Championship League Snooker

[NSF Admin]

Group 1 - Day 1

Day One of the inaugural Championship League Snooker took place on Monday 25th February 2008 at the Baronial Hall of Crondon Park Golf Club in Stock, Essex as seven top players competed in a round robin format.
 
Essex-based Ali Carter, former World Champion Ken Doherty and Joe Perry lead the way with four points but with a single point separating top and bottom there is everything to play for with nine further group games on Tuesday 26th February.
 
Each player plays the others once over the best of four frames, with two points for a win and one for a draw.   
 
Players earn ?100 per frame won. The top four players after the remainder of the group matches then play in best of seven semi-finals. The money increases to ?200 per frame won and the winner receives ?3,000, the runner-up ?2,000 and the beaten semi-finalists ?1,000 each.
 
The winner then goes through to the final group in May where big money as well as a spot in the Sky Sports-televised Premier League Snooker is up for grabs. The two bottom players are eliminated from the competition, while the remaining four move forward to Group Two to be joined by three new players.
 
Group 1, Day 1 ? Results
 
Ken Doherty 3 ? 1 Mark Williams                   
80 (80) ? 38, 64 (47) ? 12, 38 ? 73 (47), 69 (67) ? 60 (60)
 
Ryan Day 4 ? 0 Ali Carter
57 (57) ? 9, 85 (39, 46) ? 8, 78 ? 0, 100 (72) ? 0 
 
Joe Perry 2 ? 2 Barry Hawkins                       
12 ? 74 (69), 58 (36) ? 57, 25 ? 69 (42), 63 (43) ? 47 (47) 
 
Ken Doherty 3 ? 1 Matthew Stevens 
105 (101) ? 28, 0 ? 75 (75), 100 (96) ? 17, 68 (58) ? 14 
 
Mark Williams 3 ? 1 Ali Carter             
73 (62) ? 0, 0 ? 112 (112), 69 (46) ? 28, 67 (33) ? 40 (30)
 
Joe Perry 3 ? 1 Ryan Day 
0 ? 137 (137), 65 (46) ? 37, 64 (35) ? 26, 84 (36) ? 11 
 
Matthew Stevens 3 ? 1 Barry Hawkins 
65 ? 61 (61), 19 ? 68 (66), 67 ? 37, 70 (41) ? 5 
 
Ali Carter 3 - 1 Ken Doherty 
59 (39) ? 51 (31), 70 (25) ? 61 (40),  44 ? 70, 104 (104) ? 3 
 
Mark Williams 2 ? 2 Ryan Day             
1 ? 89 (89), 30 ? 72 (34), 71 (30, 37) ? 30, 89 (57, 31) ? 28 
 
Joe Perry 2 ? 2 Matthew Stevens
46 (44) ? 69, 37 ? 75 (75), 61 (61) ? 54, 72 ? 53 
 
Ali Carter 4 ? 0 Matthew Stevens                             
68 (52) ? 20, 65 (37) ? 0, 71 (63) ? 0, 71 (43) ? 0 
 
Barry Hawkins 3 ? 1 Ryan Day
72 (72) ? 60 (60), 61 ? 68 (39), 64 (53) ? 5, 64 (33) ? 27 
 
League Table After Day 1                                                      

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts	Prize Money (?)
Ali Carter	4	2	0	2	8	8	4	800
Ken Doherty	3	2	0	1	7	5	4	700
Joe Perry	3	1	2	0	7	5	4	700
Ryan Day	4	1	1	2	8	8	3	800
Mark Williams	3	1	1	1	6	6	3	600
Barry Hawkins	3	1	1	1	6	6	3	600
Matthew Stevens	4	1	1	2	6	10	3	600

[NSF Admin]

Group 1 - Day 2

Ryan Day has taken a step closer to playing in the prestigious 2008 Premier League Snooker competition.

Welshman Day won the opening round of the Championship League Snooker, which was screened exclusively live on a number of betting websites, and he now advances to May's Winners' Group.

Whoever finishes top of that will join the sport's elite in the Premier League, one of the most prestigious events in snooker and screened live on Sky Sports every week.

"To play in the Premier League would be absolutely fantastic," said a delighted Day.

"The way the ranking tournaments are situated, there is not a lot to play for so it would be a big chunk of my earnings if I was to get into that.

"This (the Championship League) is a bit cut-throat. It's a short format, the tables are new and the hall is nice but it's a bit strange with no atmosphere. But it's the same for all of us and you just have to get on with it."

The Championship League Snooker can only be watched online and the group phase features seven of the sport's best players with everyone competing firstly in a round-robin league basis in four-frame matches.

With two points for a win and one for a draw, the leading four advanced into the semi-finals and Day defeated Ali Carter in the final four before triumphing over Joe Perry 3-2 in the final.

However, Carter, Perry and two others - Ken Doherty and Mark Williams - have another chance as they now move into Group Two of the Championship League, where they will be joined by three new players - Joe Swail, Anthony Hamilton and Nigel Bond.

But the tournament is over for Matthew Stevens and Barry Hawkins as they finished in the bottom two of the league and are therefore eliminated.

Group Two begins on Wednesday, February 27 with the last matches the following day.

All the action can be watched online. The betting sites screening the competition are www.betfair.com www.bet365.com and www.willhill.com and then follow the on-screen instructions.

Group 1 - Final Table                                                      

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts	Prize Money (?)
Joe Perry	6	2	4	0	14	10	8	1400
Ali Carter	6	3	1	2	13	11	7	1300
Ryan Day	6	2	2	2	13	11	6	1300
Ken Doherty	6	2	2	2	12	12	6	1200
Mark Williams	6	2	2	2	12	12	6	1200
Matthew Stevens	6	1	3	2	10	14	5	1000
Barry Hawkins	6	1	2	3	10	14	4	1000

Ken Doherty 2-2 Barry Hawkins
81-0 (Doherty 54), 0-86 (Hawkins 86), 5-74 (Hawkins 74), 96-4 (Doherty 66)

Mark Williams 1-3 Joe Perry
29-58 (Perry 54), 36-51, 72-6 (Williams 72), 4-70 (Perry 33)

Ryan Day 2-2 Matthew Stevens
1-74 (Stevens 53), 123-0 (Day 122), 23-70 (Stevens 64), 85-11 (Day 76)

Ali Carter 3-1 Barry Hawkins
78-8 (Carter 40), 71-0, 73-51 (Carter 67, Hawkins 51), 35-51

Ken Doherty 2-2 Joe Perry
34-69 (Perry 62), 73-0 (Doherty 73), 6-55, 74-1 (Doherty 66)

Mark Williams 2-2 Matthew Stevens
26-67, 53-40, 76-40 (Williams 44), 30-61 (Stevens 39)

Mark Williams 3-1 Barry Hawkins
15-95 (Hawkins 71), 75-40 (Williams 75, Hawkins 33), 65-2 (Williams 31), 76-9 (Williams 76)

Ali Carter 2-2 Joe Perry
76-10, 24-71 (Perry 64), 15-68 (Perry 38), 63-34

Ken Doherty 1-3 Ryan Day
28-67 (Day 56), 65-28 (Doherty 36), 59-82 (Day 38, 30), 51-87 (Day 71)

Play-offs (best of five)
Joe Perry (1st in league) 3-0 Ken Doherty (4th in league)
92-1 (Perry 92), 64-1 (Perry 55), 77-0 (Doherty 70)

Ali Carter (2nd in league) 1-3 Ryan Day (3rd in league)
101-5, 8-58 (Day 57), 21-52 (Day 30), 36-79

Final (best of five)
Joe Perry 2-3 Ryan Day

Total prize money from Group 1
1. Ryan Day ?6,100, 2. Joe Perry ?4,900, 3. Ali Carter ?2,600, 4. Ken Doherty ?2,200, 5. Mark Williams ?1,200, 6. Matthew Stevens ?1,000, 7. Barry Hawkins ?1,000

[NSF Admin]

Group 2 - 27th & 28th February 2008

Two-time World Champion Mark Williams has been knocked out of the Championship League Snooker event.

Williams, 32, who won at the Crucible in 2000 and 2003, failed to finish in the top five in the second group of the competition.

Needing a victory in his last group match against Joe Perry, Williams (right) lost 3-1 to end his hopes of making the 2008 Premier League Snooker.

But there was better news for 1997 World Champion Ken Doherty as he won the group to advance into the Winners Round in May.

Irishman Doherty defeated Ali Carter 3-2 in the final and now joins Ryan Day, who was triumphant in Group One earlier this week, in the Winners Round where the overall champion will then qualify for the Premier League Snooker.

Players losing in the final, semi-finalists and fifth place now move into Group 3 where they will be joined by Shaun Murphy, Mark Selby and Stuart Bingham.

Day 1 Results
Ali Carter 2-2 Joe Perry
14-97 (Perry 71), 0-70 (Perry 46), 72-28 (Carter 39), 57-38

Ken Doherty 3-1 Mark Williams
84-32 (Doherty 49, 35), 58-48 (Doherty 35, Williams 42), 9-67 (Williams 51), 66-25 (Doherty 48)

Joe Perry 1-3 Anthony Hamilton
31-65 (Hamilton 32), 0-107 (Hamilton 107), 84-0 (Perry 52), 32-67 (Perry 32, Hamilton 59)

Joe Swail 1-3 Nigel Bond
33-43, 62-34 (Swail 34), 37-102 (Bond 90), 27-68 (Bond 60)

Mark Williams 1-3 Joe Swail
61-33 (Williams 36), 29-56, 1-90, (Swail 31, 54), 0-76 (Swail 44)

Ken Doherty 1-3 Ali Carter
23-57, 3-46, 61-23 (Doherty 38), 45-77 (Carter 66)

Nigel Bond 2-2 Anthony Hamilton
72-34, 11-64 (Hamilton 48), 11-74 (Hamilton 63), 74-0 (Bond 39, 35)

Joe Perry 1-3 Ken Doherty
15-63 (Doherty 45), 61-30 (Perry 44), 42-75 (Perry 33, Doherty 45), 1-67 (Doherty 51)

Ali Carter 4-0 Mark Williams
66-5 (Carter 34, 32), 72-16 (Carter 72), 92-0 (Carter 74), 107-14 (Carter 107)

Joe Swail 1-3 Anthony Hamilton
58-43, 14-70 (Hamilton 64), 2-82 (Hamilton 73), 1-90 (Hamilton 81)

Ken Doherty 2-2 Anthony Hamilton
130-0 (Doherty 126), 23-93 (Hamilton 65), 117-6 (Doherty 101), 0-71 (Hamilton 71)

Nigel Bond 1-3 Mark Williams
75-39 (Bond 75, Williams 39), 12-72 (Williams 50), 46-66 (Williams 47), 39-57

Day 2 Results
Ali Carter 2-2 Joe Swail
71-31 (Carter 61), 13-93 (Swail 93), 50-43, 2-55

Joe Perry 2-2 Nigel Bond
86-23, 30-62 (Perry 30, Bond 50), 123-0 (Perry 43, 57), 11-67 (Bond 62)

Mark Williams 4-0 Anthony Hamilton
89-0 (Williams 89), 69-1 (Williams 69), 66-20 (Williams 58), 114-0 (Williams 114)

Ken Doherty 3-1 Nigel Bond
70-56 (Doherty 38, Bond 40), 57-69 (Bond 38), 82-9 (Doherty 36, 40), 99-5 (Doherty 33-66)

Joe Perry 3-1 Joe Swail
129-0 (Perry 129), 65-28 (Perry 39), 1-60 (Swail 54), 66-1 (Perry 65)

Ali Carter 1-3 Anthony Hamilton
56-68 (38 Hamilton), 7-97 (Hamilton 96), 5-79 (Hamilton 79), 94-0 (Carter 66)

Ali Carter 3-1 Nigel Bond
119-0 (Carter 119), 81-0 (Carter 62), 78-16 (Carter 55), 1-72 (Bond 66)

Ken Doherty 1-3 Joe Swail
45-68, ?, 53-81 (Swail 32), 5-70 (Swail 58)

Mark Williams 1-3 Joe Perry
0-70, 67-56 (Williams 41, Perry 54), 54-62 (Perry 31), 7-63 (Perry 43)

Semi-finals
Ken Doherty 3-0 Anthony Hamilton
100-47 (Doherty 42, Hamilton 47), 134-1 (Doherty 129), 64-32

Ali Carter 3-2 Joe Perry
6-69 (Perry 56), 66-22, 17-59 (Perry 39), 70-9 (Carter 35), 64-23 (Carter 34)

Final
Ken Doherty 3-2 Ali Carter
85-4 (Doherty 85), 53-64 (Carter 39), 0-143 (Carter 143), 83-0 (Doherty 45, 38), 62-30 (Doherty 48).

Final Table - Group 2                                                      

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts	Prize Money (?)
Ali Carter	6	3	2	1	15	9	8	1500
Anthony Hamilton	6	3	2	1	13	11	8	1300
Ken Doherty	6	3	1	2	13	11	7	1300
Joe Perry	6	2	2	2	12	12	6	1200
Joe Swail	6	2	1	3	11	13	5	1100
Mark Williams	6	2	0	4	10	14	4	1000
Nigel Bond	6	1	2	3	10	14	4	1000

Total prize money earned so far
?8,300 - Ken Doherty (In Group 8 - Winners Group)
?7,700 ? Joe Perry (In Group 3)
?7,600 - Ali Carter (In Group 3)
?6,100 ? Ryan Day (in Group 8 - Winners Group)
?2,300 - Anthony Hamilton (In Group 3)
?2,200 ? Mark Williams (OUT)
?1,100 ? Joe Swail (In Group 3)
?1,000 ? Nigel Bond (OUT)
?1,000 - Matthew Stevens (OUT)
?1,000 - Barry Hawkins (OUT)

Full coverage at matchroomsport.com

Live Streaming of all matches at www.betfair.com www.bet365.com www.willhill.com

[NSF Admin]

Group 3 - 10th & 11th March 2008

Watch Michael Holt & Anthony Hamilton in action LIVE NOW on www.betfair.com

Results to follow.

[NSF Admin]

Group 3 - 10th & 11th March 2008

Former Pegasus player Anthony Hamilton has won the third Championship League Snooker group.  Hamilton beat Ali Carter 3-2 in the final despite suffering with a neck injury for the majority of the final day.  Hamilton now joins Ryan Day and Ken Doherty in the final group in May with a further four players set to join them in the coming months.

Current Pegasus pro Michael Holt, fresh from being knocked out of the World Championship, finished bottom of the group which means his Championship League campaign is over for this year.

Results
Ali Carter 2-2 Anthony Hamilton
Shaun Murphy 3-1 Mark Selby
Anthony Hamilton 3-1 Michael Holt
Mark Selby 2-2 Stuart Bingham
Anthony Hamilton 4-0 Joe Swail
Michael Holt 2-2 Stuart Bingham
Michael Holt 1-3 Joe Swail
Stuart Bingham 0-4 Ali Carter
Joe Swail 1-3 Shaun Murphy
Ali Carter 3-1 Michael Holt
Shaun Murphy 3-1 Stuart Bingham
Mark Selby 3-1 Joe Swail
Ali Carter 3-1 Mark Selby
Joe Swail 2-2 Stuart Bingham
Ali Carter 2-2 Shaun Murphy
Anthony Hamilton 1-3 Mark Selby
Anthony Hamilton 1-3 Shaun Murphy
Michael Holt 1-3 Mark Selby
Anthony Hamilton 2-2 Stuart Bingham
Michael Holt 0-4 Shaun Murphy
Ali Carter 4-0 Joe Swail

Final Table - Group 3                                                      

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts	Prize Money (?)
Shaun Murphy	6	5	1	0	18	6	11	1800
Ali Carter	6	4	2	0	18	6	10	1800
Mark Selby	6	3	1	2	13	11	7	1300
Anthony Hamilton	6	2	2	2	13	11	6	1300
Stuart Bingham	6	0	4	2	9	15	4	900
Joe Swail	6	1	1	4	7	17	3	700
Michael Holt	6	0	1	5	6	18	1	600

Play-offs
Shaun Murphy 1-3 Anthony Hamilton
Ali Carter 3-2 Mark Selby

Final
Anthony Hamilton 3-2 Ali Carter

Total money earned so far

1. Ali Carter ?12,900
2. Anthony Hamilton ?8,400
3. Ken Doherty ?8,300
4. Joe Perry ?7,700
5. Ryan Day ?6,100
6. Mark Selby ?2,900
7. Mark Williams ?2,000
8. Joe Swail ?1,800
=9. Barry Hawkins ?1,000
=9. Matthew Stevens ?1,000
=9. Nigel Bond ?1,000
12. Stuart Bingham ?900
13. Michael Holt ?600

[NSF Admin]

Group 4 - 12th & 13th March 2008

Shaun Murphy has become the fourth player to advance into the final group of Championship League Snooker.

Murphy, 25, the 2005 World Champion, clinched his place by defeating Ali Carter 3-2 in the last match of Group 4 to move closer to playing in the 2008 Premier League.

Results
Shaun Murphy 1-3, Ali Carter
Mark Allen 2-2 Stuart Bingham
Jamie Cope 0-4 Shaun Murphy
Joe Perry 2-2 Mark King
Ali Carter 2-2 Mark Allen
Stuart Bingham 2-2 Joe Perry
Mark King 3-1 Jamie Cope
Shaun Murphy 1-3 Mark Allen
Ali Carter 2-2 Stuart Bingham
Joe Perry 1-3 Jamie Cope
Mark Allen 3-1 Jamie Cope
Mark King 3-1 Stuart Bingham
Shaun Murphy 3-1 Mark King
Ali Carter 2-2 Joe Perry
Stuart Bingham 2-2 Jamie Cope
Mark Allen 2-2 Mark King
Shaun Murphy 2-2 Joe Perry
Ali Carter 3-1 Jamie Cope
Mark Allen 2-2 Joe Perry
Ali Carter 2-2 Mark King
Shaun Murphy 3-1 Stuart Bingham

Final Table - Group 4                                                      

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts	Prize Money (?)
Ali Carter	6	2	4	0	14	10	8	1400
Shaun Murphy	6	3	1	2	14	10	7	1400
Mark King	6	2	3	1	13	11	7	1300
Mark Allen	6	2	3	1	12	12	7	1200
Joe Perry	6	1	4	1	12	12	6	1200
Stuart Bingham	6	0	4	2	10	14	4	1000
Jamie Cope	6	1	1	4	8	16	3	800

Play-offs
Ali Carter 3-2 Mark Allen
Shaun Murphy 3-0 Mark King

Final
Shaun Murphy 3-2 Ali Carter

Total money earned so far

?17,800 - Ali Carter, ?9,300 - Shaun Murphy, ?8,900 - Joe Perry, ?8,400 - Anthony Hamilton, ?8,300 - Ken Doherty, ?6,100 - Ryan Day, ?2,900 - Mark Selby and Mark Allen, ?2,300 - Mark King, ?2,200 - Mark Williams, ?1,900 - Stuart Bingham, ?1,800 - Joe Swail, ?1,000 - Nigel Bond and Matthew Stevens and Barry Hawkins, ?800 - Jamie Cope, ?600 - Michael Holt