The 2024 Johnstone’s Paint Players Championship commences on Monday with the top 16 players from the one-year rankings list in the draw.
The lineup for Telford was only finalised late on Sunday evening following the conclusion of the Welsh Open.
Gary Wilson beat Martin O’Donnell 9-4 to deny his fellow Englishman a spot in the Players Championship draw this week.
Prize, history, and format
In its current guise, the Players Championship has been around since 2017, but the competition evolved from a previous incarnation as the Players Tour Championship Grand Final that ran between 2011 and 2016.
For the first six editions, the field was determined by the order of merit on the now defunct minor-ranking PTC series.
During those years, there were six different winners including the inaugural champion Shaun Murphy, Ding Junhui, and Mark Allen.
However, since 2017 the event was altered to boast the top-16 earners from the one-year rankings list overall, with Ronnie O’Sullivan and Judd Trump sharing two wins apiece from the first four stagings.
John Higgins snapped that trend with a memorable triumph in 2021, with Neil Robertson and Shaun Murphy emerging with the titles in the most recent editions.
The format is similar to the one used at the Masters, with best-of-11 fixtures utilised for the first three rounds before a 19-frame final showdown for the silverware.
Offering a top prize worth £125,000, it represents one of the more lucrative weeks on the calendar.
Prize money
champion: £125,000
runner-up: £50,000
semi-finalist: £30,000
quarter-finalist: £15,000
last 16: £10,000
highest break: £10,000
Players Championship draw
Judd Trump is the tournament’s top seed following a season in which he has already captured four ranking titles from six final appearances.
The Englishman encounters Chris Wakelin in the first round on the opening evening at the Telford International Centre.
Wakelin will be a relieved man having just scraped into the competition in 16th spot on the one-year standings thanks to O’Donnell’s defeat at the Venue Cymru on Sunday.
The draw continues in similar fashion, with second seed Ronnie O’Sullivan in action against 15th seed Zhou Yuelong, and so on.
Highlights from the first round include a blockbuster battle between Marks Allen and Williams, and another heavyweight showdown featuring John Higgins and Ding Junhui.
Zhang Anda and Noppon Saengkham represent the only two debutants in this year’s Players Championship draw and have ironically been paired to face one another.
There are all-English duels between Mark Selby and Barry Hawkins, and Ali Carter and Tom Ford.
Gary Wilson, fresh off his victory in the Welsh Open, plays Iranian Hossein Vafaei.
World champion Luca Brecel, reigning Players Championship winner Shaun Murphy, Neil Robertson, and Kyren Wilson are among the high-profile competitors who failed to qualify.
2024 Players Championship draw
Round of 16 (bo11)
Judd Trump 6-2 Chris Wakelin
Tom Ford 2-6 Ali Carter
Mark Williams 3-6 Mark Allen
Gary Wilson 6-4 Hossein Vafaei
Zhang Anda 6-5 Noppon Saengkham
Ding Junhui 4-6 John Higgins
Barry Hawkins 3-6 Mark Selby
Ronnie O’Sullivan 6-2 Zhou Yuelong
Quarter-Finals (bo11)
Judd Trump 4-6 Ali Carter
Mark Allen 6-4 Gary Wilson
Zhang Anda 6-4 John Higgins
Mark Selby 6-0 Ronnie O’Sullivan
Semi-Finals (bo11)
Ali Carter 3-6 Mark Allen
Zhang Anda 6-5 Mark Selby
Final (bo19)
Mark Allen 10-8 Zhang Anda
How to watch the 2024 Players Championship
There will be live coverage of the Players Championship for UK and Irish viewers on ITV.
Fans watching from the rest of Europe can avail of the service provided by Eurosport and discovery+.
The full list of worldwide broadcasters is below, as published on the World Snooker Tour website:
UK and Ireland
ITV
For the first time, table two will be streamed live with commentary on ITVX
Europe (excluding UK and Ireland)
Eurosport and discovery+
China
Liaoning TV
Migu
Huya.com
Hong Kong China
Now TV
Malaysia and Brunei
Astro SuperSport
Thailand
True Vision
Taiwan
Sportcast
Philippines
Premier Sports Network
Pakistan
Fastsports
All other territories
matchroom.live
Featured photo credit: WST
How can it be, that the current world champion doesn’t get invited to an event like this?
He didn’t accrue enough points from when the new season started.
Telford International Centre will be the 10th different venue to host the tournament in just 14 years. It’s the first event in the Shropshire town since the 2010 UK Championship. I went to the UK in Telford between 2007 and 2009. The venue was very good.
Since moving to a two-session final in 2016, there’s yet to be a decider.
John Higgins’ level of play from start to finish in 2021 is right up there as the best we’ve seen for sustained excellence throughout a whole tournament.
Ronnie O’Sullivan made his 1,000th career century in the last frame of the 2019 final. He remains the only man to retain the title.
When matches end early and they show other programmes, can we not have a film of putting the table together from the start.
Can we please do without Joe Johnson whose commentaries are more often wrong tan right!
Hellow: I want to know when UK championship begins in2024?
November 23rd to December 1st. Dates for next season are provisional.