2022 Players Championship (snooker)

2022 Cazoo Players Championship
Tournament information
Dates7–13 February 2022 (2022-02-07 – 2022-02-13)
VenueAldersley Leisure Village
CityWolverhampton
CountryEngland
OrganisationWorld Snooker Tour
FormatRanking event
Total prize fund£385,000
Winner's share£125,000
Highest break Kyren Wilson (ENG) (141)
Final
Champion Neil Robertson (AUS)
Runner-up Barry Hawkins (ENG)
Score10–5
← 2021
2023 →

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.[1] 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.[1] It featured the top 16 ranked players on the one-year ranking list. The event was broadcast by ITV4 in the United Kingdom,[2] 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.[3] Both debutants lost in the first round, with Barry Hawkins defeating Zhao 6–3 and John Higgins beating Vafaei by the same score.[4][5]

Higgins was the defending champion, having beaten Ronnie O'Sullivan 10–3 in the 2021 final.[6] However, Higgins lost 4–6 to Jimmy Robertson in the quarter-finals.[7] 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.[8][9] Robertson defeated Hawkins 10–5 in a final that featured five century breaks, four by Robertson and a 137 by Hawkins.[10] 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.[11]

  1. ^ a b "Updated 2021–22 Snooker Calendar". World Snooker Tour. 18 August 2021
  2. ^ "WST, Matchroom and ITV Agree New Two Year Deal for Broadcast of Four Events". World Snooker Tour. 18 January 2021
  3. ^ "Zhao Targets More Titles". World Snooker. 4 February 2022. Archived from the original on 4 February 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  4. ^ "Players Championship Snooker 2022: John Higgins beats Hossein Vafaei to advance to the quarter-finals". Eurosport. 9 February 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  5. ^ "Players Championship snooker 2022: Barry Hawkins topples No. 1 seed Zhao Xintong to reach quarter-finals". Eurosport. 8 February 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  6. ^ World Snooker Tour (28 February 2021). "Wonderful Higgins Thrashes O'Sullivan". World Snooker Tour. Archived from the original on 1 March 2021. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  7. ^ "Snooker results: Jimmy Robertson beats John Higgins 6-4 at the Players Championship". www.sportinglife.com. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  8. ^ "Hawk Flies Through To Final". World Snooker. 11 February 2022. Archived from the original on 11 February 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  9. ^ "Players Championship 2022: Neil Robertson eases past namesake Jimmy to book Barry Hawkins final". Eurosport UK. 12 February 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  10. ^ "Players Championship 2022 - Neil Robertson triumphs over Barry Hawkins to claim another title". Eurosport UK. 13 February 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  11. ^ "Robertson wins Players Championship". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 February 2022.