History of the Champion of Champions

The Champion of Champions is a (relatively) recent non-ranking addition to the snooker calendar that involves the event winners of the prior year battling it out to determine who is the true champion. Sixteen players compete in a series of short-format matches, culminating in a best-of-19 final contest where the winner gets a six-figure pay out worthy of champion status.

Despite my stating the tournament is ‘relatively recent’, earlier editions of the Champion of Champions did exist in 1978 and 1980. These were won by Ray Reardon and Doug Mountjoy however, the events didn’t perform well commercially and thus, were discontinued for the foreseeable future.

Fast forward a few decades and the Champion of Champions was recommissioned in 2013 where audience response was far better received, and fans were treated to a match worthy of a final in every contest. Similar to the Masters and the Coral Cup series, the Champion of Champions provided matches that a viewer would normally have to wait multiple rounds of your typical flat-draw event to witness.

The event sees the sixteen players separated into 4x4 ‘groups’ where winners proceed further into the tournament. I put groups in quotations because it isn’t like the Championship League where all players have a chance to play each other; rather two matches are played and the winner of each match progress.

Since its rebirth in 2013, Ronnie O’Sullivan has seen the most success at the Champion of Champions. He won the first two iterations of the tournament in 2013-2014 and has contested the finals in 2016-17, following this with a third title in 2018. O’Sullivan chose not to participate in 2015, leading to Neil Robertson triumphing over Mark Allen; a defeat that Allen was able to remedy in last year’s final. John Higgins and Shaun Murphy are also members of the CoC alumni with their victories over O’Sullivan in 2016 and 2017.

The Champion of Champions was typically held in the Ricoh Arena in Coventry but has since seen venue changes to adapt to the changing times. Most events last season along with the CoC were held in Milton Keynes and this year will see the contest held in Bolton. Whether the tournament will ever return to Coventry is yet to be known.

The Champion of Champions has provided some great contests such as Robertson’s and Trump’s final in 2019 (click here to read about that), O’Sullivan’s and White’s first round match in 2019 (click here to read about that) as well as Reanne Evans’s contest against Shaun Murphy in 2019. Actually, 2019 seemed like the year to watch now that I’m thinking about it. Although, the final between O’Sullivan and Wilson in 2018 also provided a dramatic contest.

But tell me what you think! What do you think of the Champion of Champions? Is it an event you look forward to each year? Are there things that you would change about it? It’s a tournament broadcasted by the ITV team; are you a fan of the coverage? Let me know in the comments!

Like this Short? Click here to read: How the Champion of Champions Participants are Decided

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Snooker Practice Routines/Drills for Safety Play

Safety can be a bit of a tricky area of the sport to practice seeing as it takes you away from the objective of the game, which is to pot balls. However, in order to get into that prime potting position, you may need to force your opponent to put you in play. A solid safety game can do wonders and here are some ways to help you strengthen that aspect of the game.

Travelling the Length of the Table

It doesn’t particularly matter how the balls are set up since you’re essentially practicing the same shot. However, for simplicity you could place a red somewhere between the pink and black and the cue ball at the upper end of the table. John Parrott demonstrated this exercise during a WSC segment where he places an object (i.e. chalk or tape) a few inches from the cushion where the objective is to play a safety shot and have the cue ball land behind the line of the object.

The more consistent you become at getting the cue ball behind the object line, you can move the object closer to the cushion and work on getting the cue ball tight to the baulk end. You can also practice this from different positions such as off a pack. A significant proportion of your safety shots is likely to have contact with other reds on the table, so practicing this will help you with the concept of assessing whether shooting off the pack will result in a red being left over a corner pocket.

Coming Up the Table

If you’re at the scoring end of the table and are at the end of a break, you’ll need to play back up the table to leave your opponent a difficult next shot. You can practice leaving a red along the side cushion and playing off it to leave the cue ball up the baulk end. You can practice this using one cushion or two, depending on the layout of the table. You can also place a colour in a possible snookering position and aim to get the cue ball behind it using however many cushions are necessary.

Glancing off a pack can be a useful shot to practice to learn the speed of the table and improve your judgement of pace as you travel up the table. The good thing about the shots which require you to come up the table is that you really get a hang of how the angles work, particularly when you use a bit of side.

Cushion Shots

So far, we’ve touched on the types of shots that can get your opponent in trouble, but you’ll need to be able to comfortably play the next shot if you happen to be on the receiving end of a telling safety. Similar to the first exercise, you can practice the same kinds of shots and attempt to return the safety that was played against you. The main idea here is to get comfortable cuing along the cushion and ensure you get the perfect contact on the object ball to return to baulk.


You’ll notice that these exercises aren’t as specific as simple potting routines such as a line-up. That’s mainly because safety shots can be played from a variety of different positions and table layouts. The main way to practice safety is to continuously attempt particular shots to make sure you have the correct pace and contact with the object ball.

I wouldn’t say that safety shots are something that can ever be perfected or mastered; only practiced to a point where you’re consistent enough to have a high success rate. When you become more advanced, you can experiment with different table layouts where you’ll need to negotiate the cue ball around the table. That’s where things get fun!

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What Exactly is ‘Match Play’ in Snooker?

The term ‘match play’ doesn’t have an exact definition but it can be described as the choices made by a player to improve their chances of winning a match. While all snooker players will have their respective strengths on the table, a good match player will have the ability to convert a difficult match into an opportunity that favours their chances. What sort of qualities constitute the characteristics of ‘match play’?

Match play in snooker can ultimately be derived from the shot selection employed by the player. While being able to pot your way out of trouble can sometimes be a viable method of continuing a break and winning a frame/match, it isn’t the most reliable way to secure a frame. A good example of match play would be when a player has made a 50+ break and puts a colour safe instead of attempting to keep the break going with a high-risk pot or cannon attempt. This favours the player who made the 50+ break by making the table difficult for their opponent when they come to play.

Seasoned veterans such as John Higgins and Mark Selby (or Steve Davis and Ray Reardon from the golden ages) aren’t known primarily for their ‘prolific break-building’, rather they are notorious for their formidable temperaments and aptitude to turn around a match where the chips seem to be down. When the score-line is against them, or if they’re playing poorly, these guys know how to play the right shots to halt the momentum of their opponents and put them in serious trouble. They can then capitalise on the mistakes of their opponents and build momentum and confidence of their own.

While the objective of snooker is to pot balls, the game will favour those that play the game in less of a one-dimensional manner. The table isn’t always going to be in a position where you are always able to pot a ball when you play your next shot. A decent match player will know when they need to play aggressively and when they need to put their opponent against the ropes with telling safety/containment play.

A solid match player is generally the more complete player, not only in physical attributes when playing the shot, but also the mental toughness to carry themselves through the battle. Being able to adapt to the circumstances that arise in their matches by playing conservatively or taking chances where required are notable qualities of the thinking process required by a tough match player. The type of shots taken by these players may not be the most flamboyant or enjoyable to watch but at the end of the day, when the objective is to win the match, these tactics can produce dividends for the match player.

Who do you think are the best match players in snooker right now? Specifically, are there any players that you think go unnoticed when it comes to their match play ability?

Like this Short? Click here to read: Does John Higgins Get Enough Credit?

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What Should The Four Majors In Snooker Be?

The BBC have proudly claimed the Masters, UK and World Championship as snooker’s majors for decades. A lot of fans have their own views of what the major tournaments in snooker should be and think it should venture further than tournaments residing within the UK. While these events do have a lot of historical significance, I thought I would pose the question to the audience as to what you think the majors in snookers should be. Meanwhile, here are my picks.

World Snooker Championship

No explanation necessary

European/German Masters

I think a ‘Masters’ event should remain as a major but perhaps the German or European Masters should take its place. Both events date pack to the early-mid 1990s and could offer the flexibility of being held in various locations around Europe. Most tournaments in the calendar are housed in Europe anyway so I think it’s a natural choice to have a Masters as a snooker major.

China Open

One of the most significant regions representing the game, it makes sense to hold a major event within the country. There have been many rumours of the World Championship eventually being moved to China, but I think converting an event such as the China Open would do well to bridge this gap and show the importance of China as a growth area in the game.

Scottish (International) Open

One of the longest standing events that remain on the calendar to this day, the Scottish Open has stood the test of time through a series of name/brand revisions. Initially, the tournament was known as the International Open which, similar to the European Masters, could benefit from being held in a variety of locations where snooker has potential for a packed audience.

My choices aim to represent the variety of regions where snooker has the most footfall as opposed to having all major events in one spot. Ideally, I would prefer if snooker had greater traction in an area like the US because I think having a major there would be great for the sport. Or even if the Dubai Classic was still around, this could also be a potential contender in my eyes.

Also, my majors change the Triple Crown notion by adding one more event to the mix in order to be in line with other sports. I also chose events that all players have a chance at winning i.e. didn’t choose events like the Tour Championship or Champion of Champions which only allow the top ranked players for a certain period to qualify.

Obviously, something would probably have to change regarding the format of these events in order to make them ‘major-worthy’ but as it stands, these would be my choices. But I pose the question to you. Which tournaments, past or present, would make up your snooker majors? You can choose three or four, but the decision is entirely yours! Or do you think the Triple Crown should remain as is?

Like this Short? Click here to read: Old Snooker Tournaments I Hope Return

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