2020 Champion of Champions

The 2020 Champion of Champions (officially the 2020 888sport Champion of Champions) was a professional snooker tournament that took place between 2 and 8 November 2020 at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes, England.[1][2][3] It was the tenth Champion of Champions event, the first of which was held in 1978. The tournament featured 16 participants, primarily winners of important tournaments since the 2019 Champion of Champions. As an invitational event, the Champion of Champions tournament carries no world ranking points.

2020 888sport Champion of Champions
Tournament information
Dates2–8 November 2020 (2020-11-02 – 2020-11-08)
VenueMarshall Arena
CityMilton Keynes
CountryEngland
OrganisationMatchroom Sport
FormatNon-ranking event
Total prize fund£440,000
Winner's share£150,000
Highest break Neil Robertson (AUS) (141)
Final
Champion Mark Allen (NIR)
Runner-up Neil Robertson (AUS)
Score10–6
2019
2021

Neil Robertson was the defending champion, having defeated Judd Trump 10–9 in the 2019 final.[4]

Robertson made the final again, but lost 10–6 to Mark Allen, who won the tournament for the first time.

On the first day, John Higgins made his 800th career century, although he lost the match to Ding Junhui.[5]

Prize fund

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  • Winner: £150,000
  • Runner-up: £60,000
  • Semi-final: £30,000
  • Group runner-up: £17,500
  • First round loser: £12,500
  • Total: £440,000

Qualification

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Qualification for the 2020 Champion of Champions event was primarily determined by the winners of 20 tournaments over a one-year period, from the 2019 Champion of Champions to the ranking event edition of the 2020 Championship League, thereby including tournaments from both the 2019–20 and 2020–21 snooker seasons. The runner-up in the 2020 World Championship was also included. The field consisted of 16 players but with some players winning more than one qualifying event, there were less than 16 qualifying players. The remainder of the field was determined by the highest ranking player, not already qualified, at the time it was certain that a place would not be taken by a winner of the qualifying events. The first player to receive an entry this way was Mark Allen, who was ranked 5th after the 2020 European Masters (2020–21 season).[6] The second player to receive an entry this way was John Higgins, who was ranked 8th after the 2020 English Open. The third and final player to receive an entry this way was David Gilbert, who was ranked 11th after the 2020 Championship League.[7]

Tournament Date of tournament final Winner
2019 Champion of Champions 10 November 2019   Neil Robertson (AUS)
2019 UK Championship 8 December 2019   Ding Junhui (CHN)
2020 Masters 19 January 2020   Stuart Bingham (ENG)
2020 World Championship 16 August 2020   Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG)
2020 European Masters (2019–20 season) 26 January 2020   Neil Robertson (AUS)
2020 German Masters 2 February 2020   Judd Trump (ENG)
2020 World Grand Prix (2019–20 season) 9 February 2020   Neil Robertson (AUS)
2020 Players Championship 1 March 2020   Judd Trump (ENG)
2020 Championship League Invitational (March) 5 March 2020   Scott Donaldson (SCO)
2020 Championship League Invitational (June) 11 June 2020   Luca Brecel (BEL)
2020 Tour Championship 26 June 2020   Stephen Maguire (SCO)
2020 European Masters (2020–21 season) 27 September 2020   Mark Selby (ENG)
2020 Championship League 30 October 2020   Kyren Wilson (ENG)
2019 Northern Ireland Open 17 November 2019   Judd Trump (ENG)
2019 Scottish Open 15 December 2019   Mark Selby (ENG)
2020 Welsh Open 16 February 2020   Shaun Murphy (ENG)
2020 English Open 18 October 2020   Judd Trump (ENG)
2020 World Championship (runner-up) 16 August 2020   Kyren Wilson (ENG)
2020 Gibraltar Open 15 March 2020   Judd Trump (ENG)
2020 Shoot Out 23 February 2020   Michael Holt (ENG)
2020 World Seniors Championship 22 August 2020   Jimmy White (ENG)
World Rankings 27 September 2020   Mark Allen (NIR)
18 October 2020   John Higgins (SCO)
30 October 2020   David Gilbert (ENG)
Player also qualified by winning a higher categorized event

Main draw

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Group semi-finals (last 16)
Best of 7 frames
Group finals (quarter-finals)
Best of 11 frames
Semi-finals
Best of 11 frames
Final
Best of 19 frames
            
  Neil Robertson (1) 4
  Jimmy White 0
  Neil Robertson (1) 6
Group 1 (2 November)
  Ding Junhui 4
  John Higgins 3
  Ding Junhui 4
  Neil Robertson (1) 6
  Mark Selby (4) 5
  Kyren Wilson 4
  Stephen Maguire 1
  Kyren Wilson 5
Group 4 (4 November)
  Mark Selby (4) 6
  Mark Selby (4) 4
  Luca Brecel 2
  Neil Robertson (1) 6
  Mark Allen 10
  Judd Trump (3) 4
  Stuart Bingham 0
  Judd Trump (3) 6
Group 2 (3 November)
  David Gilbert 3
  Shaun Murphy 2
  David Gilbert 4
  Judd Trump (3) 1
  Mark Allen 6
  Mark Allen 4
  Scott Donaldson 3
  Mark Allen 6
Group 3 (5 November)
  Ronnie O'Sullivan (2) 3
  Ronnie O'Sullivan (2) 4
  Michael Holt 1

Final

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Final: Best of 19 frames. Referee: Rob Spencer.
Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes, England, 8 November 2020
Neil Robertson (1)
  Australia
6–10 Mark Allen
  Northern Ireland
Afternoon: 27–101 (101), 122–1 (121), 33–71 (55), 46–59, 91–2 (63), 0–110 (110), 119–0 (108), 109–0 (109), 4–73 (67)
Evening: 51–84 (84), 96–4 (67), 8–73 (53), 67–60, 7–119 (119), 51–76 (70), 7–123 (105)
121 Highest break 119
3 Century breaks 4
5 50+ breaks 9

Century breaks

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A total of 31 century breaks were made during the tournament.[8]

References

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  1. ^ "Home". Champion of Champions Snooker. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  2. ^ "Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes To Host 2020 Champion Of Champions". Champion of Champions Snooker. 8 November 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  3. ^ "Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes To Host 2020 Champion Of Champions". World Snooker. 8 November 2019. Archived from the original on 20 February 2020. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  4. ^ "Robertson Wins Manbetx Champion Of Champions For Second Time". Champion of Champions Snooker. 10 November 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  5. ^ "Champion of Champions snooker: Neil Robertson reveals key concern after victory over Ding Junhui". Eurosport. 3 November 2020. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  6. ^ "Champion Of Champions To Be Played Behind Closed Doors". World Snooker. 14 October 2020. Archived from the original on 24 October 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  7. ^ "Champion of Champions Updated Draw". 30 October 2020. Archived from the original on 1 November 2020.
  8. ^ "Centuries | World Snooker Live Scores". Archived from the original on 24 November 2020. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
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