Championship League Snooker Finals Group Preview and Order of Play: Final four vie for the title

Jamie Shaw in Championship League Snooker 11 June 2020

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Judd Trump bows out of Championship League as Ryan Day and Luca Brecel progress to Final Group

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Brilliant Luca Brecel claims Championship League glory

Brecel won this title in June 2020 (Photo by Nigel French/PA Archive/PA Images)

The 2020 Championship League reaches its climax on Thursday as the four remaining hopefuls battle it out for the title in Milton Keynes.

The opening ten days of the behind-closed-doors event featured 64 players battling it out across 16 groups for the right to progress to the Winners’ Group phase.

A further four groups then produced the final four players, who will lock horns for the trophy and the £20,000 bonus.

World number one Judd Trump saw his efforts fall short at the Winners Group stage on Wednesday, following the likes of Ronnie O’Sullivan, Mark Selby and Neil Robertson through the exit door at the Marshall Arena.

Stuart Bingham is the sole representative of the top 16 left in the running, and he will look to follow up January’s Masters triumph with a second televised title of 2020.

The world number 13 initially squeezed through Group One despite winning just one of his three matches but looked far more convincing in his second outing on Tuesday.

The 2015 World Champion defeated O’Sullivan 3-0 in a crucial result which guided him to top spot ahead of ‘The Rocket’ and Sam Craigie on frame difference.

Bingham kicks off the Finals Group with a clash against Belgian star Luca Brecel – bidding for his first televised title since the 2017 China Championship.

Brecel has topped both of his groups so far despite registering just one win in each, but knows he can ill-afford a slow start this time around.

Welsh ace Ryan Day looks to pick up from where he left off less than 24 hours ago when he takes on Leicester’s Ben Woollaston.

Day defied the odds to come through Winners’ Group B ahead of Judd Trump, David Gilbert and Barry Hawkins, with his 3-0 rout of the reigning World Champion proving crucial.

Day was runner-up in the 2017 Championship League and last tasted success in a televised tournament at the 2018 Romanian Masters, beating Bingham 10-8 in the final.

Woollaston, meanwhile, is the lowest-ranked player left standing in the competition but has proved one of the most impressive performers throughout.

The world number 38 topped Group Eight with seven points and notably compiled a hat-trick of century breaks in a 3-0 win over Tom Ford en route to topping Winners’ Group D.

The action gets underway from 3pm BST, with all matches contested over the best of four frames, with three points awarded for a win and one point for a draw.

The player who finishes the round-robin phase top of the table will be crowned Championship League winner, pocketing a £20,000 bonus to add to their £10,000 earnings so far.

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