Live sport held in the UK will return to free-to-air television for the first time since the start of the coronavirus lockdown as ITV Sport hosts exclusive coverage of Championship League Snooker from 1-11 June.
Airing daily on ITV4 and ITV Hub, the 11-day tournament organised by Matchroom Multi Sport will feature some of the biggest names in the sport competing at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes, with a first prize of £30,000 and a place in this year’s Champion of Champions on offer.
A stellar line-up of some of the top names in snooker who are confirmed to compete includes Ronnie O’Sullivan, Mark Selby, Neil Robertson, Mark Allen, Kyren Wilson and reigning world champion Judd Trump.
All facets of the tournament, from its staging to TV production, have been set up to ensure guidelines on social distancing and hygiene are strictly adhered to, and players will enter on an invite-only basis. It will be a non-ranking event and be played behind closed doors with no access for spectators.
The Marshall Arena, which is due to host the ITV-televised Champion of Champions in November, was selected as the venue for the Championship League event as it has on-site accommodation, meaning no players, officials or staff will need to leave the venue once they have entered.
ITV Sport’s coverage of the entire tournament will be produced remotely and will follow coronavirus safety guidelines, with presenter Jill Douglas and the on-screen team, including ITV snooker regulars Neal Foulds, Alan McManus and Stephen Hendry, all operating from their homes, while commentators David Hendon, Phil Yates and Dominic Dale will cover the event from the venue.
It will be the first time that any UK TV broadcaster has covered Championship League Snooker, a tournament which has been run every year since 2008. All editions have previously been broadcast exclusively online via bookmakers’ websites.
ITV4 will broadcast at least eight hours of live coverage across the 11-day event, starting just before 3pm each day and running through to at least 11pm.
Commenting on the return of live snooker and its deal with ITV, Matchroom Sport chairman Barry Hearn said:
“During the challenging times of the past few weeks we have examined the opportunities which still exist and worked relentlessly towards the goal of getting our tour going again. While most other sports remain sidelined, we are ready to return from June 1st. This sends out a message to the sporting world that snooker is at the forefront of innovation.
“Our first priority has to be safety and we have had detailed discussions with government in creating a set of approved guidelines for the event which will be rigorously followed. We are making this very clear to the players and everyone working on the event.
“We will be the first major sport to get back to live televised action. That’s not by chance, it’s because of the hard work and preparation we have done during the lockdown to make sure we are ready to get going again as soon as it is legal.
“I am confident that there is no other major sport which can meet health and safety criteria on isolation and social distancing as stringently as snooker can, so we are able to return more quickly than others. These are challenging times but as always we are looking at the opportunities rather than the limitations.
“For the fans out there who are starved of live sport it will be a fantastic boost and a very welcome diversion from these tough times we are all going through. We are thrilled to be working with ITV on Championship League for the first time, with an exciting new format. The field of players and more details will be announced in the coming days.”
Championship League Snooker will be ITV’s first live televised sporting event since it covered horse racing from Thurles in Ireland on 21 March.
Since then, the broadcaster has filled the void by screening ITV Football Classics on Saturdays, as well as replaying the entire Euro 96 tournament from start to finish online via the ITV Hub, with England matches airing in full on ITV4.
After snooker, UK horse racing is likely to be its next live free-to-air sports coverage to resume, with advanced plans in place for the ITV Racing team to cover three days of action starting on 5 June.
Mark Demuth, ITV Sport’s controller of production, added:
“We know fans have been missing live action since the lockdown has been in place, so we’re delighted to bring snooker back, marking the return of live sport to free-to-air TV.
“Behind the scenes, our team has been working with the event organisers to ensure strict adherence to guidelines to safeguard the well-being of all involved, which is our priority.”
Beyond the Championship League, ITV4 is also set to broadcast live coverage of the Coral Tour Championship, an event which was rescheduled due to the coronavirus pandemic, on 20-26 June.
The tournament, which has been moved from Llandudno to Milton Keynes due to the pandemic, is now set to take place a month before the rescheduled Betfred World Snooker Championship at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre, which will be broadcast live on the BBC and Eurosport from 31 July to 16 August.
Further details of ITV’s coverage of the 2020 Championship League Snooker, including broadcast times and match schedules, can be found below.
For more information, match schedule and latest scores/results, visit the official website: championshipleaguesnooker.co.uk
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MONDAY 1st JUNE
Championship League Snooker: Day 1
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TUESDAY 2nd JUNE
Championship League Snooker: Day 2
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WEDNESDAY 3rd JUNE
Championship League Snooker: Day 3
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THURSDAY 4th JUNE
Championship League Snooker: Day 4
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FRIDAY 5th JUNE
Championship League Snooker: Day 5
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SATURDAY 6th JUNE
Championship League Snooker: Day 6
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SUNDAY 7th JUNE
Championship League Snooker: Day 7
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MONDAY 8th JUNE
Championship League Snooker: Day 8
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TUESDAY 9th JUNE
Championship League Snooker
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WEDNESDAY 10th JUNE
Championship League Snooker
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THURSDAY 11th JUNE
Championship League Snooker
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