Some of the snooker professionals will return to work already on January 2, 2026. Indeed this season Invitational CLS will start on that day.

Here is some information shared by WST:

BetVictor Championship League Snooker Invitational Returns In January

The 2026 BetVictor Championship League Snooker Invitational Event will take place from January 2 to February 11, 2026, at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester, featuring 25 of the top players from the World Snooker Tour.

Following a successful title defence in 2025, Mark Selby returns as the defending champion and will be targeting a historic repeat victory on home soil as the Championship League Invitational returns for another exciting edition.

The tournament will once again be contested across seven group stages, beginning on Friday, January 2, before culminating in the Winners’ Group, which will run from Tuesday, February 10, to Wednesday, February 11. 

Players Confirmed

Group 1 (January 2–3)
Chris Wakelin
Elliot Slessor
Tom Ford
Pang Junxu
Joe O’Connor
Hossein Vafaei
Jackson Page

Group 2 (January 4–5)
Gary Wilson
Ali Carter
David Gilbert

Group 3 (January 6–7)
Xiao Guodong
Si Jiahui
Yuan Sijun

Group 4 (January 8–9)
Kyren Wilson
Neil Robertson
Zhao Xintong

Group 5 (January 19–20)
Mark Selby
Wu Yize
Stuart Bingham

Group 6 (January 21–22)
Jak Jones
Jack Lisowski
Zhang Anda

Group 7 (January 23–24)
Zhou Yuelong
Lei Peifan
Jimmy Robertson

Each group will follow a round-robin format, with the top four players advancing to a play-off to determine the group winner. The winners from Groups 1–7 will battle it out in the Winners’ Group, scheduled for February 10–11, to compete for the prestigious Championship League Snooker title.

Broadcast Information

Table 1 coverage will be available via the international broadcast partners listed below. Table 2 matches will be streamed live on the Matchroom Multi Sport YouTube channel and WNT TV.Fans in the UK and Ireland, or in any country without a listed broadcaster, can watch Table 1 action live on the Matchroom Pool YouTube channel and WNT TV.

Broadcast Partners
•    Eurasian Broadcasting – Ukraine & CIS territories
•    Fox Sports – Australia
•    Nova – Czechia & Slovakia
•    Rigour – China
•    PCCW – Hong Kong
•    Viaplay – Iceland & Netherlands
•    Reddentes – Thailand
•    Sky NZ – New Zealand (February 10–11)
•    TV3 – Baltics
•    Viasat – Scandinavia

Event Schedule
•    Group 1: January 2–3
•    Group 2: January 4–5
•    Group 3: January 6–7
•    Group 4: January 8–9
•    Group 5: January 19–20
•    Group 6: January 21–22
•    Group 7: January 23–24
•    Winners’ Group: February 10–11

Prize Fund

Groups 1–7
•    Winner: £3,000
•    Runner-Up: £2,000
•    Losing Semi-Finalist: £1,000
•    Per Frame Won in Play-Offs: £300
•    Per Frame Won in League Play: £100
•    Highest Break Prize: £500

Winners’ Group
•    Winner: £10,000
•    Runner-Up: £5,000
•    Semi-Finalists: £3,000 each
•    Per Frame Won in League Play: £200
•    Per Frame Won in Play-Offs: £300
•    Highest Break Prize: £1,000

Full details on the 2026 BetVictor Championship League Snooker Invitational Event are available at championshipleaguesnooker.co.uk 

No Ronnie in the draw … unsurprising and just as well considering what happened last season. Nobody wants a repeat of that for sure.

Many fans despise this event, branding it a “glorified paid practice” for the happy few. There is some truth in that, and it isn’t by chance that Kyren Wilson, Neil Robertson and Zhao Xintong enter the event in the Group that is played just before the 2026 Masters.

On the other hand it’s an event where, precisely because it isn’t ranking, many players go for their shots more and show a more attacking version of themselves.

Also, I have been told by a very reliable source that this event is very lucrative for Matchroom. If true, there is obviously no chance that it will disappear from the calendar!…