Judd Trump is the first player into the semi-finals of the 2021 Cazoo Champion of Champions after beating Ryan Day in the Group 1 final 6-0 in Bolton.
Trump faced off against World Seniors Champion David Lilley in the opening encounter of the tournament, coming through a 4-1 victor.
The Ace in the Pack’s win set up an evening clash with Day, who had overcome Stephen Maguire 4-2 to book his place in the group final.
Day, the 2021 Snooker Shoot-Out champion, showed glimpses of magic against Maguire, but Trump never allowed a chance in their evening clash.
Trump opened the match with the first century of the tournament, delivering a clearance of 104. That lead was soon doubled after Trump composed a break of 67 to make it 2-0. Day never got going in the contest and it was Trump who continued to apply the heat going into the interval 4-0 up, after breaks of 68 and 47 in the fourth. Trump claimed the fifth when play resumed and then completed the whitewash with a break of 61
“You do not get many 6-0s against these top players. When I go 5-0 up, I always think this is too good to be true, something’s going to happen. To get through, it was very comfortable in the end. I will probably need to stay at that sort of level and standard if I am going to progress in the tournament,” said Trump.
“This is a really good event. You come here and know you play both games in one day. If you get through, you know you’re straight in the deep end. It’s nice to have a couple of days off, watch all the games and get some practice. It’ll be a special atmosphere for the semi-finals.
“You’re under a little pressure in the first game, you want to get through. It’s a short distance. You do not want to be going home early doors. It took me a little time to get used to the table conditions and once I got warmed up and tonight was a lot better.”
Trump will now play in the first semi-final on Friday against the winner of Group 4 which includes Neil Robertson, Mark Williams, Kyren Wilson, and Jordan Brown. He said: “This event is special. If you look down the winners, it’s always the big names and top players who have won this. Mark Allen produced an amazing standard in the last year. We’ve seen some great finals with Ronnie O’Sullivan and the one with me and Neil. It’s one to try and tick off the list. It would be a real special one for me.”
He was also pleased with this year’s Cazoo Champion of Champions attire with the exclusive performance fit polo shirts made by Onboard Sportswear: “I think that’s why I played so well tonight. I felt a lot more relaxed. I felt a lot freer. You’re not tied up in heavy clothing and stuff getting in the way and no bow tie getting in the way. This is more like the sort of thing we wear in practice. You’re a lot more relaxed and I think it comes out in the way I play.”
No surprise really. Judd Trump was always going to be a strong favourite in what is clearly the weakest of the four groups. David Lilley is the Seniors World Champion, but he’s an amateur currently, he has little experience of playing in prestigious events. He was visibly nervous and struggling with the conditions. Although he managed to win the first frame, overall he wasn’t able to take advantage of the opportunities he got, and there were many as Judd Trump didn’t play well early on.
The second match of the afternoon was strange: Ryan Day started well and played well enough. Ryan is an extremely gifted player. I have seen him play in exhibitions and he’s absolutely awsome. He isn’t the best under pressure though. A horrible miscue when he looked on his way to a 4-1 win appeared to strip him from any sort of confidence for a frame and a half. He got over the line though against an out of sorts opponent.
I didn’t watch the evening ma`tch as I expected it to be a one-way traffic affair despite Judd’s unconvincing performance in his first match. I was proved right. Going by the frames scores, Judd did play well.
Judd Trump is in action on this first day in what is definitely the easiest group in the event by some margin…
As you would expect, he was interviewed by Phil Haigh ahead of the tournament … and, of course, had plenty to say and had to have a pop at Ronnie.
Judd Trump: Ronnie O’Sullivan has lost belief and no one is scared to play him
Phil Haigh Sunday 14 Nov 2021
Ronnie O’Sullivan will be looking to snap out of his trophy drought at the Champion of Champions (Picture: Getty Images)
Ronnie O’Sullivan is lacking belief and his rivals are no longer scared to play him, believes Judd Trump, as the Rocket’s trophy drought stretches past 18 months.
O’Sullivan has not picked up any silverware since he won his sixth World Championship title last year, remarkably losing five finals on the spin last season.
Trump, who has won five titles since the Rocket’s last, feels there is bound to be a lack of belief creeping in, despite being the most successful snooker player ever.
‘I just think he’s lost a little bit of the belief,’ said Trump. ‘When you don’t win you don’t have the same belief, people aren’t scared to beat you.
‘He’s still getting to finals, he’s always going to breeze through the first few games because he’s so good. But when he comes up against a top 16 player there’s just not that gulf in class anymore, I don’t think.
‘No one is that scared to play him, on their day anyone’s game is good enough to beat him and that’s what’s happened to him over the last year.’
Judd Trump reckons a lack of confidence can hit anyone (Picture: Getty Images)
Presented with this suggestion, O’Sullivan did not seem impressed, laughing at the assertion.
‘Who me?’ O’Sullivan said before breaking into a chuckle. ‘Yeah maybe, maybe I’m lacking belief. Yeah, I dunno, maybe he’s right, who knows? Who knows?’
Trump has been the most consistent winner of tournaments over the last two years, and puts that partly down to treating every event equally, preparing as diligently for the Gibraltar Open as he does the World Championship.
The Ace feels this is the only way to win regularly on the main tour, as O’Sullivan’s struggles have shown, reminding the Rocket that ‘he can’t win an event to save his life at the minute.’
‘They’re all the same to me nowadays,’ said Trump. ‘I think the only people that see the big events as the big events are the people that win the big events
‘If they won the little ones then they say the little ones are just as big. It’s whatever event you win, really. I’m just happy to win any event.
‘A lot of the top players, Ronnie included, he can’t win an event to save his life at the minute. It just shows how hard it is to win – what someone would call – a smaller event, with all the top players still in it.’
The Rocket has a very different view to Trump on many events on the calendar, describing the four Home Nations tournaments as ‘very minor’ and both ‘like pro-ams’ and ‘match practice’.
Some considered these – and many other O’Sullivan comments – as disrespectful towards snooker and Trump wishes the game’s GOAT would not put the sport down.
‘I just…it doesn’t wind me up because I’m so used to it, and there’s so many different sides to him,’ said Judd of Ronnie’s comments. ‘He can be the nicest person in the world, it’s just some of the comments are a bit derogatory towards snooker sometimes and there’s no need for it.
‘There’s no need to put it down, no one else puts their sport down. It’s just something he likes to do to try and pretend he doesn’t love snooker, but I think deep down it means so much to him and the records mean so much.
‘He’s an amazing guy, I love him, I’ve practiced with him, I’ve got no bad words to say. If you haven’t got anything good to say, there’s no need to say anything.
‘It’s just that one day it’s one thing and the next day it’s another thing. If he genuinely meant it I’d think, “Okay, I’ll listen.”
Ronnie hasn’t won a title since August 2020 … he’s about to turn 46. He still made it to 5 finals. I may not live long enough to see how Judd does at 46 – I’ll be 80 by then if I’m still around – but, somehow, I doubt that he will be doing better than the class of 92 is currently doing.
Judd … well OK, he has won a lot over the last 2 and 1/2 years BUT, since winning the German Masters last January, nearly 10 months ago, his only title came at the 2021 Gibraltar Open, a best-of-seven event from start to finish where he didn’t face a single top 8 player. Other that that, he didn’t go past the QFs in any event. Maybe he’s lacking a bit of belief himself then?
Other than that … the arena should be ready and great
Judd Trump’s pleas for snooker to be brought ‘out of the dark ages’ answered with rule change on player’s clothing
Hector Nunns
JUDD TRUMP has seen demands for a more modern dress code answered for next week’s Champion of Champions.
But the Juddernaut, who claimed in April snooker was “stuck in a rut”, will not be walking out in casual clobber at the Crucible any time soon.
Judd Trump has seen his demands for a more relaxed dress code in snooker getting answered Credit: Alamy
Judd Trump is set to compete with a more casual attire at the Champion of Champions
World No2 Trump, 32, lines up in Bolton in the elite 16-player field for an event bringing together the year’s winners.
And he will enter the arena wearing a new black personalised performance shirt – of the type seen in nine-ball pool.
This starkly contrasts with the traditional snooker get-up of waistcoats, suit trousers, shirts and bow ties.
But governing body World Snooker Tour insist this move will not be extended to events such as the UK Championship later this month, and the Betfred World Championship.
Former world champion Trump said: “It is about time, it’s nice to see them trying out new ideas and bringing snooker into the 21st century.
“And it will also be nice to be playing in a big tournament in attire that is a lot more comfortable – similar to what I would wear in practise.
So this is today’s line-up… Judd may be happy and look good in that polo shirt, but some of the players will definitely not. Maybe this is the real reason why Mark Allen withdrew? (only joking).
More seriously, I’m not a fan of seeing snooker looking more like 9-ball and I have the worrying feeling that matchroom priorities are definitely shifting towards pool now that Barry Hearn is no more at the elm. They are planning 6 pool events for next season.
Today, in Valencia, Valentino Rossi bid farewell to MotoGP. At 42, with 115 wins and 9 World Titles to his name, the famous nr 46 put an end to his extraordinary career. He finished 10th in the competition, and this season, his last, has been disappointing, but his very last lap was pure Valentino Rossi celebration. There was a lot of emotion … in the paddocks, in the “yellow” tribunes … and amongst his rivals who gathered around him at the end. He went out as a celebrated champion.
All the best for the future Vale, and thank you!
In stark contrast, Stephen Hendry’s farewell to snooker was very low key. On May 1, 2012, Stephen Hendry, aged 43, lost by 13-2 to Stephen Maguire, sat calmly in the media room and simply said “I have played my last professional match”, a sentence met by stunned silence in the room. Stephen had made a 147 in the first round, beaten the defending champion, John Higgins, in the second round, but this last match was an abdication. He went out with a session to spare. There was no fight, no panache at all. After a few errors early in the match, he gave up. This is not how a great champion should go out. There was a tribute at the Crucible on the next day, but Stephen looked quite shy out there, almost uneasy.
Since his return to the professional tour, Stephen Hendry hasn’t been pulling any trees. Most recently, he was beaten 4-0 by Chris Wakelin (who played very well).
Hendry admits his ultimate dream is to return to the Crucible Theatre by qualifying for the World Championship, scene of his greatest victories in 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996 and 1999 – and will accept another World Snooker wildcard in future if he feels like there is room for improvement.
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“I’m enjoying the process, my game is improving all the time on the practice table,” said the seven-times world champion, who is competing on the second year of a two-year invitational wildcard with White extending his golden 41-year career via similar playing privileges.
“I know that kind of means nothing, but when I first started with (my coach) Stephen Feeney, I wanted to get back to enjoying playing snooker again even if it was on the practice table.
THE ULTIMATE GOAL IS TO PLAY ONE MORE MATCH AT THE CRUCIBLE. TO QUALIFY FOR THAT WOULD BE INCREDIBLE. ALL THESE MATCHES ARE PART OF THE PROCESS, AND GETTING ME COMFORTABLE IN ARENAS AGAIN.
I know that many fans believe that there is no point to this, that he’s just embarrassing himself, that the focus should be on the young ones. I agree with this last part, but, I believe that there is room for both the young guns and the older legends.
I wasn’t into snooker when Stephen was winning everything, I wasn’t a fan of him, in the last 8 years of his career, but I sincerely wish him to fulfill his dream to play (at least) another match at the Crucible, that the last one is one he can be proud of, one he fights through to the last ball and comes out of with his head high, saluted by a standing ovation. He’s a great, great Champion, he deserves to take farewell of the Crucible on a high.
Mark Williams talks changing the tour, break-offs, gout and the only matches that have ever annoyed him
Phil Haigh Friday 12 Nov 2021
Mark Williams is rarely flustered, but it can be done (Picture: Getty Images)
Famously relaxed about winning or losing snooker matches, Mark Williams can only think of two defeats in his entire career that have wound him up, although there are other things in the game that grind the Welshman’s gears.
At 46-years-old the three-time world champion is still competing at the top of the sport, winning the British Open this season and taking his ranking title tally to 24 in the process.
He’s back in action next week at the Champion of Champions as he looks to add that title to his collection, but he will be trying to see-off both Covid and gout when he does so.
Missing the English Open and European Masters due to a positive test, Williams has been struggling with the virus, and although he’s on the mend, his old foe gout is threatening to strike again.
‘I’m a bit better now,’ Williams told Metro.co.uk of his Covid struggles. ‘Taste is coming back slowly. I was in bed for five or six days shivering.
‘Hopefully I’ll be alright by Tuesday [when he takes on Neil Robertson], fingers crossed. If it was last week I’d have had it.
‘I think the gout is coming back! I’m taking these tablets again. Normally you get it, can’t walk and take these tablets for two or three days and it’s gone then. I’ve just felt my ankle going again so I’ve started taking the tablets just in case.
‘They say to try to eat healthier, but I went vegetarian for two or three weeks before I got it, so that’s weird. I’m back on the meat now. They said don’t drink too much alcohol but I don’t really drink that much now. I don’t want it again because it kills.’
Illness and injury have struck at an irritating time for the Welsh Potting Machine after some impressive early-season form, having also been in good nick at the back end of the last campaign as he won the WST Pro Series and made the Crucible quarter-finals.
‘I won one [title] last year, one this year, I’m playing really good as well,’ he said. ‘I’ve been unlucky to get gout and Covid at the time when I’m playing some really good stuff.
‘Even with gout I was one ball away from beating John Higgins 4-0 [at the Northern Ireland Open], which I should have won to go into the quarters and then who knows?
‘I’ve missed two tournaments because of Covid when I had some good momentum and now I’ve got to start from scratch and get that momentum back. It’s a weird one.’
Williams reached a 10th World Championship quarter-final this year (Picture: Getty Images)
Williams always says that losing doesn’t bother him in the slightest and even being 3-0 up on his old rival Higgins in Belfast before losing 4-3 didn’t fluster him.
‘Honestly, I missed a straight red to win 4-0,’ he said. ‘Red and black, it was easy. Lost, shook his hand.
‘I don’t know why people don’t believe me, it doesn’t bother me in the slightest. The commentators going, “Oh that’ll hurt for a while.” Hurt what? How can you hurt? You’ve just lost a snooker game, man, for goodness’ sake.’
Having turned professional in 1992 it seems unconceivable that Williams can have literally never been annoyed by a defeat and when pushed he could recall one or two examples of being ‘cheesed off’.
‘The only one that sticks in my mind, I lost to Ali Carter in the UK, I think it was in Telford [2008 quarter-final]. It was 8-8, I was in the balls and I had the biggest kick on a red to win 9-8 and missed it,’ Williams explained.
‘That was the only match that I can remember driving home and I don’t think I spoke to my mate Matthew all the way home. I drove home at ridiculous speeds.
Williams is fifth on the all-time list or ranking title winners (Picture: Getty Images)
‘The next morning I was still pissed off. That’s the only match I can really remember in 30 years that I’ve been cheesed off.
‘Maybe there were one or two more, but I can’t remember them. Wait, one has come to me, playing Paul Davison, 4-4, to qualify for one event last season [German Masters].
‘He fouled the yellow, I was sat behind him and it was blatant. I told the ref he’d hit the yellow there. She said, “how do you know?” Well I was sat right behind it. I asked if they could check and they said no. I was a bit cheesed off on that one, but just because of the way it happened.
‘He come up to me probably weeks after and apologised, said it was a foul but he didn’t see it at the time because he was swerving, something like that. It’s long gone by then. If he’d have said straight afterwards I’d have, you know, said something. Losing makes no difference to me, but it was blatant.
‘I couldn’t argue much because if the referee hadn’t seen it, they hadn’t seen it. That was a rare occasion though, it’s not many games over a 30-year career to get upset about.’
Asked if this is the experience of a grizzled veteran coming into play or just his natural persona, Williams said: ‘I’ve always had that attitude.
‘There’s no one that will try any harder than me when I’m playing. But as soon as it’s over I’ll shake hands and that’s it.’
It’s difficult to bother Mark on the snooker table, but he would like to see changes off the baize, suggesting a cut to the number of professional players on tour and ideally some prize money for first round losers.
With amateur top-up players competing in every event and first rounds losers walking away with nothing but bills, Williams would prefer a smaller, more sustainable pro tour.
‘Don’t get me started on the top-ups,’ he said. ‘If you lose in the last round of Q School you’ve got the best of both worlds. Every pro event, every amateur, if you’re over 40 all of the Seniors as well. How is that fair?
‘I think it would be better, if you need top-ups, go off the Q School list but they only get one event. You can’t have people coming in as top-ups at every event, knocking professionals out who are trying to earn a living. In my opinion they shouldn’t be in it if they don’t get through Q School. They can have one event. It might just be me but I don’t think that’s fair.
‘There must be well over half the tour who are skint. You’ve got to get to the latter stages to earn good money and there’s not many players that do that. It’s normally the same ones every time, so it’s very difficult to earn a living.
‘You never get 128 players at an event anyway, so I’d cut the tour because it’s too big, not sure to what number. Once you get on the tour hopefully everyone would be able to earn a living, including paying the first round losers.
‘The incentive is to get on tour and once you’re on the world professional tour you should be guaranteed a living. You don’t have to worry about losing. It’ll be harder to get on but it could be possible for everyone to be on a living then.’
Williams wants fewer pro players on the main tour (Picture: Getty Images)
Even with the full 128 players the current tour holds, Williams can’t see why a slight restructure couldn’t be made to offer prize money in the first round.
‘Would there be any harm in, say, first round of the UK Championship, it’s £6,500, change it to £5,000 and the loser gets £1,500? I’d prefer it that way. It takes a lot of pressure off the lower-ranked boys.
‘I don’t understand why they don’t do it, it seems easy. World Championship it’s £10,000 or nothing. What’s the harm in £7,000 and £,3000 or £8,000 and £2000, there must be a reason or they’d have done it.
‘I don’t see how it’s a reward to someone just helping them pay the bills. But I do think the tour is too big, when was the last time we didn’t have top-ups in an event?’
One thing Williams has changed himself in recent years is the way he breaks-off in frames, choosing to roll into the pack of reds off the top cushion rather than the traditional break.
There were calls to ban the defensive shot at first, and even an email to players asking if it should be allowed, before a number of those players saw the benefit of it and copied the move, which entertained the Welshman.
‘I was [laughing] because I thought it was pathetic we had an email about banning it,’ said Mark. ‘I ain’t done nothing wrong.
‘Then John Higgins done it, Ronnie O’Sullivan done it, 10 or more of them were doing it. You’ll soon get sick of leaving a long red!
‘I don’t do it as much now, but if the table’s playing so you can’t get behind the green, I go back to rolling into the bunch. It’s just a break-off, you know, pfft. Ban the break-off!
‘Who was it? I broke off like that and he had the hump, you could tell on his face. I can’t remember who it was but I beat him 4-0. If it annoys people it makes you want to do it more. The more people talked about banning it the more I was doing it.
‘You can’t tell Ronnie not to smash the pack. They were trying to ban my break off, I haven’t had an email off World Snooker yet about smashing the pack. They must be happy with that one.’
Williams is certainly open to change in the game, backing Judd Trump’s calls to modernise the dress code and look at the possibility of staging the World Championship somewhere other than the Crucible.
‘I always thought one day they’d move from there, that it would outgrow the Crucible,’ said Mark.
‘I can see why people think it’s good with the tradition, which it is. But I just think it’s that big a tournament it could generate more money if you spread it around, like the [FIFA] World Cup.
‘Even if it did go from there, the Crucible would have to have a tournament because when it gets down to one table it’s one of the best venues you can play in.’
Most want the World Championship to stay in Sheffield but there are some calls for a move (Picture: Getty Images )
On snooker’s dress code, the veteran is happy for change to come to try and attract a younger generation, although admits that players should not be left up to their own devices.
‘I read what Judd said and I think he’s pretty much spot on,’ said Williams. ‘Look, I’m coming to the end of my career, whether you play in t-shirts, Dickie Bows or a pair of shorts, it doesn’t really make any difference to me, I couldn’t care less. But what he’s saying to get younger people involved, he’s got a fair point.
‘The younger players, they don’t want to see Judd Trump wearing a Dickie Bow, they’d rather see him wear his own clothes or whatever. It gives you your own identity I suppose. We’ve got to attract youngsters very quick because what I’m seeing, the amateur game, it’s not in a great state at the moment.
‘We get a few kids in [at my club] but nothing compared to when I used to go in when I was a kid. The Welsh junior tournaments, oh my God, you’d have loads of entries, now I’m hearing it’s five and six entries for junior tournaments. That’s worrying. But it’s hard to get people in snooker clubs now, playing X-boxes and outside playing football, it’s difficult.
‘I don’t think the Shoot Out t-shirts look bad, I think they look quite smart. I suppose it’s dodgy telling people they can wear their own clothes, I’m not the smartest I’d probably turn up in a pair of tracksuits.’
It will come to no surprise to those who read this blog regularly that I completely agree with Mark about the size of the tour, the top-ups and and money for the first-round losers. I know that I’m in a minority, but I’d rather have walk-overs for the top seeds than top-ups.
The break-off saga was pathetic indeed. It’s a perfectly legal shot, one that I have seen played by Steve Davis several times years ago in the Premier League, of all events. What I find interesting is the bit about conditions and not being able to get behind the green. Every single time, Mark or Ronnie play that shot, if Joe Johnson and/or John Virgo are in the commentary box they go: “He wanted to be glued on the cushion there, but he got second prize there …”. Nope…
Regarding the dress code, Mark has enough common sense to know that we need a dress code of sorts. Enough players manage to look scruffy even in a waistcoat and bow-tie… I don’t want to know how some would look if left on their own devices entirely.
It’s also no surprise to hear that Mark is open to a move from the Crucible. He was fined in 2012 for making “derogatory” comments about the venue. I was in the media room that year at the World Championship and Mark’s first post-match was eagerly anticipated. Actually most of the media had a lot of sympathy for Mark … and booed him jokingly when he entered the press room. Back then, Mark explained why, despite the refurbishments, he thought that the Crucible is an inadequate venue. There isn’t much space in there, and it’s not just the arena. The BBC studio was right next the practice area, with just curtains separating them. The dressing rooms are small and only a few are on the same floor as the tournament office and have a shower in them. When a session over-runs or if a player is detained by the BBC or the media after their match, they may not be able to vacate the dressing room in time for the next occupant. There is not much space for the sponsors either.
And finally, of course, he’s concerned about the state of the game. Numbers matter and if snooker fails to attract more youngsters, it’s doomed. That said, I’m far from certain that just a change of the dress code will do the trick. The truth is that snooker is a difficult game, it takes a long time, hard work and dedication to learn it properly. This goes against the current cultural/societal trends and no gimmick will make it easy.
The tournament will run from January 26 to 30 at the famous Tempodrom venue in the German capital.
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Top stars including Judd Trump, Mark Selby, Mark Williams, Kyren Wilson, Shaun Murphy, Mark Allen and Neil Robertson have booked a place in the final stages.
In all there will be 32 players heading to Berlin for the £400,000 world ranking event. All players had to win two qualifying matches in Cannock, England, to earn a place in the final stages, and ten of the world’s top 16 made it through.
World number one Trump is aiming for his third consecutive title in this event having lifted the trophy in 2020 and 2021, but will face tough competition from the likes of World Champion Selby and former Crucible kings Williams, Murphy and Robertson.
Tickets are now on sale for the tournament at a venue widely recognised as one of the best on snooker’s global circuit, in the heart of one of the world’s most fascinating cities.
Trump won the 2021 BetVictor German Masters with a 9-2 thrashing of Jack Lisowski in the final, becoming the first player to win the title in consecutive years.
Trump won the tournament for the first time in 2020, beating Neil Robertson 9-6 in the final.
Snooker’s popularity in Germany has grown massively since the sport was first televised by Eurosport in 2003, and this tournament has been described as the ‘Woodstock of Snooker’ – drawing fans from all over the country to see the best players in the world.
Former winners include Ronnie O’Sullivan, Ding Junhui, Mark Williams and Mark Selby. In 2017, Anthony Hamilton won his first ranking title by beating Ali Carter in the final. Mark Williams won the title in 2018, beating Graeme Dott 9-1 in the final, then in 2019 Kyren Wilson scored a 9-7 final win over David Gilbert.
Well… I’m not sure who writes those pieces, but I spot so many mistakes over the last months that I can’t be bothered anymore to point them out to the media officer. This time, it’s about Judd Trump… who isn’t World number one right now as Selby nicked back the spot.
This season’s BetVictor European Masters will take place at the Stadthalle in Fürth from 22nd to 27th February 2022.
The qualifying round has already taken place and there will be a fantastic field of the world’s top stars heading to Germany for the final stages.
Ronnie O’Sullivan and John Higgins will both be in Fürth
World Champion Mark Selby, Ronnie O’Sullivan, Judd Trump and Neil Robertson all had their first round matches held over so they will be among the line-up in Fürth. And many more top names came through the qualifying round including John Higgins, Shaun Murphy, Kyren Wilson and Jack Lisowski.
The popular Stadthalle venue, in the beautiful city of Fürth, close to Nuremberg, has welcomed thousands of snooker fans over the years and hosted the Paul Hunter Classic from 2007 to 2019, when Barry Hawkins won the final edition of the tournament.
The European Masters will form part of the eight-event BetVictor Snooker Series, from which the player earning the most prize money will snap up a huge £150,000 bonus.
Last year saw World Champion Mark Selby lift the trophy aloft after beating Martin Gould 9-8 in a thrilling final. More of the same is expected in 2022, when the finest players on the planet head to Fürth.
All matches in Fürth up to and including the quarter-finals will be played over the best of nine frames, with best of 11 frame semi-finals and a best of 17 frame final.
I don’t expect any of the held-over matches to throw an upset.
Once again Judd Trump seems to be in the easiest quarter of the draw, the highest ranked player in that quarter is Zhou Yuelong, with Luca Brecel a potential danger IF on form.
By contrast, Kyren Wilson, Yan Bingtao, Barry Hawkins and David Gilbert are all in Neil Robertson’s quarter.
Ronnie has Jack Lisowski, Ali Carter and the small matter of John Higgins in his quarter. Easy then…
Mark Selby could meet Shaun Murphy in the QFs. Those two must be sick and tired to play each other in a “rematch” of the last World final … Shaun in particular must be over the moon.
The event runs from November 23 to December 5 at the York Barbican, with 128 players all needing to win seven matches to capture a title which was first contested in 1977.
The superb York Barbican venue first hosted the UK Championship in 2001
The opening round from November 23 to 25 will be televised live by Eurosport, with the second round onwards screened globally by BBC, Eurosport, CCTV, Matchroom Live and a range of other broadcasters.
Tickets for the tournament are still available and start from just £8. Sessions are expected to sell out fast now that the schedule has been released so fans must book quickly.
The tournament returns to York for the first time since 2019, having been staged behind closed doors in Milton Keynes in 2020.
Robertson beat Judd Trump 10-9 in a dramatic final last year to capture the trophy for the third time. He meets amateur Astley on Thursday November 25 at 2.30pm. Trump will be up against David Lilley on the same day at 7.30pm.
Crowd favourite Ronnie O’Sullivan takes on two-time ranking event winner Michael White on Wednesday November 24 at 7.30pm. World Champion Mark Selby plays Ross Muir on the same day at 2.30pm.
Other top stars in the field include John Higgins, Mark Williams, Shaun Murphy, Kyren Wilson, Ding Junhui, Mark Allen, legends Jimmy White and Stephen Hendry, top female players Reanne Evans and Ng On Yee, and many more.
The second round begins on Saturday November 27. All matches are best of 11 frames up until the final on Sunday December 5 which is best of 19.
The Cazoo UK Championship is one of snooker’s Triple Crown events, alongside the Cazoo Masters and the Betfred World Championship.
2021 UK Championship Snooker draw, format and schedule revealed
Phil Haigh Wednesday 10 Nov 2021
Neil Robertson is looking to defend his UK Championship title in York (Picture: WST)
The first traditional major of the snooker season gets underway on 23 November as the UK Championship returns to York after a year away from its home in North Yorkshire.
The UK Championship moved to Milton Keynes last year due to the pandemic, but still delivered an epic final which saw Neil Robertson edge out Judd Trump in a deciding frame.
The draw for this year’s event has been made with Trump taking on World Seniors champion David Lilley and Robertson kicking off the defence of his title against John Astley.
Ronnie O’Sullivan gets two-time ranking event winner Michael White, while world champion Mark Selby plays Ross Muir.
The first round matches are all live on Eurosport with BBC coverage beginning at the second round.
UK Championship draw, format and schedule
Tuesday 23 Nov 2.30pm Arena 1
Anthony McGill vs Iulian Boiko Zhou Yuelong vs Chen Zifan Kyren Wilson vs Soheil Vahedi Lu Ning vs Wu Yize
7.30pm Tom Ford vs Andrew Pagett Stephen Maguire vs Sanderson Lam Shaun Murphy vs Si Jiahui John Higgins vs Michael Georgiou
Arena 2
2.30pm Andrew Higginson vs Mark Joyce David Grace vs Peter Devlin Jak Jones vs Oliver Lines Dominic Dale vs Ashley Carty
7.30pm Scott Donaldson vs Farakh Ajaib Mark Davis vs Ashley Hugill Li Hang vs Mitchell Mann Chris Wakelin vs Jamie Clarke
Wed 24 Nov Arena 1
9.30am Ricky Walden vs Craig Steadman Gary Wilson vs Ian Burns David Gilbert vs Alfie Burden Xiao Guodong vs Zhang Jiankang
2.30pm Mark Williams vs Lei Peifan Barry Hawkins vs Reanne Evans Ding Junhui vs Zhang Anda Mark Selby vs Ross Muir
7.30pm Kurt Maflin vs Gerard Greene Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Michael White Thepchaiya Un-Nooh vs Stephen Hendry Jack Lisowski vs Sean Maddocks
Arena 2
9.30am Liam Highfield vs Jamie Wilson Noppon Saengkham vs Aaron Hill Stuart Carrington vs Zhao Jianbo Nigel Bond vs Robbie Williams
2.30pm Anthony Hamilton vs Allan Taylor Matthew Selt vs Chang Bingyu Jamie Jones vs Cao Yupeng Alex Ursenbacher vs Ben Hancorn
7.30pm Matthew Stevens vs Hammad Miah Mark King vs Jackson Page Sunny Akani vs Steven Hallworth Elliott Slessor vs Fan Zhengyi
Thu 25 Nov Arena 1
9.30am Joe Perry vs Fraser Patrick Martin Gould vs Barry Pinches Liang Wenbo vs Andy Hicks Zhao Xintong vs Yuan Sijun
2.30pm Neil Robertson vs John Astley Yan Bingato vs Ng On Yee Ali Carter vs Jimmy White Graeme Dott vs Jamie O’Neill
7.30pm Stuart Bingham vs Dean Young Judd Trump vs David Lilley Mark Allen vs Michael Judge Ryan Day vs Peter Lines
Arena 2
9.30am Tian Pengfei vs Simon Lichtenberg Ben Woollaston vs Rory McLeod Lyu Haotian vs Gao Yang Joe O’Connor vs Fergal O’Brien
2.30pm Jordan Brown vs Duane Jones Luca Brecel vs Xu Si Jimmy Robertson vs Lee Walker Martin O’Donnell vs Lukas Kleckers
7.30pm Michael Holt vs Zak Surety Sam Craigie vs Ken Doherty Robert Milkins vs Louis Heathcote Hossein Vafaei vs Pang Junxu
Round One (best of 11) Tue 23 Nov – 2.30pm & 7.30pm Wed 24 Nov – 9.30pm, 2.30pm & 7.30pm Thu 25 Nov – 9.30pm, 2.30pm & 7.30pm
Round Two (best of 11) Sat 27 Nov – 1pm & 7pm Sun 28 Nov – 1pm & 7pm
Round Three (best of 11) Mon 29 Nov – 1pm & 7pm Tue 30 Nov – 1pm & 7pm
Round Four (best of 11) Wed 01 Dec – 1pm & 7pm Thu 02 Dec – 1pm & 7pm
Quarter-finals (best of 11) Fri 03 Dec – 1pm & 7pm
Semi-finals (best of 11) Sat 04 Dec – 1pm & 7pm
Final (best of 19) Sun 05 Dec – 1pm & 7pm
I think that Michael White is a good draw for Ronnie. Michael plays an open game and doesn’t hang around.
I have put in blue the first round matches that I expect to be interesting and close.
In green, I have put two matches that may spring a surprise. I still expect the highest seed to win them, but both Ross Muir and Fraser Patrick have shown good form recently. Those matches could be much closer than most expect.
Neil Robertson has leapt 88 places to third on the one-year ranking list following his dramatic victory at the BetVictor English Open on Sunday night.
The Australian beat John Higgins 9-8 in an exciting final in Milton Keynes to take the £70,000 top prize. Robertson previously had just £4,000 on his tally this season, but now climbs to third, behind Mark Williams and Mark Allen.
The top 32 on the one-year list will qualify for the Cazoo World Grand Prix, which runs from December 13 to 19 in Coventry. Only two counting events remain before the field is confirmed: the Cazoo UK Championship and BetVictor Scottish Open.
O’Sullivan has climbed the one-year list despite losing 6-5 in the semi-finals to Higgins
Higgins took the runner-up cheque of £30,000 for the second consecutive event and he is up from sixth to fourth. Ronnie O’Sullivan reached the semi-finals to bank £20,000 and he is up from 26th to 11th so looks certain to qualify for Coventry. Mark King was the other losing semi-finalist and he jumps from 39th to 12th. Currently in 32nd place with £11,500 is Robbie Williams, but just £500 separates him from Martin Gould in 42nd.
As it stands, there are 12 players inside the top 32 of the one-year list who are outside the top 32 of the official two-year list: Jimmy Robertson, Mark King, Elliot Slessor, Luca Brecel, Oliver Lines, Cao Yupeng, Ross Muir, Mark Davis, Allan Taylor, Jak Jones, Mitchell Mann and Robbie Williams.
This list will also be used to determine the line up for the 16-man Cazoo Players Championship (February 7-13, Wolverhampton) and the eight-man Cazoo Tour Championship (March 28 to April 3, Llandudno).
Robertson hits top spot in the BetVictor Series rankings, after two of eight events, with £74,000. This series includes the remaining two BetVictor Home Nations events plus the BetVictor German Masters, BetVictor Shoot Out, BetVictor European Masters and BetVictor Gibraltar Open. Top player on that list after the eighth and final event will bank a massive £150,000 bonus.
On the official list, Robertson remains in fourth place, while Higgins is down one spot to seventh. King leaps 18 places to 36th.
Mark Selby’s see-saw battle with Judd Trump to hold the world number one position has swung back in favour of the Leicester cueman. This is because the money Trump earned for winning the 2019 World Open and 2019 Northern Ireland Open has now fallen off his tally on the rolling two-year list.
The two-year list will now be used to determine the seedings for the Cazoo UK Championship and the draw and format for that event will be announced this week. As usual, number one seed will place number 128, then number two will play number 127 and so on.
Zhou remains on course for a Masters debut
Running from November 23 to December 5 at the York Barbican, the Cazoo UK Championship is the final counting event in the Race to the Cazoo Masters. The top 16 will then be handed a place at snooker’s biggest invitation event, to take place in London from January 9-16.
Zhou Yuelong remains in 16th place and still has plenty of daylight ahead of the chasing pack, led by 17th-placed Graeme Dott who is £33,000 behind. But with a top prize of £200,000 up for grabs in York, every player in the field still has a chance to earn a place at Alexandra Palace.
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Points appeal committee decisions: James Cahill and Allan Taylor have both been awarded points for the BetVictor English Open, while Jamie O’Neill has now been awarded points for the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open.
Where prize money is won without a player winning a match in a tournament, NONE of that prize money will count towards these prize money rankings save for the World Grand Prix, Players Championship and Tour Championship.
Where prize money is won by a player at a qualifying venue and that player does not go on to appear at the final venue, for whatever reason, that prize money will not count in the prize money rankings until the situation has been considered by the appeals committee who may, at their absolute discretion, allocate ranking points where it can be demonstrated that there are extreme mitigating circumstances. These points will be allocated from the date of the committee meeting and will not affect previously issued draws.
WST Seeding – Count Back: Players on equal prize money will be seeded based on the best performance (stage/round reached through winning a match) working backwards from the most recent ranking event. If still equal, frames won when losing will determine their position, working backwards from the most recent ranking event. For the purposes of count back, competing in an event and losing is treated as a better performance than not entering or competing in an event.
With only 122 professionals this season, the top six seeds in the UK Championship are due to face amateurs because the event is played on strict ranking based seeding. The top six in the Q-School order of merit are Sanderson Lam, Michael Georgiou, Si Jiahui, Soheil Vahedi, Michael White and David Lilley, in that order.
We will however need to wait for the UK Championship draw to know the actual line-up as it’s extremely unlikely that everyone enters. In particular, it will be interesting to see if Mark Allen will be there after withdrawing from the Champion of Champions where he was … defending champion.
Group 1 Results
Ronnie O'Sullivan 