Snooker set for June return as televised Championship League announced
World number one Judd Trump is among the early confirmed entrants
Professional snooker will resume on June 1 with a new version of the Championship League in Milton Keynes.
The behind closed doors, non-ranking event, will see 64 players competing from June 1-11 at the Marshall Arena.
The tournament will be shown live on ITV4 in the UK and streamed live worldwide as a selection of the world’s top players return to competitive action for the first time since early March.
Strict social distancing rules will be in place, with no players guests permitted and COVID testing and hygiene measures also taken.
The venue has been chosen as it contains on-site accommodation, meaning no players, officials or staff will need to leave the venue once they have entered.
All players, staff and contractors will be virus-tested prior to entering the venue and will be in isolation until their results are known.
Players will require a negative test result in order to enter the venue.
Other safety measures in place will include players seated at least two metres apart during matches, players using anti-bacterial hand sanitiser before matches and avoiding handshakes.
Referees will endeavour to keep two metres away from players where possible and there will be first aid personnel on site at all times.
All 128 Tour Card holders will be invited to participate, with the top 64 who enter receiving a place in the tournament.
Reigning World Champion Judd Trump, World Grand Prix winner Neil Robertson and fellow top 16 stars Mark Allen and Kyren Wilson are among the notable confirmed entrants.
The Championship League will be split into three phases, with all matches contested over the best of four frames.
Play will begin at 3pm BST each day, running continuously until both groups are complete, with the exception of Friday June 5th, when play will commence at 4pm.
The field will be split into 16 groups of four players, with two groups played each day across two tables.
The player who finishes top of each group will progress to the next phase, which will see the 16 winners split into four groups.
The four group winners from Phase Two will then face off in one final group on one table to determine the Championship League winner.
The overall winner will receive £30,000 in prize money, with all players guaranteed at least £1,000.
WST Chairman Barry Hearn said: “During the challenging times of the past few weeks we have examined the opportunities which still exist and worked relentlessly towards the goal of getting our tour going again.
“While most other sports remain sidelined, we are ready to return from June 1st. This sends out a message to the sporting world that snooker is at the forefront of innovation.”