yuelong and others has also enhanced the viewing of the event.
According to the schedule, the two semi-final competitions ended this morning. In the upper half, the Shanghai team composed of Zhao Jianbo, Lu Ning and Tian Pengfei played against the Lanzhou team represented by Wu Yize, Xu Si and Lu Haotian. Both teams are full-professional lineups, and this game was inextricably played. It was not until the deciding game that Zhao Jianbo scored the last pink ball on the table.
In the lower half, the Sichuan team consisting of three Sichuan players Zhang Jiankang, Zhou Yuelong and Cai Wei played against last year’s champion team player Fang Xiongman and the Foshan team represented by Long Zehuang and He Guoqiang. The Sichuan team played well in singles and doubles in this game. In the round, there were no opponents and finally reached the final with a score of 4-1.

In the first single game of the final, Lu Ning played against Zhang Jiankang. In the final stage of the black ball, Zhang Jiankang scored the goal and won a point for his hometown. In the second game, Zhao Jianbo faced Zhou Yuelong. In the game, Zhou Yuelong made consecutive misunderstandings and gave his opponent a free kick. Zhao Jianbo took the opportunity to tie the score.
In the doubles game, Tian Pengfei and Zhao Jianbo played against Zhang Jiankang and Cai Wei. In this round, the Sichuan team spent more time sitting on the bench than playing time. The score came to 1-2, and the Sichuan team lost another round. In the fourth game, Zhou Yuelong seized the opportunity to tie the score using Tian Pengfei’s mistake. In the fifth game, Lu Ning defeated Cai Wei and the Shanghai team got the match point.
In the sixth round of doubles, the Shanghai team was played by Tian Pengfei’s partner Lu Ning, and the Sichuan team’s lineup remained unchanged. Under pressure, Lu Ning succeeded in attacking the red ball in the remote station and opened the situation smoothly. Then the two consecutively scored around the black ball, keeping the initiative firmly in their hands. In the midgame stage, the two sides launched a long safety ball battle. As you come and go, the difficulty of the situation has also increased step by step.
At the end of the game, Cai Wei’s defensive mistakes became the Sichuan team’s “sweet sing” in this tournament. In the end, Tian Pengfei and Lu Ning teamed up to complete the overscore and set the score at 4-2. While winning the championship, they received a bonus of 150,000 yuan.
This tournament produced a total of 7 strokes and broke 100 points. Sichuan team Zhang Jiankang scored 112 points on the first day of the game, and Suzhou team Zhang Anda scored 117 and 134 points on the 7th. After entering the single-loss match, Cao Yupeng (140), Mei Xiwen (127), Lu Ning (101) and Lu Haotian (101) completed the break one after another on the same day. Among them, Cao Yupeng’s 140 points helped him sit on the single-stroke list Top of the list. In addition, in the group stage, Zhang Anda and Cao Yupeng worked perfectly to score 110 consecutive points in a one-man-one doubles game. (Xiao Fan)