Championship League Tournament Finals Preview

Four players remain in the hunt for the £30,000 top prize in the non-ranking event that concludes on Thursday.

The Championship League Tournament Finals group will be contested between Stuart Bingham, Ryan Day, Ben Woollaston, and Luca Brecel in Milton Keynes.

After ten days of action at the Marshall Arena, and a 100% rate of negative coronavirus tests so far, the first event following the COVID-19 lockdown is set to successfully reach its climax.

Favourites Judd Trump and Ronnie O’Sullivan were among those who exited during the second phase earlier this week.

The final quartet, who have each already topped the standings in two mini leagues, will do battle in a third and last round-robin stage.

Once again, each competitor will face the other once in the Championship League Tournament Finals over the best of four frames, with three points for a victory and one point for a draw.

The player who finishes in first at the end of today’s play will receive the winner’s cheque worth £30,000.

All four cueists emerged from tightly-fought groups on Tuesday and Wednesday to land a place in the competition’s finale.

Day edged out world number one Trump by a single point, matching the five points that Belgium’s Brecel acquired to deny Gary Wilson.

O’Sullivan’s demise came at the hands of Bingham, who produced a timely 3-0 victory over the “Rocket” to usurp him in the pecking order.

Like Bingham, Woollaston utilised a superior frame difference to move in front of Martin O’Donnell in Group D despite both players finishing on a total of six points.

The Championship League Tournament Finals looks pretty evenly matched, partly because of those involved but also due to the short format that is in use for this event.

Reigning Masters champion Bingham, with his abundance of experience, would have to be considered as the slight favourite.

The Englishman is also the only member of the lineup who has actually won the Championship League before – etching his name onto the trophy five years ago a few short months prior to his World Championship triumph.

Day and Brecel have experience with winning ranking events, but Woollaston can’t be ruled out, especially when his performance against Tom Ford is taken into account when he magnificently compiled a hat-trick of tons to win 3-0 on Tuesday.

With no fans in the arena, the nerves may not be as big of a contributor to success and failure as in most tournaments.

Yet, it’s sure to be competitive as each of the four contenders attempts to garner that winning feeling ahead of the more important World Championship next month.

Live coverage from Milton Keynes is provided worldwide as the sport attempts to capitalise on what is currently a rather barren sporting calender.

ITV4 will provide blanket coverage in the UK and Ireland, Eurosport has earned the rights for the European continent, while new streaming service Matchroom.Live will bring the tournament to fans across Africa, the Americas, and parts of Asia.

Tournament Finals Draw

Stuart Bingham
Ryan Day
Ben Woollaston
Luca Brecel

Click here to view the full draw (Times: CET)

Featured photo credit: CLSnooker