2021 UK Championship
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 23 November – 5 December 2021 |
| Venue | York Barbican |
| City | York |
| Country | England |
| Organisation | World Snooker Tour |
| Format | Ranking event |
| Total prize fund | £1,009,000 |
| Winner's share | £200,000 |
| Highest break | File:Flag of England.svg Gary Wilson (ENG) (147) |
| Final | |
| Champion | File:Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Zhao Xintong (CHN) |
| Runner-up | File:Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Luca Brecel (BEL) |
| Score | 10–5 |
← 2020 2022 → | |
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The 2021 UK Championship (officially the 2021 Cazoo UK Championship) was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 23 November to 5 December 2021 at the York Barbican, in York, England. The event was the first Triple Crown and fifth ranking event of the 2021–22 snooker season. The tournament featured a prize fund of £1,009,000, with the winner receiving £200,000. It was sponsored by car retail company Cazoo and broadcast in the UK by the BBC and Eurosport. Neil Robertson was the defending champion, having defeated Judd Trump 10–9 in the 2020 final, but he lost 2–6 in the first round to amateur John Astley. Many other top seeds exited the tournament in the early rounds, with 11 of the world's top 13 ranked players eliminated before the last-16 stage. For the first time in the tournament's history, no top-16 player reached the final, which was contested between China's Zhao Xintong and Belgium's Luca Brecel, both of whom made their first appearances in a Triple Crown final. Zhao won the event with a 10–5 victory in the final to claim his first ranking title. The event featured 119 century breaks, with Gary Wilson making the highest, his fourth career maximum break, in his first-round match against Ian Burns. Aged 24, Zhao became the youngest winner of the UK Championship since Trump in 2011. He became the fourth non-British winner in the tournament's history, after Ireland's Patsy Fagan, China's Ding Junhui, and Australia's Robertson. He also became the fourth player from mainland China to win a ranking title, after Ding, Liang Wenbo and Yan Bingtao. His win enabled him to enter the top 16 for the first time and secure a place in the second Triple Crown event of the season, the 2022 Masters. This edition of the tournament was the last to be played under the flat-128 draw format. From the following edition, the tournament reverted to a tiered draw format, with the top 16 being seeded through to the venue, with all others playing a World Championship-style qualifying event prior to the main stages.
Overview
The 2021 UK Championship was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 23 November to 5 December 2021 at the York Barbican, in York, England.[1] The UK Championship was first held in 1977 as the United Kingdom Professional Snooker Championship, open to British residents only. At the 1984 event, it became a ranking tournament open to players of any nationality, which it has remained ever since.[2][3] The event was the first Triple Crown tournament, and the fifth ranking event of the 2021–22 snooker season.[4][5][6] There were 128 participants, 119 players from the World Snooker Tour, and 9 invited amateur players.[7][8] The defending champion was Neil Robertson, who defeated Judd Trump 10–9 in the previous year's final.[9] The tournament was broadcast live in the United Kingdom by BBC Sport, and shown on Eurosport in Europe.[10] Worldwide, the event was covered by China Central Television and Superstars Online in China, and by Sky Sport in New Zealand.[10] It was simulcast in Hong Kong by Now TV; DAZN covered the event across Canada, Brazil and the United States.[10] It was sponsored by vehicle rental company Cazoo.[11]
Prize fund
The breakdown of prize money for the event is shown below:[12]
- Winner: £200,000
- Runner-up: £80,000
- Semi-final: £40,000
- Quarter-final: £24,500
- Last 16: £17,000
- Last 32: £12,000
- Last 64: £6,500
- Highest break: £15,000
- Total: £1,009,000
Summary
All matches other than the final were held as the best-of-11 frames.[13] In the first round, defending champion Neil Robertson lost 2–6 to amateur player John Astley, but later revealed that he had been diagnosed with pulsatile tinnitus and would have withdrawn from the tournament regardless.[14] Shaun Murphy, the sixth seed, lost 5–6 to another amateur player Si Jiahui, and made comments afterward on BBC Radio 5 Live suggesting that amateur players should not be permitted to compete in professional events.[15] Robertson, Mark Williams and Mark Selby agreed with Murphy's comments,[16][17] although the World Snooker Tour stated that giving amateurs the opportunity to compete in professional tournaments was a vital aspect of their development,[18] and its chairman Steve Dawson stated that the drama caused by amateur players beating elite professionals had been "great for the sport".[19] Critics on social media noted the irony that Murphy himself had attempted to qualify for golf's 2019 Open Championship as an amateur competitor.[20] Thepchaiya Un-Nooh compiled five century breaks while defeating Stephen Hendry 6–1 in the first round, becoming only the fourth player after Fergal O'Brien, Trump, and Matthew Selt to make that many in a best-of-11 match.[21] Reigning world champion Selby (seeded 2), Williams (9), Ding Junhui (10), and reigning Masters champion Yan Bingtao (12) all lost in the last 64. Selby trailed world number 63 Hossein Vafaei 0–5, but won the next two frames before Vafaei fluked a respotted black in frame eight to win the match 6–2.[22] Williams led world number 56 Anthony Hamilton 3–0, but lost the match 5–6, after which he apologised for falling asleep during the sixth frame, stating he had been feeling unwell following a case of COVID-19.[23] Ding lost 3–6 to world number 55 Sam Craigie, guaranteeing that he would drop out of the top 16 after the tournament and be ineligible to compete in the Masters for the first time since 2006.[24][25] After Craigie potted the final pink in frame eight, referee Maike Kesseler awarded him the frame for a 5–3 lead while the cue ball was still in motion. Craigie then placed his cue on the table and the cue ball collided with it.[26] Speaking for the BBC studio, pundit Ken Doherty argued that the referee should have called a foul, respotted the pink, and given Ding the opportunity to come back to the table and attempt to level the match at 4–4; however, the frame had been awarded to Craigie prematurely. Speaking on Eurosport, pundit Alan McManus also criticised Kesseler for awarding the frame before the cue ball had come to rest.[27] Yan lost 3–6 to world number 53 Ben Woollaston.[28] Five more seeded players exited in the round of 32. Third seed Trump, the previous year's runner-up, suffered a shock 3–6 defeat to world number 35 Selt.[29] John Higgins (7) and Mark Allen (11) fell victim to comebacks by their opponents, with Higgins losing 5–6 to Zhao Xintong after leading 5–3,[30] and Allen losing 5–6 to David Gilbert after leading 5–2.[31] Stephen Maguire (8) was whitewashed 0–6 by world number 40 Luca Brecel,[32] while Stuart Bingham (13) lost 5–6 to world number 45 Noppon Saengkham, despite coming back from 0–5 behind to force a deciding frame.[33] Eleven of the world's top-13-ranked players were eliminated before the last-16 stage of the tournament.[34] Overall, just five seeded players reached the last 16: Ronnie O'Sullivan (4), Kyren Wilson (5), Barry Hawkins (14), Jack Lisowski (15), and Anthony McGill (16). All five seeds progressed to the quarter-finals, along with Zhao, Brecel, and world number 102 Andy Hicks.[13]
In the quarter-finals, Wilson defeated seven-time champion O'Sullivan. During their match, O'Sullivan repeatedly complained to referee Jan Verhaas about audience members distracting him as they entered and exited the auditorium, and interrupted his breaks to sit in his chair for several minutes at a time while the crowd settled down.[35] He also requested that a photographer be removed from the arena floor.[36] O'Sullivan came from 3–5 behind to level the match, but Wilson won the deciding frame for a 6–5 victory.[37] The other quarter-finals were more one-sided as Brecel defeated McGill 6–2, Zhao won six consecutive frames to beat Lisowski 6–2, and Hawkins defeated Hicks 6–1.[37][38] In the first semi-final, Brecel defeated Wilson 6–4, compiling four century breaks and three other breaks over 50, to become the first player from continental Europe to reach a Triple Crown final.[39][40] In the second semi-final, Zhao defeated Hawkins 6–1, making a century break and an additional five breaks over 70, to reach his first ranking final.[41] The final was played on 5 December 2021 between Brecel and Zhao as the best-of-19 frames held over two sessions.[42] It was the first in the tournament's history not to feature a player in the top 16 in the world rankings, and the second not to feature a player from the United Kingdom (Australian Robertson defeated Chinese player Liang Wenbo in the 2015 final). Zhao led 5–3 after the afternoon session, and then won five of the seven frames played in the evening session to defeat Brecel 10–5 and win the first ranking title of his career. Zhao became the tournament's fourth non-British winner, after Ireland's Patsy Fagan, China's Ding, and Australia's Robertson. He also became the fourth player from mainland China to win a ranking title, after Ding, Liang, and Yan.[43] He moved up from 26th to ninth in the world rankings, which secured his place in the 2022 Masters in January. As runner-up, Brecel moved up the rankings from 40th to 18th.[44]
Tournament draw
The draw for the event is shown below. Players in bold denote match winners.[45]
Top half
Section 1
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Section 2
Section 3
Section 4
Bottom half
Section 5
Section 6
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Section 7
Section 8
Finals
| Quarter-finals Best of 11 frames | Semi-finals Best of 11 frames | Final Best of 19 frames | ||||||||||||
| 16 | Scotland Anthony McGill | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 40 | Belgium Luca Brecel | 6 | ||||||||||||
| 40 | Belgium Luca Brecel | 6 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | England Kyren Wilson | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | England Kyren Wilson | 6 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | England Ronnie O'Sullivan | 5 | ||||||||||||
| 40 | Belgium Luca Brecel | 5 | ||||||||||||
| 26 | China Zhao Xintong | 10 | ||||||||||||
| 14 | England Barry Hawkins | 6 | ||||||||||||
| 102 | England Andy Hicks | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 14 | England Barry Hawkins | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 26 | China Zhao Xintong | 6 | ||||||||||||
| 26 | China Zhao Xintong | 6 | ||||||||||||
| 15 | England Jack Lisowski | 2 | ||||||||||||
Final
| Final: Best of 19 frames. Referee: Ben Williams York Barbican, York, England, 5 December 2021 | ||
| Luca Brecel (40) File:Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Belgium |
5–10 | Zhao Xintong (26) File:Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China |
| Afternoon: 4–79, 133–0 (133), 25–90, 80–19, 12–92, 40–67, 60–47, 17–85 Evening: 0–87, 9–120 (120), 71–31, 6–69, 97–13, 19–71, 0–99 | ||
| 133 | Highest break | 120 |
| 1 | Century breaks | 1 |
Century breaks
A total of 119 century breaks were made during the tournament.[46] Gary Wilson made the highest, his fourth career maximum break, in his first-round match against Ian Burns.[47]
- 147, 104 – Gary Wilson
- 142, 115 – Fergal O'Brien
- 139, 131, 120, 115, 108 – Ronnie O'Sullivan
- 139 – Li Hang
- 138, 129, 128, 103 – Dominic Dale
- 138 – Zhang Anda
- 136, 129, 107, 106, 100 – Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
- 136, 118 – Ben Woollaston
- 135, 133, 130, 117 – Anthony McGill
- 135 – Louis Heathcote
- 135 – Andy Hicks
- 134, 131, 112 – John Higgins
- 134, 129 – Ding Junhui
- 134, 101 – Ali Carter
- 133, 130, 112, 112, 105, 102 – Luca Brecel
- 132, 131, 109 – Graeme Dott
- 132, 100 – Judd Trump
- 131, 128, 121, 119, 103, 100 – Noppon Saengkham
- 131, 115 – David Gilbert
- 131 – Gerard Greene
- 130 – Aaron Hill
- 130 – Ashley Hugill
- 129, 102 – Ricky Walden
- 128 – Jordan Brown
- 128 – Matthew Selt
- 128 – Craig Steadman
- 127, 105, 104, 100 – Stephen Maguire
- 126, 110 – Jack Lisowski
- 125 – Duane Jones
- 124 – Neil Robertson
- 122, 121, 118, 102, 102 – Cao Yupeng
- 122, 120, 120, 114, 110, 100 – Zhao Xintong
- 121, 117, 115, 113, 110, 102 – Kyren Wilson
- 120 – Ian Burns
- 120 – Gao Yang
- 119 – John Astley
- 118 – Yuan Sijun
- 115, 109 – Wu Yize
- 115, 105 – Hossein Vafaei
- 114, 113 – Robbie Williams
- 114 – Ben Hancorn
- 113 – Stuart Carrington
- 113 – Peter Lines
- 113 – Kurt Maflin
- 112, 106 – Mark Williams
- 111 – Simon Lichtenberg
- 111 – Joe Perry
- 110 – Fan Zhengyi
- 107, 100 – Yan Bingtao
- 107 – Scott Donaldson
- 105 – Ashley Carty
- 105 – Sam Craigie
- 104 – David Grace
- 104 – Allan Taylor
- 103, 103 – Barry Hawkins
- 103 – Martin Gould
- 102 – Michael White
- 101 – Mark King
- 101 – Lei Peifan
References
- ↑ "Cazoo UK Snooker Championship 2021". York Barbican. Archived from the original on 16 August 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
- ↑ "UK Championship Event History". World Snooker. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. Archived from the original on 29 November 2012. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
- ↑ "UK Championship". Snooker Scene. Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
- ↑ "Calendar 2021/2022 (Provisional)" (PDF). wst.tv. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 May 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
- ↑ "Calendar 2021/2022". snooker.org. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
- ↑ "Calendar 2021/2022". WWS. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
- ↑ "UK Championship (2021) – Brackets". snooker.org. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
- ↑ Årdalen, Hermund. "Competitors 2021/2022 (UK Championship 2021) - snooker.org". snooker.org (in norsk). Retrieved 6 December 2021.
- ↑ "Neil Robertson beats Judd Trump to win UK Championship after late-night thriller". Sky Sports. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 "How To Watch The Cazoo UK Championship". wst.tv. 27 November 2021. Archived from the original on 18 November 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
- ↑ "Cazoo and Matchroom Expand Partnership Deal". wst.tv. 17 June 2021. Archived from the original on 17 June 2021. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
- ↑ "Tournament Prize Money | World Snooker Live Scores". livescores.worldsnookerdata.com. Archived from the original on 28 November 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Årdalen, Hermund. "Results (UK Championship 2021) - snooker.org". snooker.org. Archived from the original on 6 December 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
- ↑ "Relieved Robertson Back After Health Scare". wst.tv. 14 December 2021. Archived from the original on 15 December 2021. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
- ↑ "'It is not fair': Murphy rails at amateurs in pro snooker … after defeat by amateur". The Guardian. 24 November 2021. Archived from the original on 27 November 2021. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
- ↑ "UK Championship 2021 as it happened – Defending Champion Neil Robertson Suffers Shock Exit; Judd Trump Cruises Through". Eurosport. 25 November 2021. Archived from the original on 25 November 2021. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
- ↑ "Selby and Williams back Murphy after tirade about amateurs in pro snooker". The Guardian. PA Media. 25 November 2021. Archived from the original on 28 November 2021. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
- ↑ "World Snooker rejects Shaun Murphy's amateur complaints". The Irish Times. 24 November 2021. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
- ↑ "UK Championship: Snooker boss says Shaun Murphy row 'great' for the sport". BBC Sport. 27 November 2021. Archived from the original on 27 November 2021. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
- ↑ Kershaw, Tom (25 November 2021). "Mark Selby and Mark Williams 'stand by' Shaun Murphy's criticism of amateur participation". msn.com. Archived from the original on 30 November 2021. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
- ↑ Haigh, Phil (24 November 2021). "Five-century Thepchaiya Un-Nooh obliterates Stephen Hendry in UK Championship masterclass". msn.com. Archived from the original on 27 November 2021. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
- ↑ "UK Championship 2021 – 'Thoroughly Deserved to Win the Match' – Mark Selby Hails Hossain Vafaei After Shock". Eurosport. 28 November 2021. Archived from the original on 30 November 2021. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
- ↑ Walker-Roberts, James (29 November 2021). "'A Bit Embarrassing' – Mark Williams Apologises After Falling Asleep During Anthony Hamilton Match at UK Championship". Eurosport. Archived from the original on 30 November 2021. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
- ↑ Hafez, Shamoon (28 November 2021). "UK Snooker Championship 2021: Mark Selby and Ding Junhui out, Judd Trump through". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 30 November 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
- ↑ "What Has Happened To Ding Junhui? Former World No1 Appears To Have Lost His Mojo". The Sportsman. 30 November 2021. Archived from the original on 30 November 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
- ↑ "Trump Overcomes Wakelin – And Distractions – To Reach UK Championship Third Round". The Sportsman. 28 November 2021. Archived from the original on 2 December 2021. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
- ↑ Livie, Alex (29 November 2021). "'Not Guilty of Anything' – Sam Craigie Cue Ball Controversy Against Ding Junhui Discussed by Pundits". Eurosport. Archived from the original on 6 December 2021. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
- ↑ Livie, Alex (28 November 2021). "UK Championship Snooker 2021: 'Still Not an Elite-Level Player' – Alan McManus Unsure on Yan Bingtao". Eurosport. Archived from the original on 6 December 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
- ↑ Sutcliffe, Steve (30 November 2021). "UK Snooker Championship 2021: Judd Trump suffers surprise defeat by Matthew Selt". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 30 November 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
- ↑ Hafez, Shamoon (29 November 2021). "UK Snooker Championship 2021: Ronnie O'Sullivan reaches last 16, John Higgins out". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 30 November 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
- ↑ "Trump and Allen latest big names to exit UK Championship". rte.ie. 30 November 2021. Archived from the original on 30 November 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
- ↑ "Stephen Maguire Whitewashed By Luca Brecel At UK Championship". The Sportsman. 30 November 2021. Archived from the original on 1 December 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
- ↑ "John Higgins and Stuart Bingham knocked out of UK Championship". msn.com. 29 November 2021. Archived from the original on 30 November 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
- ↑ "Brecel – I'm Not Afraid To Win". wst.tv. 30 November 2021. Archived from the original on 1 December 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
- ↑ Livie, Alex (3 December 2021). "'Decidedly Unimpressed' – Ronnie O'Sullivan Halts Play Mid-Break due to Crowd Disturbance at UK Championship". Eurosport. Archived from the original on 4 December 2021. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
- ↑ Livie, Alex (3 December 2021). "'It's Not a Lot to Ask' – Ronnie O'Sullivan Urges Photographer to be More Professional After UK Championship Altercation". Eurosport. Archived from the original on 6 December 2021. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
- ↑ 37.0 37.1 Sutcliffe, Steve (3 December 2021). "UK Snooker Championship 2021: Kyren Wilson beats Ronnie O'Sullivan to reach semi-finals". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 3 December 2021. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
- ↑ "Ronnie O'Sullivan orders photographer to leave during UK Championship loss". The Guardian. PA Media. 3 December 2021. Archived from the original on 4 December 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
- ↑ Hafez, Shamoon (4 December 2021). "UK Snooker Championship 2021: Luca Brecel to face Zhao Xintong in final". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 6 December 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
- ↑ Livie, Alex (4 December 2021). "UK Championship Snooker 2021 – Luca Brecel Hits Four Centuries in Win Over Kyren Wilson to Reach Final". Eurosport. Archived from the original on 6 December 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
- ↑ "Sizzling Xintong Hammers Hawk". wst.tv. 4 December 2021. Archived from the original on 5 December 2021. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
- ↑ Årdalen, Hermund. "Results (UK Championship 2021) - snooker.org". snooker.org. Archived from the original on 6 December 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
- ↑ "Sensation Zhao Is UK Champion". wst.tv. 5 December 2021. Archived from the original on 6 December 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
- ↑ Hafez, Shamoon (5 December 2021). "UK Snooker Championship final: Zhao Xintong beats Luca Brecel". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 7 December 2021. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
- ↑ "Full Draw – Cazoo UK Championship 2021 | World Snooker Live Scores". livescores.worldsnookerdata.com. Archived from the original on 3 December 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
- ↑ "Cazoo UK Championship 2021 – Centuries". livescores.worldsnookerdata.com. World Snooker. Archived from the original on 22 April 2022. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
- ↑ "Wilson Makes 147 In York". wst.tv. 24 November 2021. Archived from the original on 24 November 2021. Retrieved 24 November 2021.