The Johnstone's Paint Players Championship has become well established as one of the World Snooker Tour’s elite events, with only the best players of the season standing a chance of clinching coveted qualification. High calibre fields have produced some iconic moments over the years.
Just the top 16 players on this season’s one-year list earn a place in Telford for next week’s tournament, which runs from February 19th to 25th. Such is the cutthroat nature of qualification, last year's winner Shaun Murphy has failed to secure his place in the showpiece event.
To whet your appetite for next week, here is a look back at the last seven Players Championship finals…
2017 – Judd Trump 10-8 Marco Fu
Judd Trump won a hard fought final with Hong Kong’s Marco Fu to secure the title.
Following victory at the European Masters earlier in the campaign, the Players Championship win in Llandudno marked the first time the Ace in the Pack had landed multiple ranking crowns in the same season.
It was also only Englishman Trump’s seventh ranking event victory, following his breakthrough win at the 2011 China Open. Trump’s progression in the subsequent seven years can be highlighted by the fact he has added 20 further ranking event wins to his resume.
Fu had already enjoyed a strong season to that point, having captured the third ranking title of his career at the Scottish Open and made two further semi-finals.
Unfortunately, in recent years Fu has struggled both with eye problems and a period of being unable to travel to the UK due to restrictions during the pandemic. The match remains his most recent trip to a ranking final.
It was Fu who made much of the early running in this encounter to open up a 5-2 advantage. However, Trump turned the game on its head by winning six on the bounce to lead 8-5. Fu battled back into contention at 8-7, but Trump did enough to get over the line and land the win.
Trump said: “It’s a great feeling, especially in this competition. It’s the 16 best players of the season. To win this one is probably up there with the UK Championship. This tournament has a lot of prestige and I’m delighted to have won.
“I was kind of gone in the afternoon session and missing everything. I managed from somewhere to make those two centuries and get back into the game. It was a little bit different tonight.”
2018 – Ronnie O’Sullivan 10-4 Shaun Murphy
Ronnie O’Sullivan scored his fifth ranking event win of the season by defeating Shaun Murphy in a one-sided final.
The Rocket had already landed silverware at the English Open, Shanghai Masters, UK Championship and the World Grand Prix. At the time it equalled the record for most ranking wins in a single season, but Judd Trump has since bettered that with his six in 19/20.
The loss for Murphy meant he was runner-up in all four of the ranking finals he contested during the season, including the UK Championship where he lost 10-5 to O’Sullivan. However, he did win the invitational Champion of Champions with a 10-8 defeat of O’Sullivan.
Victory for O’Sullivan saw him move to 33 ranking event titles, just three short of Stephen Hendry’s record of 36. Fast forward six years and the legendary Essex cueman now has 41 ranking event wins to his name and has surpassed almost all of Hendry's records.
When asked about the prospect of achieving that milestone, O’Sullivan responded: “I think it is well achievable to beat it. I always thought that record was more realistic for me than the world titles. There are still a few records to go for. I think I will pass on winning seven or eight world titles (he went on to win Crucible crowns in 2020 and 2022 to take his tally to seven). To get to 1,000 centuries would be a good one and to win 37 ranking events would be nice."
On the match, O’Sullivan said: “Shaun didn’t play as well today as he did in the semi-finals which was a shame for the final. I kept the pressure on and played decent snooker. In a lot of the frames he got in first but he kept breaking down on 40 or 50 and I made some good clearances. I did what I had to do although I didn’t have my scoring boots on. I feel quite drained because I put a lot of effort into the match."
2019 – Ronnie O’Sullivan 10-4 Neil Robertson
Ronnie O’Sullivan achieved a significant milestone in his extraordinary career by making his 1,000th century in the last frame of a 10-4 victory over Neil Robertson to take home the title.
Ever the showman, O’Sullivan made his milestone break at the perfect moment, to seal the title at Preston’s iconic Guild Hall venue. A packed crowd cheered every shot as he became the first player to make 1,000 career tons.
This was O’Sullivan’s 50th ranking final, the first coming 26 years ago at the same venue when he beat Hendry in the final of the UK Championship at the age of just 17.
The historic break in the final frame was a run of 134, which would have been a total clearance of 141 had he not gone in off on the final black. The two players laughed as Robertson informed his opponent that the in-off had cost him the tournament-high break prize of £5,000 as it would have beaten Robertson’s mark of 140.
“I knew I had to play well today,” said O’Sullivan. “I have played well all week and played brilliantly today. To cap it off with the 1,000th century was great. I was pleased to do it against Neil because he’s probably the nicest human being on the circuit.
“This is one of the best venues we get to play at, I love playing here. Since I was seven or eight I have just potted snooker balls, I love the game. To share this with the fans here and around the world – Preston is lucky that it was here tonight but it’s for the fans everywhere.”
2020 – Judd Trump 10-4 Yan Bingtao
This event ultimately proved to be the last in the United Kingdom before the country was plunged into lockdown by the coronavirus pandemic.
However, fans and players alike were unaware of how their lives were about to change when Judd Trump put the finishing touches on a comprehensive defeat of Yan Bingtao in the title match.
It was Trump’s fifth tournament victory of the six he registered that season. He would go on to secure his record breaking win at the Gibraltar Open.
For Yan it was his second final of the season, having already claimed maiden ranking silverware at the 2019 Riga Masters. He would go on to secure a momentous maiden Triple Crown victory at the Masters just under a year later.
Having trailed 6-2 after the first session, Yan fired back into contention by taking the ninth and tenth frames to make it 6-4. However, Trump blitzed to the line from there. Breaks of 108, 68 and 60 helped him to four frames in a row, which secured the 10-4 victory.
Trump said: “I have put myself in a good position to make it six ranking titles in a season. I have three opportunities now to go one further and hold the record on my own. I just have to take it one step at a time. There are some major events left to come and if I can have a few runs I will be pleased."
2021 – John Higgins 10-3 Ronnie O’Sullivan
John Higgins capped off one of the best tournament wins of his prestigious career, by thrashing age old rival Ronnie O’Sullivan.
Remarkably, Higgins won the tournament for the loss of just four frames, having beaten Jordan Brown 6-0, Mark Selby 6-0 and Kyren Wilson 6-1 in his first three matches in Milton Keynes.
O’Sullivan would go on to also lose to Neil Robertson in the Tour Championship final. That meant he remarkably fell short in all five ranking finals he contested in the season. O’Sullivan was also beaten by Judd Trump at the Northern Ireland Open, Mark Selby at the Scottish Open, Jordan Brown at the Welsh Open.
Since then, Higgins has appeared in a further five major finals himself, but has been runner-up on each occasion.
“It’s the best week of my snooker career,” said Higgins. “I have won bigger tournaments, but in terms of the way I have played and felt the whole week, it’s my best ever. I’m delighted.
“It’s easy to get into bad habits in this game and I don’t have a coach. I am just glad I have rectified the technique issue I had, and I will stick with the change I have made. To win a big tournament like this guarantees me the chance to keep competing against the top players for at least the next couple of years.
“I was in the zone tonight, I would have loved to play more frames. I was enjoying it, especially against an opponent like Ronnie. In the first session he went for a lot of balls, and that put me off a bit. He obviously fancied it, the way he was playing. To lead 6-2 was brilliant, and I played well again tonight.”
2022 - Neil Robertson 10-5 Barry Hawkins
At the fourth time of asking, Neil Robertson finally came out on top in a Players Championship final, comfortably beating Barry Hawkins to win the event for a first time.
Robertson appeared in two Players Championship finals in the event’s previous format back in 2012 and 2013, but lost to Stephen Lee and Ding Junhui respectively. He was also runner-up to Ronnie O’Sullivan in the 2019 edition. The Melbourne cueman put that losing streak to bed and earned the £125,000 top prize.
Victory came straight off the back of a period of quarantine for Robertson, who had tested positive for Covid-19 in the build up. Back in full flow, the Thunder from Down Under would go on to cap off his Players Series campaign with a stunning victory at the Tour Championship later in the season, coming from 9-4 down to beat John Higgins 10-9 in the final.
Robertson led 5-3 heading into this evening. He had secured a 5-1 lead after firing in three consecutive centuries, but Hawkins claimed the last two of the opening session to stay in touch.
When the evening’s action got underway Robertson pulled clear once again. Runs of 58, 64 and 54 saw him take the first two frames and move 7-3 ahead. However, Hawkins dug deep to pin his opponent back and consecutive frames saw the pair head into the mid-session with Robertson leading 7-5.
When play resumed it was another ruthless burst which saw Robertson clinch the title. Contributions of 116, 51 and 69 secured three in a row to cross the line by a 10-5 margin.
“I’m over the moon. I didn’t expect too much coming here, as I’d just come out of Covid-19 isolation four or five days before the event,” said 40-year-old Robertson.
“I didn’t produce my best snooker getting to the final. I was playing really well in the big moments and had hard fought wins. The way I came out and played today was my best snooker. Barry showed tremendous character to close it to 5-3 and 7-5. I found something once again to close it out."
2023 - Shaun Murphy 10-4 Ali Carter
Shaun Murphy ended a three-year wait for a major tournament win, by defeating Ali Carter in the Wolverhampton final.
Murphy last lifted silverware at the 2020 Welsh Open, an event predating the start of the coronavirus pandemic. On that occasion he thrashed Kyren Wilson 9-1 to pick up the Ray Reardon Trophy. An incredible display of break building has helped him to storm to the title this week.
The Magician conjured a record 11 century breaks throughout the tournament, beating John Higgins’ previous Players Championship best of eight back in 2021. Murphy was also responsible for all of the top five highest breaks in last year's Players Championship, the highlight being a 145 in the final.
Carter came into the event high on confidence, having recently won the title at the 2023 German Masters. He has continued that form and has since made further finals at this seasons's Wuhan Open and the Masters.
Murphy put on a blistering display this afternoon to surge to a 6-2 lead, crafting runs of 145, 141 and 112 along the way.
When the players emerged for the evening session, Murphy continued his spellbinding sequence of breaks. He embarked upon a 147 attempt, but broke down on 89 by missing the 12th black.
It was soon 8-2 when Murphy fired in a century run of 103, before Carter hit back with breaks of 71 and 82 to remain in the hunt at 8-4 down.
However, his reprieve was to be short lived, with the sensational Murphy composing breaks of 88 and 130 to get over the line 10-4. After the match had concluded he punched the air with joy and took in the adulation of the crowd.
“I’m absolutely delighted, I’m over the moon. It isn’t often you get me speechless, but I’m pretty close. I’d forgotten what to say when you win. I’ve spent the last few seasons giving runner-up speeches. I’d become far too good at that for my liking. It was so nice to come to a tournament, play well and win. I can’t wait to take the trophy home to show Harry and Molly,” said Englishman Murphy.
“A long time ago now I wrote down a little goal of my own and that was to get to ten ranking titles. I’ve been in lots of finals and could or perhaps should have won more, but ten is a very nice number and I’m pleased I’ve reached one of my career goals tonight. It is lovely to join someone like Jimmy White with that number. Who knows, if I can play like I did today there could be another few to follow."
Murphy went on to add an 11th piece of ranking silverware to his resume at the Tour Championship and claimed his 12th at this season's Championship League.