Ultimate Pool is excited to announce a new major event to its circuit – the Players Championship, which begins on the weekend of the 30th & 31st July with live and exclusive coverage on ultimatepool.tv.

The ultimatepool.tv Players Championship is a professional ranking event featuring 48 players in a unique format which is very different to other competitions already on the calendar.

Action takes place on just one main table, will all participants getting at least five matches in the arena and in front of the live cameras, providing them with additional table time and exposure.

Format

A concept created and put forward by current Ultimate Pool professional Chris Day, the tournament sees the 48 players split into eight groups of six during the opening phase.

These groups are played across separate weekends. On Saturdays, there will be a round robin format (everyone plays each other once). These matches are races to six frames but with a 30-minute match clock. Players collect two points for a win and one point for a draw.

At the end of the round robin, the top four placed players will qualify for Sunday’s group knockouts (1 v 4, 2 v 3). Should any players be tied on points, a 6-red shootout will be used to determine positions. Those positioned fifth and sixth exit the competition.

The Sunday group knockouts will consist of two semi-finals followed by a final. These matches are the best of two sets, with sets being races to eight frames, but with a 50-minute match clock. If players are tied after the two sets, a 6-red shootout will determine the winner.

Winners of the group finals will advance to an eight-player finals weekend to be held in November. The finals weekend will be straight knockout throughout.

Dates

• 30/31 July – Group 1
• 6/7 August – Group 2
• 13/14 August – Group 3
• 20/21 August – Group 4
• 3/4 September – Group 5
• 10/11 September – Group 6
• 17/18 September – Group 7
• 24/25 September – Group 8
• November (Weekend TBC) - Finals Weekend

Prize Money

• Winner: £6,000
• Runner-Up: £3,000
• Semi-Finalists: £2,000 each
• Quarter-Finalists: £1,000 each
• Group Runner-Up £500 each
• Player with the most golden breaks: £200
• Total Prize Fund: £21,200

Ranking Points Structure

• Winner: 6,000
• Runner-Up: 3,000
• Semi-Finalists: 2,000 each
• Quarter-Finalists: 1,500 each
• Last 16 (Group Runner-Up): 1,250 each
• Last 32 (Group Semi-Finalists): 1,000 each
• 5th in Group: 300 each
• 6th in Group: 200 each

Ranking points are only available to current Ultimate Pool professional players

How to Watch

The 2022 Players Championship is exclusively live on ultimatepool.tv to paid subscribers. Don’t miss the action – become a UPTV subscriber here.

During the opening groups phase, fans can watch 18 matches across a weekend. In total, there are scheduled to be 151 matches throughout the event – exceptional value for money to view the best 8-ball pool players in the world.