7.1.13

BACK TO CRONDON PARK

The Championship League was established in 2008 quite by chance. World Snooker had failed to agree terms to stream the qualifiers with Perform, the world leaders in such things, and so Perform went to Barry Hearn, the Matchroom chairman, who within an hour or so had come up with the format for an entirely new event.

The idea was to create a tournament aimed squarely at the betting market. That first event was streamed on the websites of three bookmakers. It’s a sign of the success of the League that this year it will be shown on 31 betting websites.

For the players it’s a no-brainer: they get top quality match practice and are well paid in the process. They could also secure a place in the Premier League if they prevail in the winners’ group in March.

For many snooker fans the Championship League is the most mysterious event on the calendar because it is played behind closed doors. One of the reasons for this is that the venue, the Baronial Hall at Crondon Park in Essex, is too small to accommodate spectators, but they aren’t encouraged because the betting element could lead to jiggery and, indeed, pokery if punters were ahead of the stream.

 
Graeme Dott is the only top 16 player to turn down an invite this season. Players can request which group they are put into. Group one today is brimming with quality: Judd Trump, John Higgins, Shaun Murphy, Ali Carter, Mark Davis, Martin Gould and Matthew Stevens.

Neil Robertson, Stephen Maguire and Stuart Bingham join group 2 on Wednesday.

Not everyone is a fan of this event but let’s nail one canard well and truly: if it were scrapped it wouldn’t be replaced by any other events. It doesn’t work like that.

The Championship League pays for itself. It makes money for all involved. It isn’t diverting funds from other events, which would need their own sponsorship funds to operate.

The commentators, of which I am one, also get the most delicious breakfasts, which outranks any other considerations.

Full details of the tournament can be found on the official website.

15 comments:

Daniel said...

Secret solved how to keep commentators happy. :D

TrevorP said...

It baffles me why people do not like this event.i absolutly love it and its a different format.each to there own i suppose.

Anonymous said...

Have matchroom confirmed that there is a place in the Premier League up for grabs (indeed, have they confirmed there will be a Premier League this year)?

Anonymous said...

I never got the argument that it took up space in the calendar for other events.

The CL usually runs during weeks when there's qualifying so the top 32 (17-32 normally play on Friday when there's CL) would be just practicing anyway. Even if there was no CL, an extra event couldn't be held at the same time unless it was a similar event, and replacing the CL for another invitional seems a bit pointless.

Mal said...

Tell us more about the breakfast!

A useful event for the players, with the key being entry in the PL, but for the fans, probably the least important in the calendar.

Anonymous said...

In my 33 years in business, a good breakast always made a big difference - especially if it was free :)...

Anonymous said...

I think the event was especially welcome back in 2008, but it does feel somewhat superfluous these days. Still, if it is restricted to using up "dead" days and not biting into the calendar too much I don't really see a problem. I would be interested in knowing how much money the bookies take off it though.

Mignon said...

Good snooker is good snooker. I for one don't need the audience. To me, the key word for the Crondon Park atmosphere is 'intimacy'. To the players, the key-words are 'top quality paid practice.' Maybe some early days CLS detractors (some of them dear friends of mine) should not take themselves so seriously, be a bit more flexible and forget about the odd/old grumpy sourness. Life's short > enjoy good snooker wherever it is played.

And yes, I agree with Mal > "Tell us more about the breakfast!" lol

wild said...

useless event with a even more ludicrous format.

you can win more money by losing groups so how is that betting company friendly? what a mystery.

Anonymous said...

There are so many snooker tournaments now, maybe should consider to cancel Champion League, if not, or shorten the format of Champion League to decrease the congestion of snooker calender.

Anonymous said...

"you can win more money by losing groups so how is that betting company friendly? what a mystery."

Excellent point

Anonymous said...

To the best of my knowledge this is the only tournament that is not broadcast on any television channel, and where there is a delay between the feed the bookies have and the feed being broadcast on their websites (only 5 or 6 seconds, but for the in-play markets that quite a few are offering this is an incredible advantage).

However I'm less concerned about the ethics of this than I am about a profit making event being run by Matchroom Sport rather than World Snooker (with the profits going straight to Baz). To me this goes against the argument he presented to players at the time he was elected chairman.

kildare cueman said...

Its a bookies event. Because of the format, form goes out the window and any match can be won by anybody, which is perfect for the layers as they pick up their margins each time.
Effectively its like a coin tossing contest where each entrant is priced at 5-6.

I think it should be scrapped myself. If top players wont go to Aus or Brazil, or play all PTCs because of congestion/fatigue, then surely its time to scrap this ridiculous event.

wild said...

if players want match practice ahead of the masters + to earn cash from practice suerly winning group 1 is not the thing to do tonight for Higgins,Trump,Davis or Carter....i think Gould will win.

Anonymous said...

Great prediction