Champion of Champions 2016 – Daqing Update
Stuart Bingham has become the latest player to secure his spot at the 2016 Champion of Champions, following the completion of the International Championship in Daqing last week.
With the already-qualified Mark Selby taking his second ranking event title of the season, Bingham takes the place as the highest ranked player on the one-year ranking list, following the latest tournament in China.
He will therefore face defending champion Neil Robertson at the Ricoh Arena, with the full group draw and schedule as it stands available to view at the tournament’s official website.
Qualification for the event will be determined by the results of professional tournaments dating back to Neil Robertson’s victory at the event in 2015, events having been ordered in a specific line of priority.
Players currently qualified are set out below, numbered by qualification priority, not seeding:
1. 2015 Champion of Champions – Neil Robertson (1)
2. 2015 UK Championship – Neil Robertson
3. 2016 Masters – Ronnie O’Sullivan (2)
4. 2016 German Masters – Martin Gould (3)
5. 2016 Welsh Open – Ronnie O’Sullivan
6. 2016 Championship League Snooker – Judd Trump (4)
7. 2016 World Grand Prix – Shaun Murphy (5)
8. 2016 Players Championship – Mark Allen (6)
9. 2016 China Open – Judd Trump
10. 2016 World Championship – Mark Selby (7)
11. 2016 Indian Open (July) – Anthony McGill (8)
12. 2016 World Open (July) – Ali Carter (9)
13. 2016 Shanghai Masters (Sept) – Ding Junhui (10)
14. 2016 European Masters (Oct) – Judd Trump
15. 2016 English Open (Oct) – Liang Wenbo (11)
16. 2016 International Championship (Oct) – Stuart Bingham (12)
17. 2016 China Championship (Nov) – tbc
18. 2015 Gibraltar Open – Marco Fu (13)
19. 2016 Gdynia Open – Mark Selby
20. 2016 Riga Masters – Neil Robertson
21. 2016 Paul Hunter Classic (Aug) – Mark Selby
22. 2016 World Championship runner-up – Ding Junhui
23. 2016 Shoot Out – Robin Hull (14)
24. 2016 6 Reds World Championship (Sep) – Ding Junhui
25. 2016 World Seniors Championship – Mark Davis (15)
The final place
So with just one event to go, the permutations are now clear for those hoping to emulate Mark Allen last season by snatching the final qualifying spot at the very last event, the Evergrande China Championship this week in Guangzhou.
Those competing in the tournament, who are not already qualified above are:
- Ricky Walden
- Joe Perry
- John Higgins
- Mark Williams
- Michael Holt
Should one of these players go on to take the title next week, they will take the 16th and final qualification spot and join the rest of the field in Coventry next week.
If however, one of the already-qualified players emerges victorious in Guangzhou, what would happen then?
The answer is that the place would go to Joe Perry, as following Stuart Bingham’s qualification, he is now the highest-ranked player on the one-year list with £58,550. He is guaranteed to remain so after next week as the Evergrande China Championship is not a ranking event, and so prize money earned does not count towards the one-year list.
