2021 Champion of Champions

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]

2021 Cazoo Champion of Champions
Tournament information
Dates15–21 November 2021 (2021-11-15 – 2021-11-21)
VenueUniversity of Bolton Stadium
CityBolton
CountryEngland
OrganisationMatchroom Sport
FormatNon-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)
Score10–4
2020
2022

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

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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[8]

Qualification

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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]

Qualification table
Tournament Date of tournament final Winner
2020 Champion of Champions 8 November 2020   Mark Allen (NIR)
2020 UK Championship 6 December 2020   Neil Robertson (AUS)
2021 Masters 17 January 2021   Yan Bingtao (CHN)
2021 World Championship 3 May 2021   Mark Selby (ENG)
2020 World Grand Prix (2020–21 season) 20 December 2020   Judd Trump (ENG)
2021 German Masters 31 January 2021   Judd Trump (ENG)
2021 Players Championship 28 February 2021   John Higgins (SCO)
2021 WST Pro Series 21 March 2021   Mark Williams (WAL)
2021 Championship League Invitational 2 April 2021   Kyren Wilson (ENG)
2021 Tour Championship 28 March 2021   Neil Robertson (AUS)
2021 Championship League (2021–22 season) 13 August 2021   David Gilbert (ENG)
2021 British Open 22 August 2021   Mark Williams (WAL)
2020 Northern Ireland Open 22 November 2020   Judd Trump (ENG)
2020 Scottish Open 13 December 2020   Mark Selby (ENG)
2021 Welsh Open 21 February 2021   Jordan Brown (NIR)
2021 Northern Ireland Open 17 October 2021   Mark Allen (NIR)
2021 English Open 7 November 2021   Neil Robertson (AUS)
2021 World Championship (runner-up) 3 May 2021   Shaun Murphy (ENG)
2021 Gibraltar Open 7 March 2021   Judd Trump (ENG)
2021 Shoot Out 7 February 2021   Ryan Day (WAL)
2021 World Seniors Championship 9 May 2021   David Lilley (ENG)
Qualified through the world rankings 22 August 2021   Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG)
17 October 2021   Stephen Maguire (SCO)
17 October 2021   Ding Junhui (CHN)
7 November 2021   Stuart Bingham (ENG)
Player also qualified by winning another tournament

Tournament 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
            
  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

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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

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A total of 12 century breaks were made during the tournament.[11]

References

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  1. ^ "Cazoo and Matchroom Expand Partnership Deal". WST. 17 June 2021. Archived from the original on 17 June 2021.
  2. ^ "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.
  3. ^ "Bolton to host snooker's biggest stars as major event comes to Whites Hotel". The Bolton News. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  4. ^ "Allen withdraws from Champions defence". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  5. ^ "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.
  6. ^ "Trump Crowned Champion Of Champions". World Snooker Tour. 21 November 2021. Archived from the original on 21 November 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  7. ^ "Trump wins Champion of Champions title". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  8. ^ "2021 Champion of Champions". CAZOO. Matchroom Multi Sport Ltd. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  9. ^ "Mark Allen withdraws from the Cazoo Champion of Champions". CAZOO. Matchroom Multi Sport Ltd. 4 November 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  10. ^ "Draw made for 2021 Cazoo Champion of Champions". WST. 8 November 2021.
  11. ^ "Century Breaks – 2021 Cazoo Champion of Champions". World Snooker Tour. Archived from the original on 22 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
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