2020 Tour Championship

The **2020 Tour Championship** wis a professional snooker tournament, takkin place frae 20 tae 26&nbsp;Juin 2020 at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes, England. Organised bi the Warld Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, it wis the seicont edition o the Tour Championship an the third and final event o the seicont season o Coral Cup. It wis the 16t and penultimate ranking event o the 2019–20 snooker season follaein the Gibraltar Open and preceding the 2020 World Snooker Championship. The event wis oreeginally planned for 17 tae 22&nbsp;Mairch 2020. Houiver, on the morning o 17&nbsp;Mairch the event wis postponed due tae the COVID-19 pandemic. Follaein advice bi the UK&nbsp;govrenment, it haed been decidit that no spectators wad be permitted at the event when it teuk place.

The draw for the Tour Championship comprised the tap aicht players based on the single year ranking leet, takkin pairt in a single elimination tournament. Each match wis played ower a minimum o twa sessions, wi the final takkin place ower the best-o-19 . The winner o the tournament won £150,000 oot o a tot prize fund o £380,000. The event wis sponsored bi betting company Coral.

Ronnie O'Sullivan wis the defendin champion efter defeatin Neil Robertson 13–11 in the 2019 final, but he failed tae qualify for the 2020 event, placin 18t on the ane-year ranking leet at the cut-off date. Stephen Maguire defeatit Robertson and Judd Trump; whilst Mark Allen defeatit Shaun Murphy and Mark Selby tae reach the final. Maguire won the final, 10–6 tae win his saxt ranking event, his first for seiven years. Maguire wis a replacement for Cheenae's Ding Junhui, who wis unable tae traivel tae the event. In winnin the tournament, Maguire an aw won the Coral Cup.

## Overview
The 2020 Tour Championship wis the third and final event in the 2020 Coral Cup series, first introduced in the 2018–19 snooker season, efter the Warld Grand Prix an the Players Championship. It will be the 16t and penultimate ranking event o the 2019–20 snooker season and organised bi the Warld Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. The players qualified for the series bi virtue o thair placement on the ane-year ranking leet, rather than bi world ranking. The event featurt the tap aicht players frae the ane-year ranking leet takkin pairt in a single elimination tournament. In the Tour Championship, every match wis played ower multiple sessions, wi twa in the quarter-finals and semi-finals, an in the final. The final will be played as a best-o-19  match.

The tournament will be primarily broadcast bi ITV4 in the United Kinrick. It an aw aired on Sky Sport in New Zealand, NowTV in Hong Kong, an Superstars Online in Cheenae. Eurosport will nae broadcast the event, despite covering aw but ane o the ither snooker tournaments this season. The event wis sponsored bi sports betting company Coral. The draw for the event wis made on 15 Mairch 2020. The Tour Championship wis due tae be played frae 17 tae 22 Mairch 2020 in Llandudno, Wales. Houiver, due tae the COVID-19 pandemic, follaein advice bi the UK govrenment no spectators war tae be permitted at the event, an postponed. On 5 Juin 2020 the event wis organised tae be played atween 20 and 26 Juin 2020 and moved tae the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes, England. It will be the seicont professional tournament tae be played efter the season wis halted due tae the pandemic efter the 2020 Championship League. Aw players, an staff bein admitted intae the arena are checked for COVID-19 and put intae isolation for the duration o the event.

### Prize fund
The event haed a prize fund o £380,000, wi the winner receiving £150,000. The anly difference frae the money awairdit in 2019 wis a slichtly increased prize for the heichest break. The breakdown o prize money for the event is shawn ablo:

* Winner: £150,000
* Runner-up: £60,000
* Semi-final: £40,000
* Quarter-final: £20,000 (Prize money at this stage dae nae count towards prize money rankings)
* Highest break: £10,000
* Tot: £380,000

## Summary
### Quarter-finals

The first roond o the tournament wis the quarter-finals, held frae 20 tae 23 Juin, wi matches played as the best o 17 . Each match wis played ower twa  in the same day. The first match wis held atween Neil Robertson and Stephen Maguire. Maguire wis a replacement for Ding Junhui who coud nae traivel tae the event frae Cheenae. The pair haed met previously in the season at the Masters, whaur Maguire trailed 1–5, but won the match 6–5. Maguire teuk three o the fower openin frames tae lead 3–1, afore Robertson made  o 100 and 103 winnin the next three. Maguire levelled the score at the end o the openin session at 4–4, wi baith players haein made twa century breaks. In the evening session, Robertson won frame 9, but scored anly fower pynts in the next fower frames, as Maguire made breaks o 103, 135, 111 and 115 tae lead 8–5. Maguire made a break o 59 in frame 14 tae win the match 9–5.

Maguire made a tot o sax century breaks during the match, wi a tot o aicht atween baith players. Baith amounts war new records for centuries in a best-o-17 frames match. Desmond Kane writing for Eurosport wrote that the performance wis the "greatest performance of [Maguire's] 22-year career", tae which Maguire agreed. Post-match, Robertson commented that the match table wis playin easy, an likened the  tae that o nine-ball, whaur thay are significantly lairger.

The seicont match wis played atween reigning world champion Judd Trump and John Higgins. The pair haed met in the final o the 2019 Warld Snooker Championship. Due tae qualifying for the event, Trump wis guarenteed tae surpas £1&nbsp;million in prize money for the season. Trump&nbsp;– the world nummer ane&nbsp;– won baith o the openin twa frames, but Higgins won frame three on the final . Trump won the next twa frames, an led 5–3 efter the first session. Trump won the first three frames on the resumption o play, wi breaks o 67, 53 and 135 tae lead 8–3. Higgins won frame 12, but Trump won the next frame tae win the match 9–4. This wis Trump's fift win in-a-row against Higgins, but Trump an aw suggestit that the conditions on the playin table war nae the same as the day prior.

Yan Bingtao and Mark Selby contested the third quarter-final. Selby won the first frame o the match, but scored anly 26 pynts ower the next three frames. Trailing 1–3, Selby won the next three frames wi breaks o 99, 119 and 61 tae lead 4–3, but Yan won frame aicht tae tie the match efter the first session. In the seicont session, Selby won the next twa o the next three frames, includin three breaks o ower 50 tae lead 7–5. Leadin bi 64 pynts, Yan  the table tae force a . Selby played the black  and  the ball intae the corner pocket. Yan won the next frame, but Selby won frame 16 tae win the match 9–6.

The final quarter-final wis played atween Mark Allen and Shaun Murphy. In the first session, Murphy scored three century breaks tae lead 3–2 but lost the next twa frames tae trail 3–4. Murphy fluked the  in frame 8 tae level the match. Murphy made a break o 100 tae win frame 9, an teuk frame 10 tae lead 6–4. Allen won the next frame, but Murphy made a break o 131 tae lead 7–5. Allen won the next twa frames tae tie the match, afore Murphy made his saxt century break in the next tae lead 8–7. Allen won frame 16 tae force a . In the final frame, Allen fluked a  and made a break o 62 tae win the match 9–8. Murphy's sax century breaks equalled the record made bi Maguire earlier in the tournament for the maist 100+ breaks in a best-o-17-frames match.

### Semi-finals

The semi-finals war an aw played as the best-o-17-frames matches ower twa sessions. Judd Trump and Stephen Maguire contested the first; and war the anly twa players still able tae win the Coral Cup. Maguire wis required tae win the tournament, whilst Trump haed tae win this match tae win the cup. Maguire lead 2–1 efter the first three frames, afore Trump won the next three. Maguire won baith frame seiven, an then frame aicht wi a break o 132 tae finish the first session equal. The pair shared the next twa frames, afore Trump won frame 11 efter a break o 79. Maguire won frame 12 tae tie the match at 6–6, which lasted ower 40 minutes. Maguire then won the next three frames tae win the match 9–6. ITV commentator and analyst Stephen Hendry commented on Trump's performance saying "That's the worst I think I've seen Judd [Trump] play for a long time." Trump commented again aboot the playin conditions, commentin "(They) were pretty poor, and that's why the standard was so bad. If the conditions are good I seem to play well. It's too hot to play snooker today. It's just a shame the conditions are so bad."

The seicont semi-final wis held atween Mark Allen and three-time warld champion Mark Selby. Allen won aw o the first fower frames o the match, wioot Selby potting a single ball. Allen an aw won the next twa frames, tae lead 6–0. Selby won frame seiven, but Allen won the final frame o the first session tae lead 7–1. Selby won frame nine wi a break o 71, afore Allen won the next twa, includin a break o 81 in frame eleven tae win 9–2.

### Final

The final wis played as the best-o-19-frames on 26 Juin 2020 ower twa sessions. Mark Allen and Stephen Maguire haed anly met on sax occasions previously, wi Allen haein won fower o thir. The maist recent match wis a 6–0 win for Maguire in the 2019 UK Championship semi-final. Allen won the first twa frames wi breaks o 50 and 76 afore Maguire made breaks o 89 and 69 tae level the match at 2–2. Maguire won the next frame tae lead 3–2 afore Allen made a century break tae tie the match at 3–3, an the final twa frames o the first session war shared atween the twa tae be level at 4–4. In the seicont session, Maguire made the heichest break o the tournament – a 139 – in frame nine. Maguire won the next frame tae lead 6–4, an later at 7–5 afore the final . Maguire then made breaks o 78 and 53 tae lead 9–5 and be ane frame frae veectory. Allen won frame 15 wi a break o 107. Frame 16 wis full o  play, an eventually ended up bein decidit on the final twa colours. Allen haed a shot on the , but missed, afore Maguire potted baith balls tae win the frame and match.

This wis Maguire's first ranking event win syne the 2013 Welsh Open. In winnin the event, Maguire an aw won the prize for the heichest break, as well as the Coral Cup, worth £260,000, his heichest prize money haul in his career. Allen wis promoted tae his heichest warld ranking poseetion in his career – fowert.

## Seeding list
The seedings are conducted on the basis o the ane-year ranking leet up tae and includin the 2020 Gibraltar Open. Fift seed Ding Junhui withdrew prior tae the tournament due tae traivel complications during the COVID-19 pandemic. He wis replaced bi Stephen Maguire, who wis ninth on the ane-year ranking leet.

## Coral Cup

The 2018–19 snooker season introduced the Coral Cup series, featurin three events: the Warld Grand Prix, the Players Championship, an the Tour Championship. For aw three events, qualification wis based on players' rankings on the ane-year ranking leet. The tap ten players wi the maist prize money won in tot ower the three events is shawn ablo:

## Main draw

### Final

## Century breaks
A tot o 22 century breaks war made during the tournament, the heichest bein a 139 made bi Stephen Maguire in frame nine o the final.
*139, 135, 132, 117, 115, 111, 108, 103 Stephen Maguire
*135 Judd Trump
*131, 117, 116, 110, 100, 100 Shaun Murphy
*125, 107, 100 Mark Allen
*119, 105 Mark Selby
*103, 100 Neil Robertson

## References