# 2021 Players Championship (snooker)

The 2021 Players Championship (officially the 2021 Cazoo Players Championship) was a professional ranking snooker tournament, that took place from 22 to 28 February 2021 at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes. It was the 11th ranking event of the 2020–21 snooker season.
Judd Trump was the defending champion, having defeated Yan Bingtao 10–4 in the 2020 final. However, Trump lost 6–5 in the first round to Stuart Bingham.
The final was contested between John Higgins and Ronnie O'Sullivan, their first meeting in a ranking final since the 2005 Grand Prix, with Higgins winning 10–3. It was the 31st ranking title of Higgins's career, his first in three years, and he lost only four frames on his way to the title. This was O'Sullivan's 57th ranking final, equalling Stephen Hendry's record. There was a total of 30 century breaks made during the tournament, the highest of which was a 144 made by O'Sullivan in the final.

## Prize fund

The breakdown of prize money for the 2021 tournament is shown below:
* Winner: £125,000
* Runner-up: £50,000
* Semi-final: £30,000
* Quarter-final: £15,000
* Last 16: £10,000 (Prize money received at this stage will not count towards prize money rankings)
* Highest break: £10,000
* Total: £385,000

## Seeding list

The seedings were conducted on the basis of the one-year ranking list up to and including the 2021 Welsh Open.
| Seed | Player | Total points |
| 1 | Judd Trump (ENG) | 454,500 |
| 2 | Mark Selby (ENG) | 255,500 |
| 3 | Neil Robertson (AUS) | 246,000 |
| 4 | Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG) | 123,500 |
| 5 | Jack Lisowski (ENG) | 117,000 |
| 6 | Kyren Wilson (ENG) | 112,000 |
| 7 | Jordan Brown (NIR) | 100,000 |
| 8 | Zhou Yuelong (CHN) | 83,500 |
| 9 | Barry Hawkins (ENG) | 80,500 |
| 10 | John Higgins (SCO) | 74,500 |
| 11 | Ryan Day (WAL) | 73,000 |
| 12 | Martin Gould (ENG) | 66,000 |
| 13 | Ding Junhui (CHN) | 65,500 |
| 14 | Lu Ning (CHN) | 59,500 |
| 15 | Mark Williams (WAL) | 53,500 |
| 16 | Stuart Bingham (ENG) | 53,000 |

## Tournament draw

| Last 16 Best of 11 frames | Last 16 Best of 11 frames | Last 16 Best of 11 frames | Quarter-finals Best of 11 frames | Quarter-finals Best of 11 frames | Quarter-finals Best of 11 frames | Semi-finals Best of 11 frames | Semi-finals Best of 11 frames | Semi-finals Best of 11 frames | | Final Best of 19 frames | Final Best of 19 frames | Final Best of 19 frames |
| 1 | Judd Trump (ENG) | 5 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 16 | Stuart Bingham (ENG) | 6 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 16 | Stuart Bingham (ENG) | 6 | 16 | Stuart Bingham | 2 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 9 | Barry Hawkins | 6 | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Zhou Yuelong (CHN) | 5 | 9 | Barry Hawkins | 6 | | | | | | | |
| 9 | Barry Hawkins (ENG) | 6 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 9 | Barry Hawkins (ENG) | 6 | | | | 9 | Barry Hawkins | 4 | | | | |
| | | | | | | 4 | Ronnie O'Sullivan | 6 | | | | |
| 5 | Jack Lisowski (ENG) | 6 | | | | | | | 4 | Ronnie O'Sullivan | 6 | | | | |
| 12 | Martin Gould (ENG) | 3 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 12 | Martin Gould (ENG) | 3 | 5 | Jack Lisowski | 1 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 4 | Ronnie O'Sullivan | 6 | | | | | | | |
| 4 | Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG) | 6 | 4 | Ronnie O'Sullivan | 6 | | | | | | | |
| 13 | Ding Junhui (CHN) | 5 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 13 | Ding Junhui (CHN) | 5 | | | | | | | | 4 | Ronnie O'Sullivan | 3 |
| | | | | | | | | | | 10 | John Higgins | 10 |
| 3 | Neil Robertson (AUS) | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | 10 | John Higgins | 10 |
| 14 | Lu Ning (CHN) | 1 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 14 | Lu Ning (CHN) | 1 | 3 | Neil Robertson | 2 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 6 | Kyren Wilson | 6 | | | | | | | |
| 6 | Kyren Wilson (ENG) | 6 | 6 | Kyren Wilson | 6 | | | | | | | |
| 11 | Ryan Day (WAL) | 1 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 11 | Ryan Day (WAL) | 1 | | | | 6 | Kyren Wilson | 1 | | | | |
| | | | | | | 10 | John Higgins | 6 | | | | |
| 7 | Jordan Brown (NIR) | 0 | | | | | | | 10 | John Higgins | 6 | | | | |
| 10 | John Higgins (SCO) | 6 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 10 | John Higgins (SCO) | 6 | 10 | John Higgins | 6 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 2 | Mark Selby | 0 | | | | | | | |
| 2 | Mark Selby (ENG) | 6 | 2 | Mark Selby | 0 | | | | | | | |
| 15 | Mark Williams (WAL) | 4 | | | | | | | | | | |

### Final

Final: Best of 19 frames. Referee: Leo Scullion Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes, England, 28 February 2021 :
| Ronnie O'Sullivan (4) England | 3–10 | John Higgins (10) Scotland |
| Afternoon: 18–64, 0–103, 21–69, 0–142 (142), 0–138 (138), 87–26, 40–70, 148–0 (144) Evening: 4–67, 110–0 (110), 0–70, 0–77, 4–127 (127) |||
| 144 | Highest break | 142 |
| 2 | Century breaks | 3 |

## Century breaks

Total: 30
* 144, 125, 124, 110, 103 – Ronnie O'Sullivan
* 143, 109, 109 – Barry Hawkins
* 142, 138, 133, 127, 122, 121, 108, 100 – John Higgins
* 142, 135, 132, 130, 101 – Neil Robertson
* 130, 126, 119, 102 – Kyren Wilson
* 113, 112 – Stuart Bingham
* 109 – Zhou Yuelong
* 105 – Judd Trump
* 100 – Martin Gould