Championship League 2015

Championship League 2015
Tournament type:	Invitation tournament
Venue:	Crondon Park Golf Club, floor
Opening:	5th January 2015
Endgame:	February 12, 2015
Winner:	Stuart Bingham
Finalist:	Mark Davis
Highest Break:	147 ( Barry Hawkins , David Gilbert )
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The 2015 Championship League was an invitation-only snooker tournament as part of the Snooker Main Tour of the 2014/15 season , which took place from January 5 to February 12, 2015 at Crondon Park Golf Club in Stock , Essex , England . It is the eighth edition of the Championship League . The defending champion was the Englishman Judd Trump , who was eliminated from the tournament as the penultimate in Group 3. The Englishman Stuart Bingham was able to prevail in the final with 3-2 against Mark Davis .

In the course of the tournament the two Englishmen Barry Hawkins and David Gilbert achieved an official maximum break . On the first day of the tournament, Barry Hawkins played the 111th official maximum break in his group game against Stephen Maguire in Group 1. It was the sixth maximum of the season and Hawkins' second. In Group 7, Gilbert was able to achieve his first maximum on February 10 in his match against the Chinese Xiao Guodong . It was the 114th official and the ninth maximum break of the season. In all previous editions of the Championship League, only a single maximum break was played before.

Prize money

Since the Championship League is an invitation-only tournament, the prize money does not count towards the world ranking . A total of £ 180,100 was paid out of the £ 205,000 prize money awarded for the tournament  .

Groups 1-7	Prize money
winner	£ 3,000
finalist	£ 2,000
Semi-finalist	£ 1,000
Bonus per frame win (knockout phase)	300 pounds
Bonus per frame win (group games)	100 pounds
Highest break	£ 500

Winners' Group	Prize money
Tournament winner	£ 10,000
finalist	£ 5,000
Semi-finalist	£ 3,000
Bonus per frame win (knockout phase)	300 pounds
Bonus per frame win (group games)	£ 200
Highest break	£ 1,000

Groups 1-7

In each of the seven groups, seven players compete against each other in round robin mode . The first four players in each group qualify for a knockout phase in which the group winner is determined. This qualifies for the final winners' group. Players who lost in the knockout phase and the player placed in 5th place start again in the following group. The last two in the group are eliminated from the tournament.

Group 1

The first group games took place on January 5th and 6th, 2015. Shaun Murphy was originally seeded for the first group, but had to retire from the tournament at short notice. The Englishman Mark King moved up for him , but he was eliminated in the group stage in sixth place.

Group games

Stuart Bingham dominated the group with five wins in six games and convinced with secure match play. Barry Hawkins achieved the second official maximum break of his career in his 3-0 win over Stephen Maguire . With four points, he secured a place in the semi-finals behind world number one Neil Robertson . Last year's winner Judd Trump was bottom of the table with three defeats after the first day of the tournament, but was able to save himself with two wins in the semifinals. Marco Fu qualified fifth for group 2. A total of four players finished fourth to seventh with equal points, so the placements were decided by the number of frames won.

Sp.	Player 1	Erg.	Player 2		Sp.	Player 1	Erg.	Player 2		Sp.	Player 1	Erg.	Player 2
1	Barry Hawkins	1: 3	Mark King		8th	Barry Hawkins	2: 3	Stuart Bingham		15th	Marco Fu	3 : 1	Stephen Maguire
2	Stuart Bingham	3 : 1	Marco Fu		9	Mark King	3 : 1	Marco Fu		16	Stuart Bingham	3 : 1	Neil Robertson
3	Judd Trump	2: 3	Neil Robertson		10	Judd Trump	1: 3	Stephen Maguire		17th	Mark King	0: 3	Stephen Maguire
4th	Stephen Maguire	0: 3	Barry Hawkins		11	Stuart Bingham	3 : 0	Stephen Maguire		18th	Barry Hawkins	3 : 2	Judd Trump
5	Mark King	2: 3	Stuart Bingham		12	Neil Robertson	3 : 1	Marco Fu		19th	Stuart Bingham	0: 3	Judd Trump
6th	Marco Fu	3 : 2	Judd Trump		13	Barry Hawkins	3 : 2	Neil Robertson		20th	Mark King	1: 3	Neil Robertson
7th	Neil Robertson	3 : 1	Stephen Maguire		14th	Mark King	1: 3	Judd Trump		21st	Barry Hawkins	3 : 2	Marco Fu

table

Item	player	opponent							Lots	Frames	Points	Prize money NB
		AM	ROB	HAW	TRU	FU	KIN	LIKE
1	Stuart Bingham		3	3	0	3	3	3	5: 1	15: 90	5	£ 4,700
2	Neil Robertson	1		2	3	3	3	3	4: 2	15:11	4th	£ 2,800
3	Barry Hawkins	2	3		3	3	1	3	4: 2	15:12	4th	HB£ 6,800 HB
4th	Judd Trump	3	2	2		2	3	1	2: 4	13:13	2	£ 2,900
5	Marco Fu	1	1	2	3		1	3	2: 4	11:15	2	£ 1,100
6th	Mark King	2	1	3	1	3		0	2: 4	10:14	2	£ 1,000
7th	Stephen Maguire	0	1	0	3	1	3		2: 4	08:13	2	0.£ 800

	Qualification for the semi-finals of Group 1
	Qualification for group 2

^NB The prizes from the knockout phase are included in the prize money

^HB including a bonus for the highest break

Knockout phase

In the first semi-final, group winners Stuart Bingham and Judd Trump met . Trump, who was the only player to win against Bingham in the group stage, lost this time just 3-2. In the second game Barry Hawkins triumphed again against the Australian Neil Robertson with 3-1. In the final, Hawkins prevailed against Bingham after strong breaks of 67, 110 and 66 points. Bingham managed the highest break of the game with a 134, which made it 1: 1 in the meantime. Hawkins was the first player of the tournament to move into the winners' group , Bingham and Trump made it to group 2 together with Marco Fu and the Englishman Matthew Selt , who had moved up for Neil Robertson at short notice.

	Semi-final best of 5 frames					Final best of 5 frames
	1	Stuart Bingham	3
	4th	Judd Trump	2
						1	Stuart Bingham	1
						3	Barry Hawkins	3
	2	Neil Robertson	1
	3	Barry Hawkins	3

Group 2

Group 2 games were played between January 7th and 8th, 2015. The three British Ali Carter , Robert Milkins and Michael Holt were seeded . The other four places were occupied by Stuart Bingham , Judd Trump , Marco Fu and successor Matthew Selt .

Group games

After the botched first matchday in Group 1, Judd Trump now has three wins at the start in Group 2. The Englishman played three Century Breaks of 104 and twice 100 points. Even Marco Fu secured a good position with three wins against Ali Carter , Matthew Hemming and Robert Milkins . Carter took first place in the group stage with four points and sixteen frames won ahead of Trump and Fu, who also took third and fourth place with four points. Matthew Selt secured a place for the semifinals of Group 2 as the fourth player. Stuart Bingham , who had impressed with strong performances in Group 1, only reached fifth place this time, but narrowly qualified for Group 3.

Sp.	Player 1	Erg.	Player 2		Sp.	Player 1	Erg.	Player 2		Sp.	Player 1	Erg.	Player 2
1	Stuart Bingham	3 : 2	Matthew Selt		8th	Stuart Bingham	1: 3	Judd Trump		15th	Marco Fu	3 : 0	Michael Holt
2	Judd Trump	3 : 0	Marco Fu		9	Matthew Selt	2: 3	Marco Fu		16	Judd Trump	3 : 1	Robert Milkins
3	Ali Carter	3 : 1	Robert Milkins		10	Ali Carter	3 : 1	Michael Holt		17th	Matthew Selt	1: 3	Michael Holt
4th	Michael Holt	3 : 2	Stuart Bingham		11	Judd Trump	3 : 0	Michael Holt		18th	Stuart Bingham	1: 3	Ali Carter
5	Matthew Selt	3 : 2	Judd Trump		12	Robert Milkins	0: 3	Marco Fu		19th	Judd Trump	1: 3	Ali Carter
6th	Marco Fu	3 : 2	Ali Carter		13	Stuart Bingham	2: 3	Robert Milkins		20th	Matthew Selt	3 : 2	Robert Milkins
7th	Robert Milkins	3 : 2	Michael Holt		14th	Matthew Selt	3 : 2	Ali Carter		21st	Stuart Bingham	3 : 2	Marco Fu

table

Item	player	opponent							Lots	Frames	Points	Prize money NB
		CAR	TRU	FU	SEL	AM	Mil	HOL
1	Ali Carter		3	2	2	3	3	3	4: 2	16:10	4th	HB£ 3,700 HB
2	Judd Trump	1		3	2	3	3	3	4: 2	15: 80	4th	£ 5,000
3	Marco Fu	3	0		3	2	3	3	4: 2	14:10	4th	£ 2,400
4th	Matthew Selt	3	3	2		2	3	1	3: 3	14:15	3	£ 6,200
5	Stuart Bingham	1	1	3	3		2	2	2: 4	12:16	2	£ 1,200
6th	Robert Milkins	1	1	0	2	3		3	2: 4	10:16	2	£ 1,000
7th	Michael Holt	1	0	0	3	3	2		2: 4	09:15	2	0.£ 900

	Qualification for the semi-finals of Group 2
	Qualification for group 3

^NB The prizes from the knockout phase are included in the prize money

^HB including a bonus for the highest break

Knockout phase

In the semifinals and also in the final of Group 2, the results from the group phase were repeated. Matthew Selt narrowly beat Ali Carter 3-2, who missed his chance to overtake Judd Trump in the Championship League's all-time prize money list. Trump clearly won 3-0 against Marco Fu , but had to admit defeat to Englishman Matthew Selt 3-2 in the final. Selt, who had moved up to the tournament through the short-term resignation of Neil Robertson , took his chance and moved into the Winners' Group at its tournament premiere . Carter, Trump and Fu qualified for Group 3.

	Semi-final best of 5 frames					Final best of 5 frames
	1	Ali Carter	2
	4th	Matthew Selt	3
						4th	Matthew Selt	3
						2	Judd Trump	2
	2	Judd Trump	3
	3	Marco Fu	0

Group 3

Group 3 games took place from January 19-20, 2015. Ricky Walden , Ryan Day and Mark Davis were all seated in this group. Since Walden had resigned from the tournament at short notice, Peter Ebdon , who was supposed to start in Group 6, moved up for him. Places one to four went to Judd Trump , Ali Carter , Marco Fu and Stuart Bingham .

Group games

After his mixed performance in Group 2, Stuart Bingham convinced again with three wins and took first place on the first day of the group stage. Judd Trump won two games at the start and played the highest break of the group of 137 points together with Peter Ebdon , but lost all games on the second day and was eliminated from the tournament as the penultimate. Even Marco Fu was unable to match his performance and finished with two points last place. Welshman Ryan Day secured first place with four points ahead of Bingham and Ali Carter . Successor Peter Ebdon just missed the semi-finals behind Mark Davis , but qualified for Group 4. Both players were equal on points and had an identical frame ratio of 12:11, so the placements were decided by direct comparison, which Davis with 3: 1 won.

Sp.	Player 1	Erg.	Player 2		Sp.	Player 1	Erg.	Player 2		Sp.	Player 1	Erg.	Player 2
1	Judd Trump	3 : 2	Ali Carter		8th	Judd Trump	2: 3	Marco Fu		15th	Stuart Bingham	1: 3	Mark Davis
2	Marco Fu	3 : 1	Stuart Bingham		9	Ali Carter	1: 3	Stuart Bingham		16	Marco Fu	0: 3	Peter Ebdon
3	Ryan Day	3 : 1	Peter Ebdon		10	Ryan Day	3 : 1	Mark Davis		17th	Ali Carter	3 : 1	Mark Davis
4th	Mark Davis	1: 3	Judd Trump		11	Marco Fu	0: 3	Mark Davis		18th	Judd Trump	2: 3	Ryan Day
5	Ali Carter	3 : 2	Marco Fu		12	Peter Ebdon	1: 3	Stuart Bingham		19th	Marco Fu	1: 3	Ryan Day
6th	Stuart Bingham	3 : 2	Ryan Day		13	Judd Trump	1: 3	Peter Ebdon		20th	Ali Carter	1: 3	Peter Ebdon
7th	Peter Ebdon	1: 3	Mark Davis		14th	Ali Carter	3 : 1	Ryan Day		21st	Judd Trump	2: 3	Stuart Bingham

table

Item	player	opponent							Lots	Frames	Points	Prize money NB
		DAY	AM	CAR	DAV	EBD	TRU	FU
1	Ryan Day		2	1	3	3	3	3	4: 2	15:11	4th	£ 2,800
2	Stuart Bingham	3		3	1	3	3	1	4: 2	14:12	4th	£ 2,400
3	Ali Carter	3	1		3	1	2	3	3: 3	13:13	3	£ 6,100
4th	Mark Davis	1	3	1		3	1	3	3: 3	12:11	3	£ 4,400
5	Peter Ebdon	1	1	3	1		3	3	3: 3	12:11	3	HB£ 1,450 HB
6th	Judd Trump	2	2	3	3	1		2	2: 4	13:15	2	HB£ 1,550 HB
7th	Marco Fu	1	3	2	0	0	3		2: 4	09:15	2	0.£ 900

	Qualification for the semi-finals of Group 3
	Qualification for group 4

^NB The prizes from the knockout phase are included in the prize money

^HB including a bonus for the highest break

Knockout phase

In the first semi-final, Mark Davis was able to prevail 3-1 against the group leader, Ryan Day . Ali Carter defeated the previously strong Stuart Bingham with a smooth 3-0. In the final, Carter prevailed against Davis after a 0-1 deficit 3-1 and convinced with high breaks of 129, 55 and 72 points. The Englishman qualified as the third player for the Winners' Group . Davis, Bingham and Day made it into Group 4.

	Semi-final best of 5 frames					Final best of 5 frames
	1	Ryan Day	1
	4th	Mark Davis	3
						4th	Mark Davis	1
						3	Ali Carter	3
	2	Stuart Bingham	0
	3	Ali Carter	3

Group 4

The games of the fourth group were played on January 21 and 22, 2015. The seeded players were Martin Gould and the two Welsh players Matthew Stevens and Michael White . Gould declined to participate, which is why David Gilbert moved up for him in the tournament. From Group 3, Mark Davis , Ryan Day , Stuart Bingham and Peter Ebdon joined.

Group games

On the first day of Group 4, Peter Ebdon shone with three 3-0 wins and took first place in front of Welshman Michael White , who also won three games. On the second day, Stuart Bingham caught up and slipped between the two front runners. Follower David Gilbert just missed the semifinals behind Mark Davis , but made it into Group 5 with fifth place. The two Welshmen Ryan Day and Matthew Stevens were eliminated with two and one point, respectively, with Stevens being the highest with a 131 Break the group succeeded (together with Mark Davis).

Sp.	Player 1	Erg.	Player 2		Sp.	Player 1	Erg.	Player 2		Sp.	Player 1	Erg.	Player 2
1	Mark Davis	1: 3	Ryan Day		8th	Mark Davis	2: 3	Stuart Bingham		15th	Peter Ebdon	3 : 1	Michael White
2	Stuart Bingham	0: 3	Peter Ebdon		9	Ryan Day	0: 3	Peter Ebdon		16	Stuart Bingham	3 : 1	Matthew Stevens
3	David Gilbert	3 : 2	Matthew Stevens		10	David Gilbert	1: 3	Michael White		17th	Ryan Day	2: 3	Michael White
4th	Michael White	0: 3	Mark Davis		11	Stuart Bingham	2: 3	Michael White		18th	Mark Davis	1: 3	David Gilbert
5	Ryan Day	2: 3	Stuart Bingham		12	Matthew Stevens	3 : 1	Peter Ebdon		19th	Stuart Bingham	3 : 1	David Gilbert
6th	Peter Ebdon	3 : 0	David Gilbert		13	Mark Davis	3 : 2	Matthew Stevens		20th	Ryan Day	3 : 1	Matthew Stevens
7th	Matthew Stevens	2: 3	Michael White		14th	Ryan Day	0: 3	David Gilbert		21st	Mark Davis	3 : 2	Peter Ebdon

table

Item	player	opponent							Lots	Frames	Points	Prize money NB
		EBD	AM	WHI	DAV	GIL	DAY	STE
1	Peter Ebdon		3	3	2	3	3	1	4: 2	15: 70	4th	£ 2,800
2	Stuart Bingham	0		2	3	3	3	3	4: 2	14:12	4th	£ 6,200
3	Michael White	1	3		0	3	3	3	4: 2	13:13	4th	£ 2,300
4th	Mark Davis	3	2	3		1	1	3	3: 3	13:13	3	HB£ 4,750 HB
5	David Gilbert	0	1	1	3		3	3	3: 3	11:12	3	£ 1,100
6th	Ryan Day	0	2	2	0	3		3	2: 4	10:14	2	£ 1,000
7th	Matthew Stevens	3	1	2	2	2	1		1: 5	11:16	1	HB£ 1,350 HB

	Qualification for the semi-finals of Group 4
	Qualification for group 5

^NB The prizes from the knockout phase are included in the prize money

^HB including a bonus for the highest break

Knockout phase

In the semifinals, the group leader, Peter Ebdon , lost 3-1 to his compatriot Mark Davis after a long match , which meant that Davis qualified for a group final for the second time in a row. Stuart Bingham prevailed with a sovereign 3-0 against the Welshman Michael White and crowned his strong tournament performances with a 3-1 group win against Mark Davis. Bingham qualified for the Winners' Group on the fourth attempt , while Davis, Ebdon and White secured their place in Group 5.

	Semi-final best of 5 frames					Final best of 5 frames
	1	Peter Ebdon	1
	4th	Mark Davis	3
						4th	Mark Davis	1
						2	Stuart Bingham	3
	2	Stuart Bingham	3
	3	Michael White	0

Group 5

Group 5 matches took place on January 26th and 27th, 2015. Also present were Ronnie O'Sullivan , Liang Wenbo and Fergal O'Brien and the second- to fifth-placed of Group 4, Mark Davis , Peter Ebdon , Michael White and David Gilbert .

Group games

Both Ronnie O'Sullivan and Mark Davis could each win five games and thus safely qualify for the knockout phase. O'Sullivan won the match against O'Brien in 22 minutes, with two Century Breaks (128 and 101) and a 97, 3: 0. In addition, David Gilbert and the Irish Fergal O'Brien qualified. Peter Ebdon reached group 6 due to the better frame ratio ahead of Michael White , who scored the highest break in the group with a 139 in his match against Ebdon.

Sp.	Player 1	Erg.	Player 2		Sp.	Player 1	Erg.	Player 2		Sp.	Player 1	Erg.	Player 2
1	Mark Davis	3 : 1	Peter Ebdon		8th	Mark Davis	3 : 1	Michael White		15th	David Gilbert	2: 3	Fergal O'Brien
2	Michael White	2: 3	David Gilbert		9	Peter Ebdon	2: 3	David Gilbert		16	Michael White	3 : 2	Liang Wenbo
3	Ronnie O'Sullivan	3 : 2	Liang Wenbo		10	Ronnie O'Sullivan	3 : 0	Fergal O'Brien		17th	Peter Ebdon	3 : 1	Fergal O'Brien
4th	Fergal O'Brien	1: 3	Mark Davis		11	Michael White	0: 3	Fergal O'Brien		18th	Mark Davis	1: 3	Ronnie O'Sullivan
5	Peter Ebdon	0: 3	Michael White		12	Liang Wenbo	0: 3	David Gilbert		19th	Michael White	0: 3	Ronnie O'Sullivan
6th	David Gilbert	0: 3	Ronnie O'Sullivan		13	Mark Davis	3 : 0	Liang Wenbo		20th	Peter Ebdon	2: 3	Liang Wenbo
7th	Liang Wenbo	1: 3	Fergal O'Brien		14th	Peter Ebdon	3 : 2	Ronnie O'Sullivan		21st	Mark Davis	3 : 2	David Gilbert

table

Item	player	opponent							Lots	Frames	Points	Prize money NB
		SUL	DAV	GIL	BRI	EBD	WHI	WHOM
1	Ronnie O'Sullivan		3	3	3	2	3	3	5: 1	17: 60	5	£ 5,200
2	Mark Davis	1		3	3	3	3	3	5: 1	16: 80	5	£ 6,400
3	David Gilbert	0	2		2	3	3	3	3: 3	13:13	3	£ 2,600
4th	Fergal O'Brien	0	1	3		1	3	3	3: 3	11:12	3	£ 2,700
5	Peter Ebdon	3	1	2	3		0	2	2: 4	11:15	2	£ 1,100
6th	Michael White	0	1	2	0	3		3	2: 4	09:14	2	HB£ 1,400 HB
7th	Liang Wenbo	2	0	0	1	3	2		1: 5	08:17	1	0.£ 800

	Qualification for the semifinals of group 5
	Qualification for group 6

^NB The prizes from the knockout phase are included in the prize money

^HB including a bonus for the highest break

Knockout phase

In the semifinals, Ronnie O'Sullivan and Mark Davis prevailed and confirmed their results from the group stage against Fergal O'Brien and David Gilbert . Davis was able to retaliate with a 3-2 against O'Sullivan for defeat in the group stage and thus reached the winners' group.

	Semi-final best of 5 frames					Final best of 5 frames
	1	Ronnie O'Sullivan	3
	4th	Fergal O'Brien	2
						1	Ronnie O'Sullivan	2
						2	Mark Davis	3
	2	Mark Davis	3
	3	David Gilbert	1

Group 6

Dominic Dale Rod Lawler and Norwegian Kurt Maflin are seeded for the Group 6 games, which took place on January 28 and 29, 2015 . From group 5, David Gilbert , Fergal O'Brien , Peter Ebdon and Ronnie O'Sullivan qualified . However, O'Sullivan did not appear and was replaced by Ben Woollaston .

Group games

David Gilbert was able to place himself on position 1 this time after fifth place in group 4 and third place in group 5. With his fourth participation in the group stage, Peter Ebdon was able to qualify for the knockout phase for the third time. In addition, Dominic Dale and Ben Woollaston reached the knockout phase. Fergal O'Brien reached Group 7 with fifth place.

Sp.	Player 1	Erg.	Player 2		Sp.	Player 1	Erg.	Player 2		Sp.	Player 1	Erg.	Player 2
1	Ben Woollaston	0: 3	David Gilbert		8th	Ben Woollaston	0: 3	Fergal O'Brien		15th	Peter Ebdon	3 : 1	Kurt Maflin
2	Fergal O'Brien	3 : 1	Peter Ebdon		9	David Gilbert	1: 3	Peter Ebdon		16	Fergal O'Brien	2: 3	Rod Lawler
3	Dominic Dale	3 : 0	Rod Lawler		10	Dominic Dale	3 : 1	Kurt Maflin		17th	David Gilbert	3 : 2	Kurt Maflin
4th	Kurt Maflin	0: 3	Ben Woollaston		11	Fergal O'Brien	3 : 0	Kurt Maflin		18th	Ben Woollaston	2: 3	Dominic Dale
5	David Gilbert	3 : 0	Fergal O'Brien		12	Rod Lawler	2: 3	Peter Ebdon		19th	Fergal O'Brien	0: 3	Dominic Dale
6th	Peter Ebdon	3 : 0	Dominic Dale		13	Ben Woollaston	3 : 0	Rod Lawler		20th	David Gilbert	1: 3	Rod Lawler
7th	Rod Lawler	0: 3	Kurt Maflin		14th	David Gilbert	3 : 1	Dominic Dale		21st	Ben Woollaston	3 : 0	Peter Ebdon

table

Item	player	opponent							Lots	Frames	Points	Prize money NB
		GIL	DAL	EBD	WOO	BRI	LAW	MAF
1	David Gilbert		3	1	3	3	1	3	4: 2	14: 90	4th	£ 2,700
2	Dominic Dale	1		0	3	3	3	3	4: 2	13: 90	4th	HB£ 3,100 HB
3	Peter Ebdon	3	3		0	1	3	3	4: 2	13:10	4th	£ 4,200
4th	Ben Woollaston	0	2	3		0	3	3	3: 3	11: 90	3	£ 5,900
5	Fergal O'Brien	0	0	3	3		2	3	3: 3	11:10	3	£ 1,100
6th	Rod Lawler	3	0	2	0	3		0	2: 4	08:15	2	0.£ 800
7th	Kurt Maflin	2	1	1	0	0	3		1: 5	07:15	1	0.£ 700

	Qualification for the semi-finals of Group 6
	Qualification for group 7

^NB The prizes from the knockout phase are included in the prize money

^HB including a bonus for the highest break

Knockout phase

In the semifinals met Ben Woollaston on David Gilbert and Peter Ebdon on Dominic Dale . Woollaston was able to return the favor for the white wash in the group and moved into the final with 3: 1. In the second semi-final, Peter Ebdon won 3: 1 against Gilbert after his 3-0 win in the group. In the final, Ben Woollaston prevailed again against Peter Ebdon with 3-0 and was able to realize his chance as a successor to qualify for the Winners' Group.

	Semi-final best of 5 frames					Final best of 5 frames
	1	David Gilbert	1
	4th	Ben Woollaston	3
						4th	Ben Woollaston	3
						3	Peter Ebdon	0
	2	Dominic Dale	1
	3	Peter Ebdon	3

Group 7

With the games of group 7 played on February 9th and 10th, the possibility of qualifying for the winners' group of the tournament ended. The seeded players are the Scot John Higgins , Xiao Guodong and Mark Williams . From group 6, David Gilbert , Dominic Dale , Peter Ebdon and Fergal O'Brien qualified .

Group games

David Gilbert was able to confirm the good result from Group 6 and qualify for the knockout phase with five wins again on rank 1. David Gilbert played his first official maximum break in his 3-2 defeat against Xiao Guodong , who also qualified for the knockout phase . In addition to these two, Fergal O'Brien and Mark Williams earned a place in the semi-finals. In the competitive fourth frame, in which a total of 82 foul points were awarded, Dominic Dale was able to prevail with 94:84. This enabled him to equalize to 2-2 against David Gilber, but then had to admit defeat in the decision-making frame. After finishing second in Group 6, Dale only finished last in Group 7.

Sp.	Player 1	Erg.	Player 2		Sp.	Player 1	Erg.	Player 2		Sp.	Player 1	Erg.	Player 2
1	Peter Ebdon	1: 3	David Gilbert		8th	Xiao Guodong	3 : 1	Mark Williams		15th	Dominic Dale	0: 3	Xiao Guodong
2	Dominic Dale	1: 3	Fergal O'Brien		9	David Gilbert	3 : 2	Fergal O'Brien		16	Fergal O'Brien	2: 3	Mark Williams
3	Mark Williams	3 : 0	Peter Ebdon		10	John Higgins	3 : 1	Mark Williams		17th	David Gilbert	3 : 2	Mark Williams
4th	John Higgins	2: 3	Xiao Guodong		11	Xiao Guodong	2: 3	Fergal O'Brien		18th	Peter Ebdon	3 : 0	John Higgins
5	David Gilbert	3 : 2	Dominic Dale		12	Dominic Dale	0: 3	Mark Williams		19th	David Gilbert	2: 3	Xiao Guodong
6th	Fergal O'Brien	3 : 2	John Higgins		13	Peter Ebdon	3 : 1	Xiao Guodong		20th	Dominic Dale	0: 3	John Higgins
7th	Peter Ebdon	3 : 1	Dominic Dale		14th	David Gilbert	3 : 0	John Higgins		21st	Peter Ebdon	2: 3	Fergal O'Brien

table

Item	player	opponent							Lots	Frames	Points	Prize money NB
		GIL	BRI	XIA	WIL	EBD	HIG	DAL
1	David Gilbert		3	2	3	3	3	3	5: 1	17:10	5	HB£ 5,100 HB
2	Fergal O'Brien	2		3	2	3	3	3	4: 2	16:13	4th	£ 2,600
3	Xiao Guodong	3	2		3	1	3	3	4: 2	15:11	4th	£ 6,300
4th	Mark Williams	2	3	1		3	1	3	3: 3	13:11	3	£ 2,600
5	Peter Ebdon	1	2	3	0		3	3	3: 3	12:11	3	£ 1,200
6th	John Higgins	0	2	2	3	0		3	2: 4	10:13	2	£ 1,000
7th	Dominic Dale	2	1	0	0	1	0		0: 6	04:18	0	0.400 pounds

Qualification for the semi-finals of Group 7

^NB The prizes from the knockout phase are included in the prize money

^HB including a bonus for the highest break

Knockout phase

Both counterparts of the semifinals in the group stage both went the full distance, the semifinals were clearer. David Gilbert was able to defeat Mark Williams again and Xiao Guodong , after losing in the group stage, clearly defeated Fergal O'Brien 3-0 in the other semifinals . In the final, Xiao was able to clearly prevail against Gilbert after a 3-2 in the group. He was the only non-Englishman to qualify for the Winners' Group.

	Semi-final best of 5 frames					Final best of 5 frames
	1	David Gilbert	3
	4th	Mark Williams	1
						1	David Gilbert	0
						3	Xiao Guodong	3
	2	Fergal O'Brien	0
	3	Xiao Guodong	3

Winners' Group

The winners of the seven groups qualify for the group stage of the Winners' Group and played in round robin mode for a place in the semi-finals. The Chinese Xiao Guodong was the only non- Englishman to qualify for the Winners' Group. The other qualifiers are Barry Hawkins , Matthew Selt , Ali Carter , Stuart Bingham , Mark Davis and Ben Woollaston .

Group games

The highest break in the Winners' Group was achieved by Matthew Selt with a 139 in his match against Xiao Guodong . With four wins each, Selt and Mark Davis were able to qualify for the knockout phase. The other finalists were Ben Woollaston and Stuart Bingham who were able to place in front of Barry Hawkins due to the better frame ratio .

Sp.	Player 1	Erg.	Player 2		Sp.	Player 1	Erg.	Player 2		Sp.	Player 1	Erg.	Player 2
1	Barry Hawkins	0: 3	Matthew Selt		8th	Ben Woollaston	3 : 2	Xiao Guodong		15th	Ali Carter	1: 3	Ben Woollaston
2	Ali Carter	3 : 1	Stuart Bingham		9	Matthew Selt	1: 3	Stuart Bingham		16	Stuart Bingham	0: 3	Xiao Guodong
3	Xiao Guodong	3 : 1	Barry Hawkins		10	Mark Davis	3 : 0	Xiao Guodong		17th	Matthew Selt	3 : 0	Xiao Guodong
4th	Mark Davis	1: 3	Ben Woollaston		11	Ben Woollaston	1: 3	Stuart Bingham		18th	Barry Hawkins	3 : 0	Mark Davis
5	Matthew Selt	3 : 2	Ali Carter		12	Ali Carter	3 : 1	Xiao Guodong		19th	Matthew Selt	3 : 2	Ben Woollaston
6th	Stuart Bingham	1: 3	Mark Davis		13	Barry Hawkins	3 : 2	Ben Woollaston		20th	Ali Carter	2: 3	Mark Davis
7th	Barry Hawkins	3 : 0	Ali Carter		14th	Matthew Selt	1: 3	Mark Davis		21st	Barry Hawkins	0: 3	Stuart Bingham

table

Item	player	opponent							Lots	Frames	Points	Prize money NB
		SEL	DAV	WOO	AM	HAW	CAR	XIA
1	Matthew Selt		1	3	1	3	3	3	4: 2	14:10	4th	HB 0£ 7,100 HB
2	Mark Davis	3		1	3	0	2	3	4: 2	13:10	4th	0£ 9,100
3	Ben Woollaston	2	3		1	2	3	3	3: 3	14:13	3	0£ 6,400
4th	Stuart Bingham	3	1	3		3	1	0	3: 3	11:11	3	£ 14,000
5	Barry Hawkins	0	3	3	0		3	1	3: 3	10:11	3	0£ 2,000
6th	Ali Carter	2	3	1	3	0		3	2: 4	11:14	2	0£ 2,200
7th	Xiao Guodong	0	0	2	3	3	1		2: 4	09:13	2	0£ 1,800

Qualification for the semi-finals of the Winners' Group

^NB The prizes from the knockout phase are included in the prize money

^HB including a bonus for the highest break

Knockout phase

In the semi-finals, Stuart Bingham was able to prevail against Matthew Selt and Mark Davis against Ben Woollaston . Bingham won the final. After trailing 1: 2 against Davis, he was able to equalize with a 126, the second highest break in the winners' group, and force a decision frame which he won with a 79.

	Semi-final best of 5 frames					Final best of 5 frames
	1	Matthew Selt	1
	4th	Stuart Bingham	3
						4th	Stuart Bingham	3
						2	Mark Davis	2
	2	Mark Davis	3
	3	Ben Woollaston	2

Final: Best of 5 Frames Referee: Brendan Moore Crondon Park Golf Club,  Stock (Essex) , England , 12th February 2015
Stuart Bingham	3 : 2	Mark Davis
84 : 1 (72), 7: 86 , 10: 68 , 126 : 2 (126), 79 : 0 (79)
126	Highest break	43
1	Century breaks	-
2	50+ breaks	-

Century Breaks

On the first day of the tournament, Barry Hawkins achieved the 111th official maximum break . It was the second maximum for the Englishman, the sixth of the season and the first of 2015. On February 10, David Gilbert also achieved his first and 114th official maximum in Group 7. It was the ninth maximum break of the season. After Shaun Murphys reached the first maximum in the history of the tournament last year , these were number two and three. Of the 27 participants, 19 were able to score at least a break of 100 or more points. A total of 77 century breaks were played.

Barry Hawkins 147 1 , 118, 110, 109, 105 David Gilbert 147 7 , 113, 107, 103, 100 (2 ×) Matthew Selt 139 W , 124, 116, 105 Michael White 139 5 , 101 Ali Carter 138 2 , 110, 103, 102 Judd Trump 137 3 , 136, 125, 105, 104, 103, 100 (2 ×) Peter Ebdon 137 3 , 127, 123, 120, 108, 105, 103, 101 John Higgins 136, 121 Marco Fu 134 (2 ×), 130, 108, 101 Stuart Bingham 134, 126, 120, 118, 115, 113, 110, 108, 104, 101

Dominic Dale 132 6 , 125, 103 Mark Davis 131 4 , 128, 118, 117, 103 Matthew Stevens 131 4 , 105 Ronnie O'Sullivan 128, 126, 101, 100 Fergal O'Brien 127, 123, 111, 105 Neil Robertson 123, 100 Liang Wenbo 112 Ben Woollaston 101 Ryan Day 100

¹ highest break in group 1

² highest break in group 2

³ highest break in group 3

^4th highest break in group 4

⁵ highest break in group 5

^6th highest break in group 6

^7th highest break in group 7

^W. highest break in winners' group

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b} Bingham Bags CLS Title Against Davis. In: championshipleaguesnooker.co.uk. Matchroom Sport , accessed June 27, 2015 .  
2. ^ Hawkins Makes 147 at CLS. In: worldsnooker.com. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association , January 6, 2015, accessed June 27, 2015 .  
3. ↑ ^{a b} Rolf Kalb : Snooker - Barry Hawkins with maximum break. (No longer available online.) In: de.eurosport.yahoo.com. Eurosport , January 5, 2015, archived from the original on June 30, 2015 ; accessed on June 27, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.   
4. ↑ ^{a b} Xiao Seals Final Bert. In: championshipleaguesnooker.co.uk. Matchroom Sport , accessed June 21, 2015 .  
5. ^ Prize Fund. In: championshipleaguesnooker.co.uk. Matchroom Sport , accessed June 27, 2015 .  
6. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i} Fixtures & Results. In: championshipleaguesnooker.co.uk. Matchroom Sport , accessed June 27, 2015 .  
7. ↑ format. In: championshipleaguesnooker.co.uk. Matchroom Sport , accessed June 27, 2015 .  
8. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i} Championship League - Winners' Group. Snooker.org, accessed June 27, 2015 .  
9. ↑ Match List. (PDF; 22.4 kB) Championship League Group 1. (No longer available online.) World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association , January 6, 2015, archived from the original on January 6, 2015 ; accessed on June 27, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.   
10. ↑ Match List. (PDF; 22.5 kB) Championship League Group 2. (No longer available online.) World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association , January 9, 2015, archived from the original on June 30, 2015 ; accessed on June 27, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.   
11. ↑ Selt takes CLS Group Two Honors. In: worldsnooker.com. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association , January 9, 2015, accessed June 27, 2015 .  
12. ↑ Match List. (PDF; 22.4 kB) Championship League Group 3. (No longer available online.) World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association , January 20, 2015, archived from the original on June 30, 2015 ; accessed on June 27, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.   
13. ↑ Match List. (PDF; 22.5 kB) Championship League Group 4. (No longer available online.) World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association , January 23, 2015, archived from the original on June 30, 2015 ; accessed on June 27, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.   
14. ↑ Match List. (PDF; 22.5 kB) Championship League Group 5. (No longer available online.) World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association , January 28, 2015, archived from the original on June 30, 2015 ; accessed on June 27, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.   
15. ^ ^{A b} Woollaston Takes Group 6. In: championshipleaguesnooker.co.uk. Matchroom Sport , accessed June 27, 2015 .  
16. ↑ Match List. (PDF; 22.5 kB) Championship League Group 6. (No longer available online.) World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association , January 30, 2015, archived from the original on June 30, 2015 ; accessed on June 27, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.   
17. ↑ Match List. (PDF; 22.5 kB) Championship League Group 7. (No longer available online.) World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association , February 12, 2015, archived from the original on June 30, 2015 ; accessed on June 27, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.   
18. ↑ David Gilbert 03-02 Dominic Dale. Frame details. (No longer available online.) In: livescores.love-snooker.com. Archived from the original on June 30, 2015 ; accessed on June 27, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.   
19. ↑ Match List. (PDF; 22.5 kB) Championship League Final Group. (No longer available online.) World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association , February 13, 2015, archived from the original on June 30, 2015 ; accessed on June 27, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.   
20. ^ Century Breaks. Full list of Century Breaks made during each group of the 2015 Championship League Snooker. In: championshipleaguesnooker.co.uk. Matchroom Sport , accessed June 27, 2015 .  

Web links

• Official Championship League website