The group stage fixtures for snooker’s prestigious Champion of Champions have been announced, with two-time tournament champion Ronnie O’Sullivan set to get things underway at Coventry’s Ricoh Arena.
Commencing on Monday, November 7 each of the first four days sees two group semi-finals in the afternoon session before the group final over 11 frames in the evening. The four group winners proceed to the best of 11 semi-finals, played on Friday, November 11. A 19-frame final will be played over two sessions on Saturday, November 12.
Each group will feature one seeded player. The seeded players are defending champion Neil Robertson and the winners of snooker’s triple crown events – World Champion Mark Selby, Masters winner O’Sullivan and UK Championship winner Robertson. As Robertson is seeded twice, the highest qualified player on the World Snooker Rankings after the Shanghai Masters will take the final seeded position, meaning Shaun Murphy completes the seeds.
O’Sullivan will take on Shoot Out champ Robin Hull in the tournament’s opening match on Monday, November 7, with German Masters winner Martin Gould up against World Seniors Champion Mark Davis in the second group 3 semi-final.
Tuesday 8th sees Group 1 take centre stage, with Robertson pitted against the winner of the forthcoming International Championship, and Shanghai Masters champion Ding Junhui up against World Open winner Ali Carter in the afternoon session.
Wednesday 9th features action from Group 2 as Selby takes on the winner of this week’s English Open, and Players Championship winner Mark Allen faces Gibraltar Open champ Marco Fu.
The concluding day of group action is Thursday 10th when Group 4 plays out with Murphy, winner of the World Grand Prix taking on the China Championship winner followed by China Open and European Masters victor Judd Trump against Indian Open champion Anthony McGill.
Should the winner of any of the remaining three events on the qualifying list – the English Open, International Championship and China Championship – have already qualified for the Champion of Champions that spot shall be filled by the highest player on the one-year ranking list at the conclusion of the tournament in question.
Promoted by Matchroom Sport, snooker’s new showpiece event, the Champion of Champions, returns to the Ricoh Arena in Coventry, November 7-12, and will bring together many of the best snooker players on the planet and fans can watch it all live thanks to the extensive coverage provided by ITV4.
With a top prize of £100,000 and current champions of snooker’s major tournaments, including the likes of Ronnie O’Sullivan, Judd Trump, Neil Robertson, Mark Selby and Shaun Murphy, all eligible to compete, the Champion of Champions is set to build on its position as one of the biggest event of the snooker season.
The tournament will start with a quartet of four-man groups, with the winner of each group to progress to the semi-finals. The final on Saturday, November 12 will be over 19 frames.
Tickets are on sale now at www.championofchampionssnooker.co.uk with Premium and VIP packages available.
