By Elliott West
Introduction
As we approach July, excitement once again builds for the start of the new snooker season which starts with the Championship League on July 18th, the same day as my birthday. With many of the familiar faces taking part and a few new besides, this tournament has gone from strength to strength since it was elevated to a televised and ranking status.
An Exciting Prospect
With the draw having been revealed this week, one of the most exciting prospects is the match between Ronnie O’Sullivan and Hong Kong’s Ng On-yee, a new addition from the women’s tour, who now gets to spend two years on the main tour with Reanne Evans via invitation due to being the top two players on the women’s tour. This is because the World Women’s Snooker Tour is now a development tour of WST. The three-time women’s champion had not been seen by a mainstream audience and so offers a great amount of hope when she joins group 36 alongside Mark Joyce and Ian Burns on 20 July.
The event, due to be held at the Morningside Arena in Leicester, holds an overall winner’s prize of £20,000 with £10,000 going to the runner-up. John Higgins won the last event and is a fabulous way for lower-ranking players to gain experience of playing the elite of the sport. Made up of three stages, the Championship League will crown a victor on 13 August.
This tournament is interesting because it gives players a small amount of leeway for errors. You need to play well overall and then you may get a chance to play in the next stage providing you have enough points. Mark Williams said this was not a serious tournament but it is one that is growing in status and has much more credibility than the Snooker Shootout.
Once played behind closed doors, the Championship League now commands a high profile on the snooker calendar and with the introduction of two female players to the tour, this provides a change to the overall makeup of the players and provides the audience with a chance to see how well some of these lesser-known players can play. Whoever wins this tournament will truly deserve it after a marathon of matches, running between July and August. Not yet a major tournament, the Championship League still has plenty of fuel in the tank to develop.
