The Championship League 2014 was a snooker invitation tournament as part of the Snooker Main Tour of the 2013/14 season . It was played on several dates between January 6th and March 6th 2014 at Crondon Park Golf Club in Stock , Essex , England . It is the seventh edition of the Championship League . Defending champion was the Englishman Martin Gould , who made it to the final again this year. There he was defeated by his compatriot Judd Trump 3-1, who won the tournament for the second time. Trump's first tournament victory was in 2009 .
In all seven groups, seven players compete against each other in round robin mode . The first four players of this first phase qualify for the knockout phase in which the group winner is determined. The seven group winners are qualified for the final winners' group. Players who lost in the knockout phase, as well as the player who was placed 5th after the group phase, compete in the following group again. The last two in the group are eliminated from the tournament.
The Group 2 games were played on January 8th and 9th, 2014. Joe Perry , Neil Robertson and Barry Hawkins joined those who qualified from the first group . Judd Trump also suffered a defeat in the second final. Joe Perry beat him 3-0 and secured a place in the Winners' Group. Judd Trump, Neil Robertson, Shaun Murphy and Mark Davis qualified for Group 3. Ali Carter and Barry Hawkins were eliminated.
In the game against Mark Davis, Shaun Murphy scored his second maximum break . His first success was 13 years earlier at the 2001 Benson & Hedges Championship . It was the 103rd official maximum break and the sixth of the season.
The games of the third group took place on January 20 and 21, 2014. Graeme Dott , Matthew Stevens and Ryan Day joined those who qualified from Group 2 . Judd Trump made it to the final for the third time in a row and this time, with a 3-0 win over Ryan Day, he secured a place in the Winners' Group. Shaun Murphy , Neil Robertson , Ryan Day and Matthew Stevens qualified for the next group . Mark Davis and Graeme Dott were eliminated from the tournament.
The games of the fourth group were played on January 22nd and 23rd, 2014. Stephen Maguire , Mark Selby and Tom Ford joined the four players who qualified from Group 3 . Stephen Maguire was able to win all of his games and thus move directly into the Winner's Group. He won 3-0 against Neil Robertson in the final . Matthew Stevens and Tom Ford were eliminated from the tournament.
Group 5 matches took place on February 10th and 11th, 2014. Dominic Dale , Marco Fu and John Higgins joined the group 4 qualified players . Shaun Murphy was able to qualify for the Winners' Group after having already participated in all previous groups. He defeated Dominic Dale 3-1 in the final. Mark Selby and Neil Robertson were eliminated from the tournament .
Group 6 games took place on February 12th and 13th, 2014. Last year's winner Martin Gould , Mark J. Williams and Michael Holt joined the qualifiers from Group 5 . The defending champion Gould was also able to qualify immediately for the Winners' Group. He won the group final 3-1 against John Higgins . Marco Fu and Dominic Dale were eliminated from the tournament after the group stage.
Group 7 games took place on March 3rd and 4th, 2014. In addition to those qualified from Group 6, Mark King , Andrew Higginson , Peter Ebdon and Marcus Campbell also took part. The actually qualified Michael Holt did not take part. Ryan Day secured last place in the Winners' Group with a 3-0 win over Andrew Higginson. In the group stage, John Higgins was able to win all six games and only gave two frames, a new record in this tournament series.
The Winners' Group games took place on March 5th and 6th, 2014. The winners of the seven groups qualified for the group stage of the Winners' Group and played in round robin mode for a place in the semi-finals. Judd Trump beat last year's winner Martin Gould 3-1 in the final . Trump was able to win the Championship League for the second time. He celebrated his first victory in the second edition of the Championship League in 2009 .
A total of 93 century breaks were achieved, with 19 players reaching at least one. The highest break in the tournament was a maximum break from Shaun Murphy in the second group.