2024 Champion of Champions – Draw and Format

Monique Snooker

WST has announced the draw and format for the 2024 Champion of Champions

CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS DRAW

The draw for the 2024 Champion of Champions is now complete, with defending champion Mark Allen set to open his title defence against World Seniors Champion Igor Figueiredo in Group One. 
 
Taking place from November 11-17 at Bolton’s Toughsheet Community Stadium, the 11th edition of the Champion of Champions will bring together snooker’s biggest stars for a thrilling week, broadcast live on ITV and networks worldwide.
 
BUY YOUR TICKETS HERE
 
In the second Group One match, Welsh Open and Scottish Open champion Gary Wilson will face World Championship runner-up Jak Jones, as both players aim to advance in this prestigious event.
 
World number one Judd Trump leads Group Two, where he will face either the International Championship winner or, if already qualified, the next highest-ranked player on the World Snooker two-year ranking list. Championship League Snooker Ranking winner Ali Carter is set to challenge two-time Champion of Champions titleholder Neil Robertson in the second match of Group Two. 
 
Group Three promises a clash of World Champions, as reigning World Champion Kyren Wilson takes on 2023 World Champion Luca Brecel. The second match will see Tour Championship winner and Welsh Potting Machine Mark Williams pitted against Women’s World Champion Bai Yulu.
 
Ronnie O’Sullivan begins his pursuit of a record-breaking fifth Champion of Champions title in Group Four, where he will meet Wuhan Open champion Xiao Guodong. Meanwhile, British Open and Championship League Snooker invitational winner Mark Selby faces off against former Champion of Champions winner Shaun Murphy, each eyeing their next title.
 
The top four seeds—defending champion Mark Allen, World Champion Kyren Wilson, World No. 1 Judd Trump, and British Open champion Mark Selby—were each allocated to a separate group. The next four seeds were then assigned to groups according to their ranking, with Seed 1 paired with Seed 8, Seed 2 with Seed 7, and so on. 
 
The remainder of the field was drawn randomly to complete the 2024 Champion of Champions draw.
 
Tournament Schedule 
Group stage dates are subject to change pending the results of the International Championship. The group stage will take place from Monday, 11 November, through Thursday, 14 November, with each session starting at 1pm in a best-of-seven format. The group finals will follow each evening at 7pm, with matches played over a best-of-eleven frames.
 
Semi-finals are scheduled for Friday, 15 November, and Saturday, 16 November, both at 7pm, and will be played as best-of-eleven contests. On Friday, the Group Two winner will face the Group Three winner, while Saturday will see the Group One and Group Four winners go head-to-head.
 
The 2024 Champion of Champions final will take place on Sunday, 17 November, starting with an afternoon session at 1pm and culminating in an evening session at 7pm. The final showdown will be a best-of-19 frames, crowning this year’s Champion of Champions.
 
Tickets start from £15 a session, with fans also offered the opportunity to experience one of snooker’s finest spectacles in VIP from £110. VIP includes front two-row seats, a premium two course meal, free programme on arrival, drinks voucher, access to the practice table viewing area, and much more. Secure your tickets here.
 
Group One
Mark Allen vs Igor Figueiredo 
Gary Wilson vs Jak Jones

Group Two
Judd Trump vs International Champion
Ali Carter vs Neil Robertson
 
Group Three
Kyren Wilson vs Luca Brecel 
Mark Williams vs Bai Yulu
 
Group Four
Mark Selby vs Shaun Murphy
Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Xiao Guodong

The least that can be said is that Ronnie is in a though group!

In other news and thoughts …

Jak Jones has beaten Ronnie by 3-1 in their exhibition yesterday.

As always, I want to thank Kalacs who hunted a lot of videos and images for us all to enjoy. Make sure to check the comments section.

Regarding Ronnie’s move towards Hong Kong … he candidly admitted that the tax system is one of the reasons behind his decision. Indeed the taxes on people’s professional incomes are extremely low in Hong Kong as compared to what we face in Europe in general. I have no doubts that there will be people to who will criticise him for this move. This however is no different from a lot of top sports persons, notably tennis stars and Formula One drivers being Monaco residents.

8 thoughts on “2024 Champion of Champions – Draw and Format”

  1. He recently was asked about where he would reside permanently in China and Hongkong was not amongst it.

      • Could be, I would say no, it was just a post-match interview after the Xi’an, so very informal. I just wanted to express that I also think that it was a strategic move and should he decide to live permanently in China over the whole year, I expect him to go somewhere else.

      • Why? Hong Kong seems the perfect choice to me. I can’t see Ronnie learning to speak Chinese, nevermind read or write it. He won’t need that to live in Hong Kong. Best of both worlds. That or Macau.

      • You’ve got a point. But I was just judging by what he said. And iirc he said he would want to live even a bit rural, near a big city (or in a city anyway, because some big cities are considered rural there), so near Shanghai or in Shanghai in the end, or 2 other places he likes at the moment. But again this was not serious stuff in my eyes. I think he did not make his mind up about this really. I think he will always be in the UK some time as well.

  2. If tax reasons is why Ronnie has taken up Hong Kong Residency then I suspect we will see a lot less of him in UK events. I am not aware of his circumstances, but under UK Tax Law he would need to keep the number of days in the UK to no more than 90!

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