Snooker news: When does Ronnie O'Sullivan play his first match of the season? Who does Judd Trump face?

ByEurosport

Updated 25/06/2021 at 17:23 GMT

Six-times world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan begins his new season at the Championship League on Tuesday 20 July at the Morningside Arena in Leicester. O'Sullivan meets Hong Kong’s Ng On Yee, who joins Reanne Evans as one of the two women competing on the World Snooker Tour. Mark Joyce and Ian Burns are in the same group with the first ranking event of the season staged between 18 July to 13 August.

Ronnie O'Sullivan - Crucible 2021

Image credit: Getty Images

Ronnie O'Sullivan will face three-times women's world champion Ng On Yee of Hong Kong in his first match of the new snooker season at the Championship League in Leicester next month.

On Yee and Eurosport pundit Reanne Evans, the defending ladies world champion, are the two women professionals competing on the main professional World Snooker Tour in 2021/22.

O'Sullivan features in Group 32 with Mark Joyce – who the Rocket defeated 10-4 in the first round of the World Championship in April – and Ian Burns also facing the six-times world champion on Tuesday 20 July, two days after the first stage of the season's first ranking event begins at Morningside Arena on Sunday 18 July.

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Mark Williams is in action on the opening day in Group 8 alongside Jak Jones, Peter Lines and Hammad Miah.

World number one Judd Trump joins Anthony Hamilton, Lee Walker and Rod Lawler in Group 1 on Friday August 6 with four-times world champion John Higgins facing Thailand’s Noppon Saengkham, Brazil’s Igor Figueiredo and Soheil Vahedi of Iran in Group 9 on Tuesday 27 July.

Defending champion Kyren Wilson meets Sam Craigie, Ben Hancorn and Dylan Emery in Group 16 on Thursday 29 July.

128 players contest the Championship League with Stage One running between 18-23 July, 26-30 July and 2-6 August.

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Stage two takes place between August 9-12 with the 32 group winners contesting eight more groups.

The final stage takes place on Friday 13 August with the two group winners contesting the tournament final. The winner collects a possible £33,000 from a prize fund of £328,000.

All matches are played over four frames in keeping with the tournament's quick-fire tradition with three points for a win and one for a draw.