Champion of Champions: Dates, location, prize money, draw, schedule & more

The Champion of Champions is one of the more prestigious non-ranking events on the World Snooker calendar and the 2024 edition will be the 14th time the tournament has taken place.

Originally held as one-off events in 1978 and 1980, the tournament was revived in 2013 and has been on the calendar ever since.

To qualify for the Champion of Champions, a player must have claimed a victory on the World Snooker Tour in the preceding 12 months, and, if necessary, the field of 16 is then topped up by players based on their world rankings.

Mark Allen is the defending champion after he thrashed Judd Trump 10-3 in the 2023 final.

Champion of Champions - Dates

The 2024 Champion of Champions event will get underway on Monday 11th November, with the final scheduled for Sunday 17th November.

Champion of Champions - Format

The 16 players that have qualified for the Champion of Champions are split into four groups of four, with the top-four seeds being kept apart.

The fifth-seeded player is then placed in the same group as the fourth seed, sixth goes with third, seventh with second and the eighth seed shares a group with the top-ranked player.

The remaining eight players are then drawn randomly into their sections, where they will face one of the top-eight seeds in their opening match.

Each group is contested over a single day, with two best-of-seven-frame matches being played before the winners of those then go on to contest a best-of-11-frame group final.

The four group winners then go through to the best-of-11-frame semi-finals, while the final will be played over two sessions and is a best-of-19-frame format.

Champion of Champions - Venue

The first two editions of the Champion of Champions were held in London at the Wembley Conference Centre (1978) and the New London Theatre (1980).

The Ricoh Arena in Coventry then staged the event upon its return to the snooker calendar in 2013 until 2019, with the 2020 event being held at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes.

Since 2021, the University of Bolton Stadium - the home of Bolton Wanderers Football Club - has taken on hosting responsibilities, although due to a change of sponsorship at the ground, the 2024 tournament is officially being played at the Toughsheet Community Stadium.

Champion of Champions Draw & Schedule

Mark Allen is the defending champion and number one seed for this year's event, with the man he beat in last year's final, Judd Trump, reigning world champion Kyren Wilson and four-time Crucible winner Mark Selby completing the top-four seeds.

Sure to be the headline draw in Bolton, Ronnie O'Sullivan is among the next group of seeds alongside fellow Class of '92 alumni Mark Williams, two-time World Championship finalist Ali Carter and Gary Wilson, who qualified by virtue of his victories at last season's Scottish and Welsh Opens.

The other players featuring at the 2024 event are Igor Figueiredo, Jak Jones, Shaun Murphy, Xiao Guodong, Luca Brecel, Bai Yulu and Neil Robertson, with the final player, who will face Trump in his group semi-final, yet to be confirmed.

Group 1

Mark Allen v Igor Figueiredo
Gary Wilson v Jak Jones

Group 2

Judd Trump v TBC
Ali Carter v Neil Robertson

Group 3

Kyren Wilson v Luca Brecel
Mark Williams v Bai Yulu

Group 4

Mark Selby v Shaun Murphy
Ronnie O'Sullivan v Xiao Guodong 

Champion of Champions - Prize Money

• Winner: £150,000
• Runner-up: £60,000
• Losing semi-finalists: £30,000
• Losing quarter-finalists: £17,500
• Losers in the last 16: £12,500

How many times has Champion of Champions taken place?

Despite first coming into fruition in 1978, 2024 will mark just the 14th staging of the Champion of Champions, although it has been held every year since returning to the calendar in 2013.

Most wins of the Champion of Champions

Unsurprisingly, O'Sullivan is the record four-time winner of the Champion of Champions, claiming back-to-back titles in 2013 and 2014 before adding further successes in 2018 and 2022.

Australian Robertson and defending champion Allen are the only other players to have lifted the trophy more than once. The Thunder from Down Under triumphing in 2015 and 2019, while Pistol's win last year followed his success in 2020.

Ray Reardon (1978) and Doug Mountjoy (1980) were the first two winners of the tournament, while since its return to the calendar, John Higgins (2016), Murphy (2017), and Trump (2021) have all triumphed once apiece.