2026 Championship League (invitational): Difference between revisions

Invitational snooker tournament

Snooker tournament

The 2026 Championship League Invitational (officially the 2026 BetVictor Championship League Snooker Invitational) is a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that is taking place from 2 January to 11 February 2026 at the Leicester Arena in Leicester, England. Part of the 2025–26 snooker season, it is the 20th edition of the invitational version of the tournament, which was first staged in 2008.

Mark Selby is the defending champion, having retained the title at the 2025 event by defeating Kyren Wilson 3‍–‍0 in the final.

On 2 January, Chris Wakelin made the first maximum break of his career in his Group 1 match against Pang Junxu. On 8 January, Matthew Selt also made the first maximum of his career in his Group 4 match loss to Xiao Guodong. On 21 January Xiao made the third maximum of his career in his Group 6 match loss to Oliver Lines, and Wu Yize made the first maximum of his career in his Group 6 match against Lines. They were the record‑extending 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th maximums of the season.

Overview

The tournament is taking place from 2 January to 11 February 2026 at the Leicester Arena in Leicester, England.^[1]^[2] Mark Selby is the defending champion, defeating Kyren Wilson 3‍–‍0 in the final of the 2025 event.^[3]

Format

A total of 25 players are initially invited to the event, with the matches played behind closed doors without an audience. Players earn prize money for every frame won, as well as being semi‑finalists, runners‑up, and winners of each group, with more money involved in the Winners’ Group. Since 2010, all matches have been played as the best of five frames.

The tournament is played in a round‑robin format, consisting of eight groups of seven players. The top four players in each group qualify for a play‑off, with the winner entering the Winners’ Group. The bottom two players in each group are eliminated, and the remaining four moved to the next group, where they are joined by three more players. This format is played for each group, from one to seven. 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 wins the match between them is ranked higher in the table. The group play‑off semi‑finals are contested between the 1st and 4th place players in the table, and between the 2nd and 3rd place players in the table. The Winners’ Group is played at the end, and its play‑off winner becomes champion of the tournament.^[4]^[5]^[6]

Groups 1 to 4 were played from 2 to 9 January; Groups 5 to 7 are being played from 19 to 24 January; and the Winners’ Group will be played on 10 and 11 February. The champion will take a place in the 2026 Champion of Champions.^[15]^[24]^[31]

Broadcasters

The event is being broadcast by Eurasian Broadcasting in Ukraine and the Commonwealth of Independent States; Fox Sports in Australia; Nova Sport in Czechia and Slovakia; Rigour Media in China; PCCW in Hong Kong; Viaplay in Iceland and the Netherlands; Reddentes in Thailand; Sky NZ in New Zealand (on 10 and 11 February); TV3 in the Baltics; Viasat in Scandinavia; and by Matchroom.live in all other territories. Additionally, table one is being streamed live on the Matchroom Pool YouTube channel available in the United Kingdom, with table two being available worldwide on the Matchroom Multi Sport YouTube channel.^[5]

Prize fund

The breakdown of prize money for the 2026 Championship League is as follows:^[4]^[5]

Groups 1–7
- Winner: £3,000
- Runner-up: £2,000
- Semi-final: £1,000
- Frame-win (league stage): £100
- Frame-win (play-offs): £300
- Highest break: £500
Winners’ Group
- Winner: £10,000
- Runner-up: £5,000
- Semi-final: £3,000
- Frame-win (league stage): £200
- Frame-win (play-offs): £300
- Highest break: £1,000

Maximum possible tournament total: £205,000 (if all match results are 3‍–‍2)
Minimum possible tournament total: £152,800 (if all match results are 3‍–‍0)

Group 1

Group 1 was played on 2 and 3 January 2026.^[16]^[25] At the end of the first day Joe O’Connor and Jackson Page led the table, both with three wins out of four.^[32] Tom Ford won the group and qualified for the Winners’ Group.^[33] Chris Wakelin made the first maximum break of his professional career in the first frame of his 3–2 league match win against Pang Junxu. It was the 17th maximum of the current season and the 234th official 147.^[34]^[35]

Group 1 league matches

2 January

Chris Wakelin 0–3 Elliot Slessor
Joe O’Connor 3–1 Hossein Vafaei
Chris Wakelin 1–3 Tom Ford
Pang Junxu 2–3 Jackson Page
Elliot Slessor 0–3 Joe O’Connor
Hossein Vafaei 1–3 Jackson Page
Pang Junxu 3–1 Tom Ford
Chris Wakelin 3–2 Joe O’Connor
Tom Ford 2–3 Jackson Page
Elliot Slessor 3–0 Hossein Vafaei
Chris Wakelin 3–2 Pang Junxu
Joe O’Connor 3–1 Jackson Page

3 January

Elliot Slessor 2–3 Jackson Page
Chris Wakelin 3–2 Hossein Vafaei
Joe O’Connor 1–3 Pang Junxu
Tom Ford 3–0 Hossein Vafaei
Chris Wakelin 3–2 Jackson Page
Elliot Slessor 1–3 Tom Ford
Pang Junxu 2–3 Hossein Vafaei
Joe O’Connor 3–2 Tom Ford
Elliot Slessor 3–0 Pang Junxu

Group 1 table

Source: Group 1 results from snooker.org and championshipleaguesnooker.co.uk^[7]^[16]
(W) Group winner

Group 1 play-offs

Group 2

Group 2 was played on 4 and 5 January 2026. Ali Carter withdrew and was replaced by Noppon Saengkham.^[17]^[26] At the end of the first day Gary Wilson led the table with three wins out of four.^[36] Elliot Slessor won the group and qualified for the Winners’ Group.^[37] Slessor also made the highest break in the group, a 138.^[38]

Group 2 league matches

4 January

Elliot Slessor 3–0 Noppon Saengkham
Gary Wilson 3–2 David Gilbert
Joe O’Connor 3–1 Jackson Page
Chris Wakelin 0–3 Gary Wilson
David Gilbert 2–3 Noppon Saengkham
Elliot Slessor 3–1 Joe O’Connor
Chris Wakelin 3–1 Jackson Page
Gary Wilson 2–3 Noppon Saengkham
Elliot Slessor 0–3 David Gilbert
Chris Wakelin 3–1 Joe O’Connor
Joe O’Connor 3–2 Noppon Saengkham
Gary Wilson 3–0 Jackson Page

5 January

David Gilbert 2–3 Joe O’Connor
Gary Wilson 0–3 Elliot Slessor
Jackson Page 0–3 Noppon Saengkham
Chris Wakelin 1–3 Elliot Slessor
Gary Wilson 3–2 Joe O’Connor
Chris Wakelin 3–2 David Gilbert
Elliot Slessor 0–3 Jackson Page
David Gilbert 3–1 Jackson Page
Chris Wakelin 1–3 Noppon Saengkham

Group 2 table

Source: Group 2 results from snooker.org and championshipleaguesnooker.co.uk^[8]^[17]
(W) Group winner

Group 2 play-offs

Group 3

Group 3 was played on 6 and 7 January 2026. Noppon Saengkham withdrew due to competing in the 2026 German Masters qualifying and was replaced by Antoni Kowalski.^[18]^[27] Si Jiahui won the group and qualified for the Winners’ Group.^[39] Chris Wakelin made the highest break in the group, a 140.^[40]

Group 3 league matches

6 January

Xiao Guodong 3–0 Si Jiahui
Chris Wakelin 1–3 Yuan Sijun
Joe O’Connor 3–0 Antoni Kowalski
Xiao Guodong 3–2 Gary Wilson
Si Jiahui 1–3 Yuan Sijun
Chris Wakelin 3–1 Antoni Kowalski
Xiao Guodong 3–2 Yuan Sijun
Gary Wilson 3–2 Joe O’Connor
Chris Wakelin 2–3 Si Jiahui
Gary Wilson 2–3 Antoni Kowalski
Xiao Guodong 0–3 Joe O’Connor
Yuan Sijun 3–2 Antoni Kowalski

7 January

Xiao Guodong 3–2 Chris Wakelin
Si Jiahui 1–3 Antoni Kowalski
Joe O’Connor 2–3 Yuan Sijun
Chris Wakelin 3–2 Gary Wilson
Si Jiahui 3–2 Gary Wilson
Xiao Guodong 3–0 Antoni Kowalski
Chris Wakelin 0–3 Joe O’Connor
Gary Wilson 3–1 Yuan Sijun
Si Jiahui 3–1 Joe O’Connor

Group 3 table

Source: Group 3 results from snooker.org and championshipleaguesnooker.co.uk^[9]^[18]
(W) Group winner

Group 3 play-offs

Group 4

Group 4 was played on 8 and 9 January 2026. Joe O’Connor and Yuan Sijun both withdrew, due to competing in the 2026 German Masters qualifying. They were replaced by Ben Woollaston and Matthew Selt respectively.^[19]^[28] Selt won the group and qualified for the Winners’ Group.^[41] Selt also made the first maximum break of his professional career in his league match loss to Xiao Guodong.^[42]^[43]

Group 4 league matches

8 January

Kyren Wilson 3–2 Zhao Xintong
Neil Robertson 3–2 Gary Wilson
Ben Woollaston 0–3 Matthew Selt
Zhao Xintong 0–3 Xiao Guodong
Neil Robertson 2–3 Matthew Selt
Kyren Wilson 3–2 Gary Wilson
Xiao Guodong 1–3 Ben Woollaston
Zhao Xintong 3–2 Gary Wilson
Kyren Wilson 2–3 Neil Robertson
Xiao Guodong 3–2 Matthew Selt
Zhao Xintong 3–1 Ben Woollaston
Gary Wilson 3–1 Matthew Selt

9 January

Kyren Wilson 0–3 Matthew Selt
Neil Robertson 3–2 Zhao Xintong
Gary Wilson 3–0 Ben Woollaston
Neil Robertson 2–3 Xiao Guodong
Zhao Xintong 3–2 Matthew Selt
Kyren Wilson 3–1 Xiao Guodong
Neil Robertson 1–3 Ben Woollaston
Xiao Guodong 3–0 Gary Wilson
Kyren Wilson 3–1 Ben Woollaston

Group 4 table

Source: Group 4 results from snooker.org and championshipleaguesnooker.co.uk^[10]^[19]
(W) Group winner

Group 4 play-offs

Group 5

Group 5 was played on 19 and 20 January 2026. Kyren Wilson withdrew after playing in the final of the Masters the previous day. He was replaced by Oliver Lines.^[20]^[29] Mark Selby won the group and qualified for the Winners’ Group.^[44] Wu Yize made the highest break in the group, a 143.^[45]

Group 5 league matches

19 January

Mark Selby 3–1 Xiao Guodong
Zhao Xintong 3–2 Wu Yize
Neil Robertson 0–3 Zhao Xintong
Stuart Bingham 3–2 Oliver Lines
Xiao Guodong 2–3 Wu Yize
Mark Selby 3–1 Oliver Lines
Zhao Xintong 3–1 Xiao Guodong
Neil Robertson 1–3 Stuart Bingham
Mark Selby 3–1 Wu Yize
Neil Robertson 2–3 Oliver Lines
Xiao Guodong 3–0 Oliver Lines
Zhao Xintong 3–2 Stuart Bingham

20 January

Mark Selby 2–3 Zhao Xintong
Wu Yize 1–3 Oliver Lines
Neil Robertson 3–2 Mark Selby
Xiao Guodong 3–1 Stuart Bingham
Neil Robertson 2–3 Wu Yize
Zhao Xintong 3–2 Oliver Lines
Mark Selby 3–0 Stuart Bingham
Neil Robertson 3–2 Xiao Guodong
Wu Yize 3–1 Stuart Bingham

Group 5 table

Source: Group 5 results from snooker.org and championshipleaguesnooker.co.uk^[11]^[20]
(W) Group winner

Group 5 play-offs

Group 6

Group 6 is being played on 21 and 22 January 2026.^[21]^[30] Xiao Guodong made the third maximum break of his professional career in his league match loss to Oliver Lines.^[46] Wu Yize made the first maximum break of his professional career in his league match against Lines.^[47]^[48]

Group 6 league matches

21 January

Jack Lisowski 1–3 Zhang Anda
Zhao Xintong 3–2 Jak Jones
Xiao Guodong 2–3 Oliver Lines
Wu Yize 3–1 Jack Lisowski
Jak Jones 3–2 Zhang Anda
Zhao Xintong 0–3 Xiao Guodong
Jak Jones 1–3 Jack Lisowski
Wu Yize 3–1 Oliver Lines
Zhao Xintong 3–1 Zhang Anda
Xiao Guodong 1–3 Wu Yize
Xiao Guodong 1–3 Jak Jones
Jack Lisowski 3–2 Oliver Lines

22 January

Xiao Guodong 0–3 Zhang Anda
Zhao Xintong v Jack Lisowski
Zhao Xintong v Wu Yize
Jak Jones v Oliver Lines
Wu Yize v Zhang Anda
Xiao Guodong v Jack Lisowski
Zhao Xintong v Oliver Lines
Wu Yize v Jak Jones
Zhang Anda v Oliver Lines

Group 6 table

Source: Group 6 results from snooker.org and championshipleaguesnooker.co.uk^[12]^[21]

Group 6 play-offs

	Semi-finals Best of 5 frames				Final Best of 5 frames



	1st place player from table

	4th place player from table
					1st semi-final winner

					2nd semi-final winner
	2nd place player from table

	3rd place player from table

Group 7

Group 7 will be played on 23 and 24 January 2026. Zhou Yuelong withdrew and was replaced by Ryan Day.^[22]

Group 7 league matches

23 January

Order of play for the 12 matches to be decided.

24 January

Order of play for the 9 matches to be decided.

Group 7 table

Pos	Player	Pld	W	L	FF	FA	FD
1	Losing finalist from group 6	0	0	0	0	0	0
2	1st semi-final loser from group 6	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	2nd semi-final loser from group 6	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	5th place from table of group 6	0	0	0	0	0	0
5	Ryan Day (WAL)	0	0	0	0	0	0
6	Lei Peifan (CHN)	0	0	0	0	0	0
7	Jimmy Robertson (ENG)	0	0	0	0	0	0

Source: Group 7 results from snooker.org and championshipleaguesnooker.co.uk^[13]^[22]

Group 7 play-offs

	Semi-finals Best of 5 frames				Final Best of 5 frames



	1st place player from table

	4th place player from table
					1st semi-final winner

					2nd semi-final winner
	2nd place player from table

	3rd place player from table

Winners’ Group

The Winners’ Group will be played on 10 and 11 February 2026.^[23]

Winners’ Group league matches

10 February