2021 Champion of Champions
The 2021 Champion of Champions (officially the 2021 Cazoo Champion of Champions) was a professional snooker tournament that took place between 15 and 21 November 2021 at the University of Bolton Stadium in Bolton, England. It was the 11th Champion of Champions event, the first of which was held in 1978. The tournament featured 16 participants, primarily winners of significant tournaments since the previous year's event. As an invitational tournament, it carried no world ranking points. Mark Allen was the defending champion, but he withdrew from the event for personal reasons. His place was awarded to Ding Junhui, the next eligible player on the world ranking list. Judd Trump faced John Higgins in the final. Although Higgins took a 3–0 lead, Trump won ten of the next 11 frames to secure a 10–4 victory and his first Champion of Champions title with its prize of £100,000. Trump lost just five frames across the four matches he played in the tournament.
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 15–21 November 2021 |
| Venue | University of Bolton Stadium |
| City | Bolton |
| Country | England |
| Organisation | Matchroom Sport |
| Format | Non-ranking event |
| Total prize fund | £440,000 |
| Winner's share | £150,000 |
| Highest break |  Yan Bingtao (CHN) (140) |
| Final | |
| Champion |  Judd Trump (ENG) |
| Runner-up |  John Higgins (SCO) |
| Score | 10–4 |
← 2020 2022 → | |
The 2021 Champion of Champions (officially the 2021 Cazoo Champion of Champions)[1] was a professional snooker tournament that took place between 15 and 21 November 2021 at the University of Bolton Stadium in Bolton, England.[2] It was the 11th Champion of Champions event, the first of which was held in 1978. The tournament featured 16 participants, primarily winners of significant tournaments since the previous year's event. As an invitational tournament, it carried no world ranking points.[3]
Mark Allen was the defending champion, but he withdrew from the event for personal reasons.[4] His place was awarded to Ding Junhui, the next eligible player on the world ranking list.[5]
Judd Trump faced John Higgins in the final. Although Higgins took a 3–0 lead, Trump won ten of the next 11 frames to secure a 10–4 victory and his first Champion of Champions title with its prize of £100,000.[6] Trump lost just five frames across the four matches he played in the tournament.[7]
Format
[edit]Prize fund
[edit]- Winner: £150,000
- Runner-up: £60,000
- Semi-final: £30,000
- Group runner-up: £17,500
- First round loser: £12,500
- Total: £440,000[8]
Qualification
[edit]Qualification for the event was made through winning events from the previous year. Events shown below in grey are for players who had already qualified for the event. The 2021 World Snooker Championship runner-up Shaun Murphy was awarded a position in the event as well as remaining players being made up by the highest ranked players in the world rankings. Mark Allen, who had qualified as defending champion, withdrew prior to the event during the 2021 English Open.[9][10]
Player also qualified by winning another tournament
Tournament draw
[edit]| 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 | ||||||||||||||||
| Judd Trump (ENG) (1)
| 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
| David Lilley (ENG)
| 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Judd Trump (1)
| 6 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Group 1 (15 November) | |||||||||||||||||||
 Ryan Day
| 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Ryan Day (WAL)
| 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stephen Maguire (SCO) (8)
| 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Judd Trump (1)
| 6 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Kyren Wilson (5)
| 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Kyren Wilson (ENG) (5)
| 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
 Jordan Brown (NIR)
| 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Kyren Wilson (5)
| 6 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Group 4 (16 November) | |||||||||||||||||||
 Neil Robertson (4)
| 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Mark Williams (WAL)
| 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Neil Robertson (AUS) (4)
| 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Judd Trump (1)
| 10 | ||||||||||||||||||
| John Higgins (6)
| 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG) (3)
| 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stuart Bingham (ENG)
| 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Ronnie O'Sullivan (3)
| 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Group 3 (18 November) | |||||||||||||||||||
| John Higgins (6)
| 6 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Ding Junhui (CHN)
| 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
| John Higgins (SCO) (6)
| 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
| John Higgins (6)
| 6 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Yan Bingtao
| 5 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Shaun Murphy (ENG) (7)
| 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Yan Bingtao (CHN)
| 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Yan Bingtao
| 6 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Group 2 (17 November) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Mark Selby (2)
| 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
| David Gilbert (ENG)
| 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Mark Selby (ENG) (2)
| 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
Final
[edit]| Final: Best of 19 frames. Referee: Paul Collier Bolton Whites Hotel, Bolton, England, 21 November 2021 | ||
| Judd Trump (1) England
|
10–4 | John Higgins (6) Scotland
|
| Afternoon: 0–100 (73), 0–86, 43–75, 76–0 (63), 100–32 (62), 61–1 (61), 74–6, 66–0, 0–70 (70) Evening: 74–9 (74), 71–24, 85–47 (51), 117–0 (68), 73–23 (59) | ||
| 74 | Highest break | 70 |
| 0 | Century breaks | 0 |
| 7 | 50+ breaks | 2 |
Century breaks
[edit]A total of 12 century breaks were made during the tournament.[11]
- 140 – Yan Bingtao
- 132, 131 – Mark Selby
- 127 – John Higgins
- 114, 113, 112 – Kyren Wilson
- 107, 100 – Neil Robertson
- 104 – Judd Trump
- 104 – Mark Williams
- 101 – Ronnie O'Sullivan
References
[edit]- ^ "Cazoo and Matchroom Expand Partnership Deal". WST. 17 June 2021. Archived from the original on 17 June 2021.
- ^ "Champion Of Champions Snooker Heads To University Of Bolton Stadium With Full Crowd This November". Champion of Champions Snooker. 15 April 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
- ^ "Bolton to host snooker's biggest stars as major event comes to Whites Hotel". The Bolton News. 16 April 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
- ^ "Allen withdraws from Champions defence". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
- ^ "Allen Withdraws from Cazoo Champion of Champions". World Snooker Tour. 4 November 2021. Archived from the original on 4 November 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
- ^ "Trump Crowned Champion Of Champions". World Snooker Tour. 21 November 2021. Archived from the original on 21 November 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
- ^ "Trump wins Champion of Champions title". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
- ^ "2021 Champion of Champions". CAZOO. Matchroom Multi Sport Ltd. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
- ^ "Mark Allen withdraws from the Cazoo Champion of Champions". CAZOO. Matchroom Multi Sport Ltd. 4 November 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
- ^ "Draw made for 2021 Cazoo Champion of Champions". WST. 8 November 2021.
- ^ "Century Breaks – 2021 Cazoo Champion of Champions". World Snooker Tour. Archived from the original on 22 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.