 | |
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 2 January – 13 March 2024 (2024-01-02 – 2024-03-13) |
| Venue | Leicester Arena |
| City | Leicester |
| Country | England |
| Organisation | Matchroom Sport |
| Format | Non-ranking event |
| Total prize fund | £205,000 |
| Winner's share | £10,000 (plus bonuses) |
| Highest break |  Kyren Wilson (ENG) (147) John Higgins (SCO) (147) Joe O'Connor (ENG) (147) |
| Final | |
| Champion | Mark Selby (ENG) |
| Runner-up | Joe O'Connor (ENG) |
| Score | 3–1 |
The 2024 Championship League Invitational (officially the 2024 BetVictor Championship League Invitational for sponsorship reasons) was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament, which took place from 2 January 2024 to 13 March 2024 at the Leicester ArenainLeicester, England.
John Higgins was the defending champion, having won the tournament for the fourth time after beating Judd Trump 3–1 in the final of the 2023 event.[1][2] He was defeated 3–0 by Joe O'Connor in the Winners' Group semi-finals.
There were three maximum breaks achieved during the tournament, by Kyren Wilson in Group 3, by John Higgins in Group 5, and by Joe O'Connor in Group 7. This is only the third time that three maximums have been made in an event, the first being at the 2012 UK Championship, and the second at the 2017 German Masters.
Mark Selby won the tournament, beating Joe O'Connor 3–1 in the final.[3]
A total of 25 players were initially invited to the event, with the matches played behind closed doors without an audience. Players earned prize money for every frame won, as well as being semi-finalists, runner-up, and winner of each group, with more money involved in the Winners' Group. Since 2010, all matches were played as the best of five frames.
The tournament was played in a round-robin format, consisted of eight groups of seven players. The top four players in each group qualified for a play-off, with the winner entering the Winners' Group. The bottom two players in each group were eliminated, and the remaining four moved to the next group, where they were joined by three more players. This format was played for each group, from one to seven. In each group, the players were ranked by the number of matches won, then by most frames won, and then by least frames lost. If two players were tied by these criteria, the player who won the match between them was ranked higher in the table. The group play-off semi-finals were contested between the 1st and 4th place players in the table, and between the 2nd and 3rd place players in the table. The Winners' Group was played at the end, and its play-off winner became champion of the tournament.[4][5]
Groups 1 and 2 were played from 2 to 5 January. Groups 3, 4, and 5 were played from 5 to 10 February. Groups 6 and 7 were played from 26 to 29 February, and the Winners' Group was played on 12 and 13 March. The champion takes a place in the Champion of Champions.[5][14]
The event was broadcast by DAZN in Germany, Spain, the United States and Brazil; Fox Sports in Australia; Nova in Czechia and Slovakia; Premier in the Philippines; Rigour Media in China; Viaplay in the Baltics, Iceland and the Netherlands; Viasat in Scandinavia; and by Matchroom.live in all other territories. It was also streamed live on the Matchroom-Multi-Sport YouTube channel.[15]
There were a number of players who were originally invited to participate, who withdrew and were replaced by others. Most notable among these were Mark Allen, Zhang Anda, Zhou Yuelong, Hossein Vafaei, Jack Lisowski, Judd Trump, and Si Jiahui. There were other changes as players moved between groups, as noted in the group sections below.[13]
The breakdown of prize money for the 2024 Championship League is as follows:[4]
Group 1 was played on 2 and 3 January 2024.[16] There were 19 century breaks[17] made in Group 1, the highest being 140 made by both Chris Wakelin and Kyren Wilson.[18] Stuart Bingham won the group and qualified for the Winners' Group.[19]
| Pos | Player | Pld | W | L | FF | FA | FD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Ryan Day (WAL)
|
6 | 5 | 1 | 17 | 11 | +6 | Qualification to Group 1 play-off |
| 2 | Kyren Wilson (ENG)
|
6 | 5 | 1 | 16 | 8 | +8 | |
| 3 | Stuart Bingham (ENG) (W)
|
6 | 4 | 2 | 13 | 13 | 0 | |
| 4 | Gary Wilson (ENG)
|
6 | 3 | 3 | 15 | 14 | +1 | |
| 5 | Chris Wakelin (ENG)
|
6 | 2 | 4 | 12 | 14 | −2 | Advanced into Group 2 |
| 6 |  Noppon Saengkham (THA)
|
6 | 1 | 5 | 13 | 15 | −2 | Eliminated from the competition |
| 7 | Robert Milkins (ENG)
|
6 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 17 | −11 |
| Semi-finals Best of 5 frames | Final Best of 5 frames | ||||
| ||||||
| ||||||
| ||||||
| Ryan Day (WAL)
| 2 | ||||
| ||||||
| Gary Wilson (ENG)
| 3 | ||||
| Gary Wilson (ENG)
| 0 | ||||
| ||||||
| Stuart Bingham (ENG)
| 3 | ||||
| Kyren Wilson (ENG)
| 0 | ||||
| ||||||
| Stuart Bingham (ENG)
| 3 | ||||
| ||||||
Group 2 was played on 4 and 5 January 2024.[20] There were 17 century breaks[17] made in Group 2, the highest being 142 made by Ali Carter.[18] Chris Wakelin won the group and qualified for the Winners' Group.[21]
| Pos | Player | Pld | W | L | FF | FA | FD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mark Selby (ENG)
|
6 | 4 | 2 | 14 | 9 | +5 | Qualification to Group 2 play-off |
| 2 | Kyren Wilson (ENG)
|
6 | 4 | 2 | 13 | 9 | +4 | |
| 3 | Chris Wakelin (ENG) (W)
|
6 | 4 | 2 | 13 | 10 | +3 | |
| 4 | Ali Carter (ENG)
|
6 | 4 | 2 | 12 | 9 | +3 | |
| 5 | Gary Wilson (ENG)
|
6 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 9 | +3 | Advanced into Group 3 |
| 6 | Matthew Selt (ENG)
|
6 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 15 | −6 | Eliminated from the competition |
| 7 | Ryan Day (WAL)
|
6 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 18 | −12 |
| Semi-finals Best of 5 frames | Final Best of 5 frames | ||||
| ||||||
| ||||||
| ||||||
| Mark Selby (ENG)
| 3 | ||||
| ||||||
| Ali Carter (ENG)
| 1 | ||||
| Mark Selby (ENG)
| 2 | ||||
| ||||||
| Chris Wakelin (ENG)
| 3 | ||||
| Kyren Wilson (ENG)
| 1 | ||||
| ||||||
| Chris Wakelin (ENG)
| 3 | ||||
| ||||||
Group 3 was played on 5 and 6 February 2024.[22] There were 26 century breaks[17] made in Group 3, the highest being 147 made by Kyren Wilson in his league match against Tom Ford, the fifth maximum break of his career.[23][18] Mark Selby won the group and qualified for the Winners' Group.[24]
| Pos | Player | Pld | W | L | FF | FA | FD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Higgins (SCO)
|
6 | 4 | 2 | 16 | 10 | +6 | Qualification to Group 3 play-off |
| 2 | Mark Selby (ENG) (W)
|
6 | 4 | 2 | 15 | 13 | +2 | |
| 3 | Kyren Wilson (ENG)
|
6 | 4 | 2 | 12 | 10 | +2 | |
| 4 |  Neil Robertson (AUS)
|
6 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 10 | +3 | |
| 5 |  Xiao Guodong (CHN)
|
6 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 13 | −1 | Advanced into Group 4 |
| 6 | Gary Wilson (ENG)
|
6 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 12 | −2 | Eliminated from the competition |
| 7 | Tom Ford (ENG)
|
6 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 17 | −10 |
| Semi-finals Best of 5 frames | Final Best of 5 frames | ||||
| ||||||
| ||||||
| ||||||
| John Higgins (SCO)
| 3 | ||||
| ||||||
| Neil Robertson (AUS)
| 0 | ||||
| John Higgins (SCO)
| 0 | ||||
| ||||||
| Mark Selby (ENG)
| 3 | ||||
| Mark Selby (ENG)
| 3 | ||||
| ||||||
| Kyren Wilson (ENG)
| 0 | ||||
| ||||||
Group 4 was played on 7 and 8 February 2024.[25] There were 18 century breaks[17] made in Group 4, the highest being 143 made by John Higgins.[18] Neil Robertson won the group and qualified for the Winners' Group.[26]
| Pos | Player | Pld | W | L | FF | FA | FD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Higgins (SCO)
|
6 | 4 | 2 | 13 | 13 | 0 | Qualification to Group 4 play-off |
| 2 | Barry Hawkins (ENG)
|
6 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 10 | +2 | |
| 3 | Neil Robertson (AUS) (W)
|
6 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 10 | +2 | |
| 4 | Kyren Wilson (ENG)
|
6 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 14 | −2 | |
| 5 | Ricky Walden (ENG)
|
6 | 3 | 3 | 11 | 11 | 0 | Advanced into Group 5 |
| 6 | Jimmy Robertson (ENG)
|
6 | 3 | 3 | 11 | 12 | −1 | Eliminated from the competition |
| 7 | Xiao Guodong (CHN)
|
6 | 2 | 4 | 12 | 13 | −1 |
| Semi-finals Best of 5 frames | Final Best of 5 frames | ||||
| ||||||
| ||||||
| ||||||
| John Higgins (SCO)
| 1 | ||||
| ||||||
| Kyren Wilson (ENG)
| 3 | ||||
| Kyren Wilson (ENG)
| 2 | ||||
| ||||||
| Neil Robertson (AUS)
| 3 | ||||
| Barry Hawkins (ENG)
| 0 | ||||
| ||||||
| Neil Robertson (AUS)
| 3 | ||||
| ||||||
Group 5 was played on 9 and 10 February 2024.[27] There were 19 century breaks[17] made in Group 5, the highest being 147 made by John Higgins in his semi-final match against Fan Zhengyi, the 13th maximum break of his career.[28][18] Higgins won the group and qualified for the Winners' Group.[29]
| Pos | Player | Pld | W | L | FF | FA | FD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barry Hawkins (ENG)
|
6 | 6 | 0 | 18 | 4 | +14 | Qualification to Group 5 play-off |
| 2 | John Higgins (SCO) (W)
|
6 | 4 | 2 | 14 | 10 | +4 | |
| 3 | Fan Zhengyi (CHN)
|
6 | 4 | 2 | 13 | 11 | +2 | |
| 4 | Ricky Walden (ENG)
|
6 | 2 | 4 | 11 | 14 | −3 | |
| 5 | Kyren Wilson (ENG)
|
6 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 14 | −4 | Advanced into Group 6 |
| 6 | David Gilbert (ENG)
|
6 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 14 | −4 | Eliminated from the competition |
| 7 | Joe Perry (ENG)
|
6 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 17 | −9 |
| Semi-finals Best of 5 frames | Final Best of 5 frames | ||||
| ||||||
| ||||||
| ||||||
| Barry Hawkins (ENG)
| 1 | ||||
| ||||||
| Ricky Walden (ENG)
| 3 | ||||
| Ricky Walden (ENG)
| 2 | ||||
| ||||||
| John Higgins (SCO)
| 3 | ||||
| John Higgins (SCO)
| 3 | ||||
| ||||||
| Fan Zhengyi (CHN)
| 2 | ||||
| ||||||
Group 6 was played on 26 and 27 February 2024.[30] There were 15 century breaks[17] made in Group 6, the highest being 142 made by Ricky Walden.[18] Kyren Wilson won the group and qualified for the Winners' Group.[31]
| Pos | Player | Pld | W | L | FF | FA | FD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pang Junxu (CHN)
|
6 | 4 | 2 | 14 | 8 | +6 | Qualification to Group 6 play-off |
| 2 | Sam Craigie (ENG)
|
6 | 4 | 2 | 13 | 11 | +2 | |
| 3 | Kyren Wilson (ENG) (W)
|
6 | 4 | 2 | 13 | 13 | 0 | |
| 4 | Elliot Slessor (ENG)
|
6 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 12 | +1 | |
| 5 | Joe O'Connor (ENG)
|
6 | 3 | 3 | 11 | 11 | 0 | Advanced into Group 7 |
| 6 | Fan Zhengyi (CHN)
|
6 | 2 | 4 | 12 | 14 | −2 | Eliminated from the competition |
| 7 | Ricky Walden (ENG)
|
6 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 15 | −7 |
| Semi-finals Best of 5 frames | Final Best of 5 frames | ||||
| ||||||
| ||||||
| ||||||
| Pang Junxu (CHN)
| 3 | ||||
| ||||||
| Elliot Slessor (ENG)
| 2 | ||||
| Pang Junxu (CHN)
| 0 | ||||
| ||||||
| Kyren Wilson (ENG)
| 3 | ||||
| Sam Craigie (ENG)
| 2 | ||||
| ||||||
| Kyren Wilson (ENG)
| 3 | ||||
| ||||||
Group 7 was played on 28 and 29 February 2024.[32] There were 16 century breaks[17] made in Group 7, the highest being 147 made by Joe O'Connor in his league match against Elliot Slessor, the first maximum break of his career and the 200th in professional snooker.[33][18] O'Connor won the group and qualified for the Winners' Group.[34][35]
Results not counted after O'Sullivan's withdrawal:
Matches not played:
| Pos | Player | Pld | W | L | FF | FA | FD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jak Jones (WAL)
|
5 | 5 | 0 | 15 | 5 | +10 | Qualification to Group 7 play-off |
| 2 | Elliot Slessor (ENG)
|
5 | 3 | 2 | 13 | 8 | +5 | |
| 3 | Joe O'Connor (ENG) (W)
|
5 | 3 | 2 | 13 | 10 | +3 | |
| 4 |  Jordan Brown (NIR)
|
5 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 13 | −3 | |
| 5 | Pang Junxu (CHN)
|
5 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 11 | −3 | Eliminated from the competition |
| 6 | Sam Craigie (ENG)
|
5 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 15 | −12 | |
| 7 | Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG)
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Withdrew after first day's play |
| Semi-finals Best of 5 frames | Final Best of 5 frames | ||||
| ||||||
| ||||||
| ||||||
| Jak Jones (WAL)
| 3 | ||||
| ||||||
| Jordan Brown (NIR)
| 0 | ||||
| Jak Jones (WAL)
| 0 | ||||
| ||||||
| Joe O'Connor (ENG)
| 3 | ||||
| Elliot Slessor (ENG)
| 1 | ||||
| ||||||
| Joe O'Connor (ENG)
| 3 | ||||
| ||||||
The Winners' Group was played on 12 and 13 March 2024.[36] There were 16 century breaks[17] made in the Winners' Group, the highest being 143 made by Neil Robertson.[18] Mark Selby won the group and the tournament.[37]
| Pos | Player | Pld | W | L | FF | FA | FD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Higgins (SCO)
|
6 | 5 | 1 | 17 | 7 | +10 | Qualification to Winners' Group play-off |
| 2 | Mark Selby (ENG) (W)
|
6 | 4 | 2 | 13 | 8 | +5 | |
| 3 | Stuart Bingham (ENG)
|
6 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 11 | +2 | |
| 4 | Joe O'Connor (ENG)
|
6 | 3 | 3 | 11 | 12 | −1 | |
| 5 | Kyren Wilson (ENG)
|
6 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 15 | −5 | Eliminated from the competition |
| 6 | Neil Robertson (AUS)
|
6 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 12 | −2 | |
| 7 | Chris Wakelin (ENG)
|
6 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 17 | −9 |
| Semi-finals Best of 5 frames | Final Best of 5 frames | ||||
| ||||||
| ||||||
| ||||||
| John Higgins (SCO)
| 0 | ||||
| ||||||
| Joe O'Connor (ENG)
| 3 | ||||
| Joe O'Connor (ENG)
| 1 | ||||
| ||||||
| Mark Selby (ENG)
| 3 | ||||
| Mark Selby (ENG)
| 3 | ||||
| ||||||
| Stuart Bingham (ENG)
| 0 | ||||
| ||||||
| Final: Best of 5 frames. Referee: David Ford Leicester Arena, Leicester, England, 13 March 2024. | ||
| Joe O'Connor England
|
1–3 | Mark Selby England
|
| Frame scores: 67–55, 0–74, 0–137 (137), 35–71 | ||
| 47 | Highest break | 137 |
| 0 | Century breaks | 1 |
A total of 146[a][b] century breaks were made during the tournament.[17][18]
Note: Bold = highest break in the indicated group.
| No. | Player[4][c] | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | W | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mark Selby (ENG) (5)
|
4,900 | 6,300 | 14,400 | 25,600 | |||||
| 2 | Kyren Wilson (ENG) (9)
|
2,850 | 2,600 | 2,700 | 4,700 | 1,000 | 6,100 | 2,000 | 21,950 | |
| 3 | John Higgins (SCO) (12)
|
4,500 | 3,100 | 6,700 | 6,400 | 20,700 | ||||
| 4 | Joe O'Connor (ENG) (35)
|
1,100 | 6,900 | 8,400 | 16,400 | |||||
| 5 | Stuart Bingham (ENG) (26)
|
6,100 | 5,600 | 11,700 | ||||||
| 6 | Neil Robertson (AUS) (7)
|
2,300 | 6,000 | 3,000 | 11,300 | |||||
| 7 | Chris Wakelin (ENG) (23)
|
1,450 | 6,100 | 1,600 | 9,150 | |||||
| 8 | Ricky Walden (ENG) (25)
|
1,100 | 4,600 | 1,300 | 7,000 | |||||
| 9 | Gary Wilson (ENG) (17)
|
4,400 | 1,200 | 1,000 | 6,600 | |||||
| 10 | Elliot Slessor (ENG) (51)
|
2,900 | 2,800 | 5,700 | ||||||
| 11 | Barry Hawkins (ENG) (15)
|
2,200 | 3,100 | 5,300 | ||||||
| 12 | Pang Junxu (CHN) (31)
|
4,300 | 800 | 5,100 | ||||||
| 13 | Jak Jones (WAL) (41)
|
4,700 | 4,700 | |||||||
| 14 | Fan Zhengyi (CHN) (32)
|
2,900 | 1,200 | 4,100 | ||||||
| 15 | Ryan Day (WAL) (20)
|
3,300 | 600 | 3,900 | ||||||
| 16 | Sam Craigie (ENG) (51)
|
2,900 | 500 | 3,400 | ||||||
| 17 | Ali Carter (ENG) (10)
|
3,000 | 3,000 | |||||||
| 18 | Xiao Guodong (CHN) (38)
|
1,200 | 1,200 | 2,400 | ||||||
| 19 | Jordan Brown (NIR) (42)
|
2,000 | 2,000 | |||||||
| 20 | Noppon Saengkham (THA) (22)
|
1,300 | 1,300 | |||||||
| 21 | Jimmy Robertson (ENG) (36)
|
1,100 | 1,100 | |||||||
| 22 | David Gilbert (ENG) (32)
|
1,000 | 1,000 | |||||||
| 23 | Matthew Selt (ENG) (29)
|
900 | 900 | |||||||
| 24 | Joe Perry (ENG) (27)
|
800 | 800 | |||||||
| = | Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG) (1)
|
800 | 800 | |||||||
| 26 | Tom Ford (ENG) (18)
|
700 | 700 | |||||||
| 27 | Robert Milkins (ENG) (14)
|
600 | 600 | |||||||
| Total prize money: | 20,000 | 19,300 | 18,700 | 19,400 | 20,100 | 19,800 | 18,500 | 41,400 | 177,200 |
| Green: Won the Group. |
| Bold: Highest break in the Group. |
| Numbers in parentheses: World ranking prior to tournament start, 2 January 2024. |
| All prize money in GBP.[d] |
|
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