A ranking event version of the tournament began from September 2020, played in a different format to its invitational, non-ranking counterpart and open to the entire World Snooker Tour.
In June 2020 there was a one-off, round-robin, non-ranking edition of the tournament, played in another different format, held in Milton Keynes.
Invitational version formatedit
In the invitational, non-ranking version, 25 players take part, although players often withdraw and are replaced by others. There is no audience. Players earn money for every frame won and there are also prizes for being a semi-finalist, runner-up and winner of each group, with more money involved in the winners' group. In the first two years all matches in the group stages were the best of four, meaning that the matches could end in a draw as all the four frames were played, and the semi-finals and final were best of five. Since 2010 all matches are best of five. The competition runs over eight groups, each consisting of seven players. From the league stage of the first seven groups the top four qualify for a play-off, the winner of which qualifies for the winners' group. The bottom two players of each league are eliminated and the remaining four move to the next group, where they are joined by three more players until the seventh group. In each group, the players are ranked by the number of matches won, then by most frames won, and then by least frames lost. If two players are tied by these criteria, the player who won the match between them is ranked higher in the table. The winners play in the final group with the champion taking a place in that year's Premier League Snooker until 2012,[3] and in that year's Champion of Champions from 2013.
Ranking version formatedit
In the ranking version, 128 players take part in 32 rounds of group matches with each group consisting of four players. There is no audience. All matches are the best of four with three points awarded for a win and one point for a draw. The 32 players that top the group tables qualify for the group winners' stage, consisting of eight groups of four players, and the eight winners from the group winners' stage qualify for the two final groups. The winners of these two groups play a best-of-five final. The champion takes a place in that year's Champion of Champions.
^A one-off, round-robin, non-ranking edition of the tournament was played in a different format to the usual event, in June 2020.
Referencesedit
^ abc"Championship League Snooker (Invitational)". Retrieved 29 July 2023.
^ ab"Championship League Snooker (Ranking)". Retrieved 29 July 2023.
^ abTurner, Chris. "Matchroom Championship League". cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk. Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. Archived from the original on 16 February 2012. Retrieved 1 March 2011.
^"Hawkins makes 147 at CLS". World Snooker Tour. 6 January 2015. Archived from the original on February 20, 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
^"Xiao wins CLS7 / Gilbert makes 147". World Snooker Tour. 11 February 2015. Archived from the original on February 20, 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
^"Gilbert makes historic 147th maximum". World Snooker Tour. 22 January 2019. Archived from the original on January 13, 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
^"O'Brien joins 147 club". World Snooker Tour. 25 February 2016. Archived from the original on February 20, 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
^"Davis makes first 147 to win CLS group three". World Snooker Tour. 11 January 2017. Archived from the original on February 20, 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
^"Mark Davis makes 147 in Coventry". World Snooker Tour. 2 March 2017. Archived from the original on February 20, 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
^"Gould Makes Maiden 147". World Snooker Tour. 26 January 2018. Archived from the original on February 20, 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
^"Brecel joins 147 club". World Snooker Tour. 26 March 2018. Archived from the original on February 20, 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
^"Day starts season with 147". World Snooker Tour. 13 September 2020. Archived from the original on September 22, 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
^"Higgins makes 11th career maximum". World Snooker Tour. 30 October 2020. Archived from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
^ ab"Higgins makes 13th maximum". World Snooker Tour. 10 February 2024. Archived from the original on 10 February 2024. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
^"Bingham makes eighth 147". World Snooker Tour. 4 January 2021. Archived from the original on January 4, 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
^ ab"Wilson makes fifth 147". World Snooker Tour. 6 February 2024. Archived from the original on 6 February 2024. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
^ ab"Joe O'Connor makes snooker's 200th 147". World Snooker Tour. 29 February 2024. Archived from the original on 29 February 2024. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
^"Championship League – Winners Group (2008)". Matchroom Sport. Archived from the original on 4 September 2010. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
^"Championship League – Winners Group (2009)". Matchroom Sport. Archived from the original on 1 September 2009. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
^"Championship League – Winners Group (2010)". Matchroom Sport. Archived from the original on 25 August 2011. Retrieved 25 March 2010.
^"Championship League – Winners Group (2011)". snooker.org. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
^"Championship League – Winners Group (2012)". snooker.org. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
^"Championship League – Winners Group (2013)". snooker.org. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
^"Championship League – Winners Group (2014)". snooker.org. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
^"Championship League – Winners Group (2015)". snooker.org. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
^"Championship League – Winners Group (2016)". snooker.org. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
^"Championship League – Winners Group (2017)". snooker.org. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
^"Championship League – Winners Group (2018)". snooker.org. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
^"Championship League – Winners Group (2019)". snooker.org. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
^"Championship League – Winners Group (2020)". snooker.org. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
^"Championship League – Round-Robin (2020)". snooker.org. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
^"Championship League – Winners Group (2021)". snooker.org. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
^"Championship League – Winners Group (2022)". snooker.org. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
^"Championship League – Winners Group (2023)". snooker.org. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
^"Championship League – Winners Group (2024)". snooker.org. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
^"2020 Championship League". snooker.org. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
^"2021 Championship League". snooker.org. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
^"2022 Championship League". snooker.org. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
^"2023 Championship League". snooker.org. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
^"2024 Championship League". snooker.org. Retrieved 8 May 2024.