# 2022 Players Championship (snooker)

The 2022 Players Championship (officially the 2022 Cazoo Players Championship) was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place from 7 to 13 February 2022 at Aldersley Leisure Village in Wolverhampton, England. It was the tenth ranking event of the 2021–22 season, and the second event of the Cazoo Cup, following the World Grand Prix and preceding the Tour Championship. It featured the top 16 ranked players on the one-year ranking list. The event was broadcast by ITV4 in the United Kingdom, and Eurosport in the rest of Europe.
Zhao Xintong and Hossein Vafaei made their debuts in the event, with Zhao seeded number one after winning the 2021 UK Championship and the 2022 German Masters. Both debutants lost in the first round, with Barry Hawkins defeating Zhao 6–3 and John Higgins beating Vafaei by the same score.
Higgins was the defending champion, having beaten Ronnie O'Sullivan 10–3 in the 2021 final. However, Higgins lost 4–6 to Jimmy Robertson in the quarter-finals. The final was contested between Hawkins, who had previously won the tournament in 2014, and Neil Robertson, who had been runner-up in 2012, 2013, and 2019. Robertson defeated Hawkins 10–5 in a final that featured five century breaks, four by Robertson and a 137 by Hawkins. It was Robertson's first Players Championship title, the 22nd ranking title of his career, and his third tournament win of the season, following the 2021 English Open and the 2022 Masters.

## Prize fund

The breakdown of prize money for the event is shown below:
* Winner: £125,000
* Runner-up: £50,000
* Semi-final: £30,000
* Quarter-final: £15,000
* Last 16: £10,000
* Highest break: £10,000
* Total: £385,000

## Seeding list

The seedings for the tournament were based on the one-year ranking list up to and including the 2022 German Masters.
| Seed | Player | Total points |
| 1 | Zhao Xintong (CHN) | 291,000 |
| 2 | Luca Brecel (BEL) | 183,000 |
| 3 | Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG) | 175,000 |
| 4 | Mark Williams (WAL) | 145,000 |
| 5 | Mark Allen (NIR) | 139,500 |
| 6 | Neil Robertson (AUS) | 118,000 |
| 7 | John Higgins (SCO) | 114,000 |
| 8 | David Gilbert (ENG) | 95,500 |
| 9 | Yan Bingtao (CHN) | 93,000 |
| 10 | Hossein Vafaei (IRN) | 91,500 |
| 11 | Kyren Wilson (ENG) | 81,000 |
| 12 | Ricky Walden (ENG) | 78,000 |
| 13 | Gary Wilson (ENG) | 72,000 |
| 14 | Judd Trump (ENG) | 68,000 |
| 15 | Jimmy Robertson (ENG) | 62,500 |
| 16 | Barry Hawkins (ENG) | 59,500 |

## 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 | Zhao Xintong (CHN) | 3 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 16 | Barry Hawkins (ENG) | 6 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 16 | Barry Hawkins (ENG) | 6 | 16 | Barry Hawkins | 6 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 9 | Yan Bingtao | 5 | | | | | | | |
| 8 | David Gilbert (ENG) | 4 | 9 | Yan Bingtao | 5 | | | | | | | |
| 9 | Yan Bingtao (CHN) | 6 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 9 | Yan Bingtao (CHN) | 6 | | | | 16 | Barry Hawkins | 6 | | | | |
| | | | | | | 12 | Ricky Walden | 2 | | | | |
| 5 | Mark Allen (NIR) | 2 | | | | | | | 12 | Ricky Walden | 2 | | | | |
| 12 | Ricky Walden (ENG) | 6 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 12 | Ricky Walden (ENG) | 6 | 12 | Ricky Walden | 6 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 4 | Mark Williams | 5 | | | | | | | |
| 4 | Mark Williams (WAL) | 6 | 4 | Mark Williams | 5 | | | | | | | |
| 13 | Gary Wilson (ENG) | 3 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 13 | Gary Wilson (ENG) | 3 | | | | | | | | 16 | Barry Hawkins | 5 |
| | | | | | | | | | | 6 | Neil Robertson | 10 |
| 3 | Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG) | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | 6 | Neil Robertson | 10 |
| 14 | Judd Trump (ENG) | 3 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 14 | Judd Trump (ENG) | 3 | 3 | Ronnie O'Sullivan | 3 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 6 | Neil Robertson | 6 | | | | | | | |
| 6 | Neil Robertson (AUS) | 6 | 6 | Neil Robertson | 6 | | | | | | | |
| 11 | Kyren Wilson (ENG) | 4 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 11 | Kyren Wilson (ENG) | 4 | | | | 6 | Neil Robertson | 6 | | | | |
| | | | | | | 15 | Jimmy Robertson | 1 | | | | |
| 7 | John Higgins (SCO) | 6 | | | | | | | 15 | Jimmy Robertson | 1 | | | | |
| 10 | Hossein Vafaei (IRN) | 3 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 10 | Hossein Vafaei (IRN) | 3 | 7 | John Higgins | 4 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 15 | Jimmy Robertson | 6 | | | | | | | |
| 2 | Luca Brecel (BEL) | 1 | 15 | Jimmy Robertson | 6 | | | | | | | |
| 15 | Jimmy Robertson (ENG) | 6 | | | | | | | | | | |

### Final

Final: Best of 19 frames. Referee: Jan Verhaas Aldersley Leisure Village, Wolverhampton, England, 13 February 2022 :
| Barry Hawkins (16) England | 5–10 | Neil Robertson (6) Australia |
| Afternoon: 91–0, 18–64, 55–75, 0–107 (107), 0–105 (105), 0–130 (130), 71–0, 141–0 (137) Evening: 1–90, 1–118, 92–0, 96–26, 15–120 (116), 0–91, 1–77 |||
| 137 | Highest break | 130 |
| 1 | Century breaks | 4 |

## Century breaks

A total of 25 century breaks were made during the tournament.
* 141 – Kyren Wilson
* 139, 135, 132, 123, 103, 100 – Yan Bingtao
* 137, 126, 115 – Barry Hawkins
* 134, 108, 101 – John Higgins
* 130, 116, 114, 107, 105, 100 – Neil Robertson
* 127 – Ronnie O'Sullivan
* 123 – Ricky Walden
* 107, 103, 102 – Mark Williams
* 102 – Jimmy Robertson