2024 Tour Championship


The 2024 Tour Championship was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 1 to 7 April 2024 at the Manchester Central in Manchester, England. The 16th and penultimate ranking event of the 202324 season, it preceded the World Championship. It was the last of three events in the Players Series, following the World Grand Prix and the Players Championship. Organised by the World Snooker Tour and sponsored by Johnstone's Paint, the event was broadcast by ITV Sport domestically and by other broadcasters worldwide. The winner received £150,000 from a total prize fund of £500,000.
The event featured the top 12 players on the oneyear ranking list as it stood after the World Open. This represented an increase over previous editions of the tournament, which had featured eight competitors. Shaun Murphy had won the 2023 event where he defeated Kyren Wilson 107 in the final, but he failed to qualify for the 2024 edition.
Mark Williams defeated the world number two Judd Trump and world number three Mark Allen in the quarterfinal and semifinal, and then world number one, Ronnie O'Sullivan, 105 in the final to win his first Tour Championship title, the 26th ranking title of his career, and the second of the season since he won the 2023 British Open. Aged 49, Williams became the second oldest ranking event winner after Ray Reardon. Along with O'Sullivan it was the highest combined age for any two finalists of a ranking event.
The tournament produced 27 century breaks. Williams, O'Sullivan, and Allen each compiled six century breaks, with Allen making the tournament highest break of 142 in the quarterfinals.

Format

The 2024 Tour Championship took place from 1 to 7 April 2024 at the Manchester Central in Manchester, England. The 2024 edition of the Tour Championship had a modified format from previous editions. The top twelve players on the oneyear ranking list as it stood after the World Open participated in the event, whereas previous editions had featured eight competitors. The four highestranked seeded players were given byes through to the quarterfinals, while the remaining eight competed in the first round for the other four quarterfinal places.
All matches were played as the best of 19, over two. Instead of both sessions of each match being played in a single day in previous editions, two of the four first round matches and two of the four quarterfinals were played over two days. English player Shaun Murphy won the previous year's event, defeating compatriot Kyren Wilson 107 in the final. However, Murphy was ranked 22nd on the oneyear list after the World Open, and did not qualify for the tournament. Reigning World Snooker Championship winner Luca Brecel also didn't qualify.

Broadcasters

The event was broadcast in the United Kingdom by ITV4 and ITV3; Liaoning TV, Migu, and Huya in mainland China; DAZN in the United States, Brazil, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, and Spain; Nova Sport in Czech Republic and Slovakia; Viaplay and Go3 Sport in Poland, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Sweden, Iceland, Netherlands, and Norway; Now TV in Hong Kong; Astro SuperSport in Malaysia and Brunei; True Sports in Thailand; Sportcast in Taiwan; Premier Sports Network in the Philippines; Fastsports in Pakistan; and Matchroom.live in all other territories.

Prize fund

The breakdown of prize money for the event is shown below:
  • Winner: £150,000
  • Runner-up: £60,000
  • Semi-final: £40,000
  • Quarter-final: £30,000
  • First round: £20,000
  • Highest break: £10,000
  • Total: £500,000

    Seeding list

Unlike other events where the defending champion is seeded first, the reigning World Champion second, and the rest based on the world rankings, the qualification and seedings in the Players Series tournaments are determined by the oneyear ranking list. The below list shows the top 12 players with the most ranking points acquired during the 202324 season, as of after the World Open who qualified for the event.
SeedPlayerPoints
1Judd Trump|ENG

Summary

First round

The first-round matches were played on 1 and 2 April. World number three and the 2020 runner-up Mark Allen and John Higgins, runner-up in 2022, contested the opening match of the first round. Previously in the 202324 season, Allen had defeated Higgins 62 in the semi-final of the 2023 Champion of Champions and 65 in the first round of the 2024 Masters. But Higgins claimed victory twice in February, winning 52 both times at the 2024 German Masters and the 2024 Welsh Open. Allen took the first frame with a 69 break, but Higgins won four frames in a row, making breaks of 85, 75, 55, and 66 to lead 41. Allen responded with a century break of 123, and won two more frames to even the match at 44 at the end of the session. The first four frames in the second session were shared, with Allen winning the 11th frame on the last, and the scores were level at 66 at the. Allen pulled ahead with a 102 break in frame 13, and went on to take the 14th frame after a on the last. Higgins made a break of 86 to trail 78, but Allen won the 16th frame with a 93 break to recover a two frame advantage. Higgins only made a break of 20 early in frame 17, and made an error on a, allowing Allen to produce a 100 break to claim a 107 victory. Allen commented: "I'm very proud to have matched him in the safety department and scored better as the match went on." He attributed the win to working with psychologist Paul Gaffney, saying: "It has focussed my mind on just playing the next shot and the next frame as well as I can. My decision-making is more measured. Sometimes it's better to be patient and wait for a better chance." Higgins praised Allen's performance, while criticising his own: "I missed two or three unforgivable balls tonight. My was non-existent, and at this level it's not good enough against the best players." He hinted towards retiring, adding: "I just need to dust myself down a couple of weeks before the, try to get some good practice in and go there and give it a final go maybe."
File:Gary Wilson PHC 2016-2.jpg|thumb|Tour Championship debutant Gary Wilson defeated Mark Selby 108.
Tour Championship debutant Gary Wilson faced Mark Selby. They were tied at 22 before the mid-session interval, with Selby making a break of 85 in frame three, and Wilson breaks of 95 and 98 in the second and fourth frames. Wilson pulled ahead to 52 with breaks of 78 and 101, and Selby made a 71 break to trail by two frames at the end of the first session. Play resumed the next day, and Wilson maintained the two-frame advantage at 86 after both players shared the first six frames. Wilson had a chance to win frame 15, but missed the on two occasions, allowing Selby to secure the frame on the last black and reduce his deficit to one frame. Wilson won the closely contested 16th frame, also on the last black. Selby responded with a 90 break to trail 89, but he missed a red on a break of 30 in the 18th frame, and Wilson capitalised on the error with a of 105 to win the match 108. Wilson commented: "It wasn't a great game, we both missed easy chances. I kept making it difficult for myself and handing him chances to get back into the game. But thankfully I made a good break in the last frame to get over the line." The former world number one Selby called his performance "pathetic from start to finish" and "probably one of the worst games I've played as a professional. If I carry on playing like that I won't be enjoying it and choosing a different career, for sure." He also hinted towards possible retirement, adding: "I'll give the World Championships a go but if I carry on like that I won't carry on, 100%. When it gets to the point I'm not enjoying it, it doesn't matter where I am in the rankings, I'll be hanging my cue up. I can't enjoy performances like that."
File:Mark Williams at Snooker German Masters 2013-01-30 08.jpg|thumb|Mark Williams beat tournament debutant Tom Ford 109, winning two frames on.
Mark Williams played another Tour Championship debutant, Tom Ford. Williams took on a 30 lead before Ford made a 114 break to trail 13 at the mid-session interval. Williams extended his lead with a 76 break, but Ford closed in to 34 with breaks of 73 and 136. The last frame of the session went to Williams, who made a 86 break to lead 53. When play resumed the next day, Williams won three of the four frames before the interval to lead 84, making breaks of 112 and 88 in frames nine and 12, and won the 11th frame on a. Ford responded by taking the next three frames, including two century breaks of 138 and 133 in frames 13 and 15. He also had chances in the next frame, but Williams won it on a re-spotted black, the second of the match, to lead 97. However, breaks of 90 and 63 from Ford levelled the match at 99, forcing a. Ford had the first chance in the decider, but missed a pot on a red at 540 ahead, and Williams secured the frame with a break of 66 to win 109 on the last pink. Williams called the match-winning break in the deciding frame "one of the best clearances I've ever made." He added: "Tom was by far the better player, he made four centuries and didn't win, he must have thought he had me. But I'm used to be being up against it. It shows where my game is at if I can play poorly but still win."
Barry Hawkins opened the match against Ali Carter by taking the first frame with a 84 break. Carter responded with breaks of 80, 51, and 83 to lead 31 at the mid-session interval, with Hawkins scoring only two points in those three frames. Carter moved ahead to 61, helped by a of 135 in the fifth frame and a 94 break in the sixth. He missed a pot on a pink in the eighth frame, but Hawkins was unable to take the opportunity, and Carter narrowly won the frame to end the session with a 71 lead. In the second session, Hawkins won three of the four frames before the mid-session interval to trail 48, and narrowed the gap further with a 118 break in the 13th frame. He scored 60 points in frame 14 before missing a pot on the black, leaving it in the of the, and Carter took the frame to get within one frame of victory at 95. However, Hawkins won three frames in a row, including the 17th frame on a re-spotted black after needing from two, to trail 89. A red in the 18th frame helped Carter secure the frame and match 108. He commented: "At 71 sometimes you feel you have it all to lose. Barry came back at me really well and it got a bit sticky in the end. But that makes it a better win. If I had won 101 it would have felt like a bit of a non-event."