The 2026 Championship League Invitational (officially the 2026 BetVictor Championship League Snooker Invitational) was a professional non-rankingsnooker tournament that took place from 2 January to 11 February 2026 at the Leicester Arena in Leicester, England. Part of the 2025–26 snooker season, it was the 20th edition of the invitational version of the tournament, which was first staged in 2008.
Mark Selby was the defending champion, having retained the title at the 2025 event by defeating Kyren Wilson 3–0 in the final. He retained the title for the third consecutive edition by defeating Wu Yize in the final 3–1.
There were 173 century breaks made during the tournament, including five maximum breaks, made respectively by Chris Wakelin in his Group 1 match against Pang Junxu, Matthew Selt in his Group 4 match against Xiao Guodong, Xiao in his Group 6 match against Oliver Lines, Wu Yize in his Group 6 match against Lines, and Zhao Xintong in his Group 6 semi-final against Jak Jones. Wakelin, Selt, Wu, and Zhao all made their first maximums in professional competition, while Xiao made his third. They were the record‑extending 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, and 21st maximums of the season.
A total of 25 players were initially invited to the event, with the matches played behind closed doors without an audience. Players earn prize money for every frame won, as well as being semi‑finalists, runners‑up, and winners of each group, with more money involved in the Winners' Group. Since 2010, all matches have been played as the best of five frames.
The tournament was played in a round‑robin format, consisting of eight groups of seven players. The top four players in each group qualify for a play‑off, with the winner entering the Winners' Group. The bottom two players in each group were eliminated, and the remaining four moved to the next group, where they were joined by three more players. This format was played for each group, from one to seven. In each group, the players were ranked by the number of matches won, then by most frames won, and then by least frames lost. If two players were tied by these criteria, the player who won the match between them was ranked higher in the table. The group play‑off semi‑finals were contested between the 1st and 4th place players in the table, and between the 2nd and 3rd place players in the table. The Winners' Group was played at the end, and its play‑off winner became champion of the tournament.[4][5][6]
Groups 1 to 4 were played from 2 to 9 January; Groups 5 to 7 were played from 19 to 24 January; and the Winners' Group was played on 10 and 11 February. The champion will take a place in the 2026 Champion of Champions.[15][24][33]
Broadcasters
The event was broadcast by Eurasian Broadcasting in Ukraine and the Commonwealth of Independent States; Fox Sports in Australia; Nova Sport in Czechia and Slovakia; Rigour Media in China; PCCW in Hong Kong; Viaplay in Iceland and the Netherlands; Reddentes in Thailand; Sky NZ in New Zealand (on 10 and 11 February); TV3 in the Baltics; Viasat in Scandinavia; and by Matchroom.live in all other territories. Additionally, table one was streamed live on the Matchroom Pool YouTube channel available in the United Kingdom, with table two being available worldwide on the Matchroom Multi Sport YouTube channel.[5]
Prize fund
The breakdown of prize money for the 2026 Championship League is as follows:[4][5]
Groups 1–7
Winner: £3,000
Runner-up: £2,000
Semi-final: £1,000
Frame-win (league stage): £100
Frame-win (play-offs): £300
Highest break: £500
Winners' Group
Winner: £10,000
Runner-up: £5,000
Semi-final: £3,000
Frame-win (league stage): £200
Frame-win (play-offs): £300
Highest break: £1,000
Maximum possible tournament total: £205,000 (if all match results are 3–2)
Minimum possible tournament total: £152,800 (if all match results are 3–0)
Group 1
Group 1 was played on 2 and 3 January 2026.[16][25] At the end of the first day Joe O'Connor and Jackson Page led the table, both with three wins out of four.[34]Tom Ford won the group and qualified for the Winners' Group.[35]Chris Wakelin made the first maximum break of his professional career in the first frame of his 3–2 league match win against Pang Junxu. It was the 17th maximum of the current season and the 234th official 147.[7][36][37]
Group 2 was played on 4 and 5 January 2026. Ali Carter withdrew and was replaced by Noppon Saengkham.[17][26] At the end of the first day Gary Wilson led the table with three wins out of four.[38]Elliot Slessor won the group and qualified for the Winners' Group.[39] Slessor also made the highest break in the group, a 138.[8][40]
Group 4 was played on 8 and 9 January 2026. Joe O'Connor and Yuan Sijun both withdrew, due to competing in the 2026 German Masters qualifying. They were replaced by Ben Woollaston and Matthew Selt respectively.[19][28] Selt won the group and qualified for the Winners' Group.[43] Selt also made the first maximum break of his professional career in his league match loss to Xiao Guodong. It was the 18th maximum of the current season and the 235th official 147.[10][44][45]
Group 5 was played on 19 and 20 January 2026. Kyren Wilson withdrew after playing in the final of the Masters the previous day. He was replaced by Oliver Lines.[20][29]Mark Selby won the group and qualified for the Winners' Group.[46]Wu Yize made the highest break in the group, a 143.[11][47]
Group 6 was played on 21 and 22 January 2026.[21][30]Wu Yize won the group and qualified for the Winners' Group.[48]Xiao Guodong made the third maximum break of his professional career in his league match loss to Oliver Lines.[49]Wu Yize made the first maximum break of his professional career in his league match against Lines.[50][51]Zhao Xintong made the first maximum break of his professional career in his semi-final match against Jak Jones.[52] They were the 19th, 20th and 21st maximums of the current season and the 236th, 237th and 238th official maximums.[12][53]
Group 7 was played on 23 and 24 January 2026. Zhou Yuelong and Zhao Xintong both withdrew and were replaced by Ryan Day and Xu Si respectively.[22][31]Zhang Anda won the group and qualified for the Winners' Group.[54] Zhang made the highest break in the group, a 140.[13][55]
The Winners' Group was played on 10 and 11 February 2026.[23][32]Mark Selby won the group and the tournament.[56][57]Wu Yize made the highest break in the group, a 146.[58][14]
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Mark Selby (ENG)
Wu Yize (CHN)
