2011 Premier League Snooker Explained
The 2011 PartyPoker.com Premier League was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament. It was played under a variation of the standard rules of snooker. It was played from 18 August to 27 November 2011.
Ronnie O'Sullivan was the defending champion, and he won his 10th Premier League Snooker title by defeating Ding Junhui 7–1.
Format
All evenings in the league stage featured three matches: two semi-finals and a final. All matches were best of 5 frames, with no dead frames played, points were awarded for every frame won. Meaning that the maximum number of points a player could obtain was 24 and the minimum was 0. All frames were subjected to a 20-second shot clock and there were two 20 second extensions available for each player in every frame. The miss rule was also changed; meaning that a player had three attempts to make legal contact with the ball on or otherwise ball in hand was given to the incoming player anywhere on the table. The final frame of any match was played under shoot-out rules. Each player appeared on 4 nights and were seeded to determine who they face. This was the first and only time in the events history there would be a clear winner in each match of the league phase. Unlike other years of the league phase when matches were best of 6 and therefore players could draw 3–3 on the night. In 2012 the Premier League reverted to the best of 6 round Robin matches. The play-offs were played to the rules used in previous editions. This meant that the top 4 after the league phase qualified for the semi-finals. As in other years 1st played 4th and 2nd played 3rd in the semi-finals.[1]
Prize fund
The breakdown of prize money for this year is shown below:[2]
- Winner: £60,000
- Runner-up: £30,000
- Semi-final: £20,000
- 5th Place: £17,500
- 6th Place: £15,000
- 7th Place: £12,500
- 8th Place: £10,000
- 9th Place: £8,000
- 10th Place: £6,000
- Highest break (per night): £1,000
- Maximum break: £25,000
- Total: £210,000
Players
Players were seeded according to their world rankings apart from the defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan who was the number one seed.[1]
League phase
Top four qualified for the play-offs. The order of players was decided on most frames won, and then least frames lost. (Breaks above 50 shown between (parentheses); century breaks are indicated with bold.)[3] [4] [5]
- 18 August – Embassy Theatre, Skegness, England[6]
- Semi-finals:
- John Higgins 3–0 Jimmy White → 61–36, (105)–5, 71–69[7]
- Neil Robertson 0–3 Matthew Stevens → 18–63, 44–76, 13–(82)[8]
- Final: John Higgins 0–3 Matthew Stevens → 18–(91), 0–(95), 10–65[9]
- 1 September – Guildford Spectrum, Guildford, England[10]
- Semi-finals:[11]
- Jimmy White 0–3 Mark Williams → 1–(105), 30–61, 5–82 (60)
- Ronnie O'Sullivan 2–3 Shaun Murphy → 63–48, 45–71, 68–49, 6–(115), 0–91 (85)
- Final: Mark Williams 3–1 Shaun Murphy → 67–(65), 14–66, 62–47, (101) 118–6[12]
- 22 September – Ravenscraig Sports Facility, Motherwell, Scotland[13]
- Semi-finals:
- John Higgins 0–3 Neil Robertson → 14–126 (57, 69), 0–93 (87), 35–95[14]
- Ding Junhui 3–2 Shaun Murphy → (92) 124–7, 36–(98), 8–117 (98), (87) 102–21, (80)–0[15]
- Final: Neil Robertson 3–1 Ding Junhui → 56–63, (140)–0, (109) 118–0, 54–42[16]
- 29 September – The Dome, Doncaster, England[17]
- Semi-finals:
- Ronnie O'Sullivan 3–0 Matthew Stevens → 70–0, (94)–0, 77–12[18]
- Ding Junhui 0–3 Ali Carter → 9–82, 14–120 (50,70), 0–92 (91)[19]
- Final: Ronnie O'Sullivan 3–1 Ali Carter → 41–54, 52–42, (68) 72–21, 36–6[20]
- 6 October – Hutton Moor Leisure Centre, Weston-super-Mare, England[21]
- Semi-finals:
- Mark Williams 1–3 Judd Trump → 0–79 (64), 76–14, 0–79 (50), 23–71[22]
- John Higgins 2–3 Matthew Stevens → 5–(104), 68–87, (57) 61–1, 68–67 (67), 0–51[23]
- Final: Judd Trump 3–0 Matthew Stevens → 72–43, (81)–0, 67–30[24]
- 13 October – Biddulph Leisure Centre, Stoke-on-Trent, England[25]
- Semi-finals:
- Mark Williams 2–3 Ali Carter → 27–69, 66–41, 45–63, (115) 131–1, 0–84[26]
- Jimmy White 2–3 Ding Junhui → (52) 87–39, (59)–66, (52) 72–(56), 24–115 (78), 20–59[27]
- Final: Ali Carter 1–3 Ding Junhui → (96)–0, 7–67, 51–72, 1–72 (66)[28]
- 20 October – Riverside Leisure Centre, Exeter, England[29]
- Semi-finals:
- Ali Carter 1–3 Judd Trump → (78)–0, 14–62, 16–(111), 31–57 (53)[30]
- Shaun Murphy 1–3 Neil Robertson → 37–66 (60), (53) 74–41, 35–83 (52), 49–68[31]
- Final: Judd Trump 3–1 Neil Robertson → 55–54, 38–76, 74–0 (59), 79–0 (76)[32]
- 3 November – Southampton Guildhall, Southampton, England[33]
- Semi-finals:
- Ronnie O'Sullivan 3–2 Judd Trump → 0–(139), (53) 94–32, (89)–22, 46–64 (58), (70) 78–4[34]
- Neil Robertson 2–3 Ding Junhui → 59–72, 14–(61), (66) 72–17, (55) 70–46, 7–100 (58)[35]
- Final: Ronnie O'Sullivan 1–3 Ding Junhui → (77) 82–0, 1–74, 58–68, 17–79 (76)[36]
- 10 November – Spiceball Leisure Centre, Banbury, England[37]
- Semi-finals:
- John Higgins 3–1 Ali Carter → 36–52, (101) 117–13, (79) 95–0, 67–38[38]
- Mark Williams 3–0 Matthew Stevens → 63–28, 76–5, (105)–0[39]
- Final: John Higgins 3–1 Mark Williams → (125) 130–1, 44–77, (89)–24, 69–22[40]
- 17 November – Grimsby Auditorium, Grimsby, England[41]
- Semi-finals:
- Judd Trump 0–3 Shaun Murphy 1–75, 0–(122), 14–111 (100)[42]
- Ronnie O'Sullivan 3–0 Jimmy White → (65) 87–29, 75–6, (103) 120–6[43]
- Final: Shaun Murphy 1–3 Ronnie O'Sullivan → 16–(82), 35–(78), (52) 83–0, 40–(100)[44]
Play-offs
26–27 November, Potters Leisure Resort, Hopton-on-Sea, England[3] [4]
Notes and References
- Web site: 2011 PartyPoker.com Premier League Snooker Format and Players . premierleaguesnooker.com . . 20 November 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111204144825/http://www.premierleaguesnooker.com/rules.htm . 4 December 2011 . dead .
- Web site: Premier League set for brand new format . premierleaguesnooker.com . . 15 May 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111006051647/http://www.premierleaguesnooker.com/news/premier_league_set_for_barnd_new.htm . 6 October 2011 . dead .
- Web site: Premier League (2011) . WWW Snooker . 1 August 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111127201849/http://www.snooker.org/res/index.asp?event=107 . 27 November 2011 . live .
- Web site: 2011 PartyPoker.com Premier League Snooker Fixtures . premierleaguesnooker.com . . 20 November 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111123013010/http://www.premierleaguesnooker.com/fixtures.htm . 23 November 2011 . dead .
- Web site: 2011 PartyPoker.com Premier League Snooker . premierleaguesnooker.com . . 9 September 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111122070652/http://www.premierleaguesnooker.com/results/2011_partypokercom_premier_league_snooker.htm . 22 November 2011 . dead .
- Web site: PartyCasino.com Premier League – Night 1 (2011) . WWW Snooker . 18 August 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110928180704/http://snooker.org/res/index.asp?event=138 . 28 September 2011 . live .
- Web site: Higgins takes PLS opener . premierleaguesnooker.com . . 18 August 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111127173406/http://www.premierleaguesnooker.com/news/higgins_takes_pls_opener.htm . 27 November 2011 . dead .
- Web site: Stevens in quickfire win over Robbo . premierleaguesnooker.com . . 18 August 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111127173406/http://www.premierleaguesnooker.com/news/higgins_takes_pls_opener.htm . 27 November 2011 . dead .
- Web site: Excellent Stevens takes opening PLS night . premierleaguesnooker.com . . 18 August 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111127174526/http://www.premierleaguesnooker.com/news/excellent_stevens_takes_opening_pls_night.htm . 27 November 2011 . dead .
- Web site: PartyCasino.com Premier League – Night 2 (2011) . WWW Snooker . 1 September 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120201130242/http://www.snooker.org/res/index.asp?event=143 . 1 February 2012 . live .
- Web site: PartyCasino.com Premier League week two . premierleaguesnooker.com . . 1 September 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120605191425/http://www.premierleaguesnooker.com/news/partycasinocom_premier_league_week_two.htm . 5 June 2012 . dead .
- Web site: Williams takes Guildford glory . premierleaguesnooker.com . . 20 November 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111127174511/http://www.premierleaguesnooker.com/news/williams_takes_guildford_glory.htm . 27 November 2011 . dead .
- Web site: PartyCasino.com Premier League – Night 3 (2011) . WWW Snooker . 22 September 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120201130248/http://www.snooker.org/res/index.asp?event=144 . 1 February 2012 . live .
- Web site: Flawless Robbo disappoints home crowd . premierleaguesnooker.com . . 22 September 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111127183541/http://www.premierleaguesnooker.com/news/flawless_robbo_disappoints_home_crowd.htm . 27 November 2011 . dead .
- Web site: Ding ousts Murphy in thriller . premierleaguesnooker.com . . 22 September 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111127183541/http://www.premierleaguesnooker.com/news/flawless_robbo_disappoints_home_crowd.htm . 27 November 2011 . dead .
- Web site: Robbo back to his sparkling best . premierleaguesnooker.com . . 22 September 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111127183516/http://www.premierleaguesnooker.com/news/ding_ousts_murphy_in_thriller.htm . 27 November 2011 . dead .
- Web site: PartyCasino.com Premier League – Night 4 (2011) . WWW Snooker . 29 September 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120201131115/http://www.snooker.org/res/index.asp?event=145 . 1 February 2012 . live .
- Web site: Rocket Ron eases in Donny final . premierleaguesnooker.com . . 29 September 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120605191504/http://www.premierleaguesnooker.com/news/rocket_ron_eases_in_donny_final.htm . 5 June 2012 . dead .
- Web site: Captain pilots his way to Rocket showdown . premierleaguesnooker.com . . 29 September 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111201090453/http://www.premierleaguesnooker.com/news/captain_pilots_his_way_to_rocket.htm . 1 December 2011 . dead .
- Web site: Ronnie takes Doncaster leg . premierleaguesnooker.com . . 29 September 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111204144820/http://www.premierleaguesnooker.com/news/ronnie_takes_doncaster_leg.htm . 4 December 2011 . dead .
- Web site: PartyCasino.com Premier League – Night 5 (2011) . WWW Snooker . 6 October 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120201130253/http://www.snooker.org/res/index.asp?event=146 . 1 February 2012 . live .
- Web site: Trump eases into final in PLS debut . premierleaguesnooker.com . . 6 October 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111116062507/http://www.premierleaguesnooker.com/news/trump_eases_into_final_in_pls.htm . 16 November 2011 . dead .
- Web site: Stevens leaves Higgins on the ropes . premierleaguesnooker.com . . 6 October 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111206183521/http://www.premierleaguesnooker.com/news/stevens_leaves_higgins_on_the_ropes.htm . 6 December 2011 . dead .
- Web site: Trump tops Stevens to take maximum points . premierleaguesnooker.com . . 6 October 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111201205133/http://www.premierleaguesnooker.com/news/trump_tops_stevens_to_take_maximum.htm . 1 December 2011 . dead .
- Web site: PartyCasino.com Premier League – Night 6 (2011) . WWW Snooker . 13 October 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111012141158/http://www.snooker.org/res/index.asp?event=147 . 12 October 2011 . live .
- Web site: Carter stakes claim with second final . premierleaguesnooker.com . . 13 October 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111201204536/http://www.premierleaguesnooker.com/news/carter_stakes_claim_with_second_final.htm . 1 December 2011 . dead .
- Web site: Ding puts paid to Whirlwind hopes . premierleaguesnooker.com . . 13 October 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111201205057/http://www.premierleaguesnooker.com/news/ding_puts_paid_to_whirlwind_hopes.htm . 1 December 2011 . dead .
- Web site: Ding battles to move to No.1 . premierleaguesnooker.com . . 13 October 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111116062919/http://www.premierleaguesnooker.com/news/ding_battles_to_move_to_no1.htm . 16 November 2011 . dead .
- Web site: PartyCasino.com Premier League – Night 7 (2011) . WWW Snooker . 20 October 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120201131125/http://www.snooker.org/res/index.asp?event=148 . 1 February 2012 . live .
- Web site: Trump on song again . premierleaguesnooker.com . . 20 October 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111123074513/http://www.premierleaguesnooker.com/news/trump_on_song_again.htm . 23 November 2011 . dead .
- Web site: Robbo makes final No.2 . premierleaguesnooker.com . . 20 October 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111201204459/http://www.premierleaguesnooker.com/news/robbo_makes_final_no2.htm . 1 December 2011 . dead .
- Web site: Trump heads table with perfect performance . premierleaguesnooker.com . . 20 October 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111123074508/http://www.premierleaguesnooker.com/news/trump_heads_table_with_perfect_performance.htm . 23 November 2011 . dead .
- Web site: PartyCasino.com Premier League – Night 8 (2011) . WWW Snooker . 3 November 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111102022831/http://www.snooker.org/res/index.asp?event=149 . 2 November 2011 . live .
- Web site: O'Sullivan reaches Southampton final . premierleaguesnooker.com . . 3 November 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111206185213/http://www.premierleaguesnooker.com/news/osullivan_reaches_southampton_final.htm . 6 December 2011 . dead .
- Web site: Ding edges out under-prepared Robertson . premierleaguesnooker.com . . 3 November 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111201205823/http://www.premierleaguesnooker.com/news/ding_edges_out_underprepared_robertson.htm . 1 December 2011 . dead .
- Web site: Ding wins in Southampton to secure semi-final spot . premierleaguesnooker.com . . 3 November 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111201090521/http://www.premierleaguesnooker.com/news/ding_wins_in_southampton_to_secure.htm . 1 December 2011 . dead .
- Web site: PartyCasino.com Premier League – Night 9 (2011) . WWW Snooker . 10 November 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120201131131/http://www.snooker.org/res/index.asp?event=150 . 1 February 2012 . live .
- Web site: Higgins puts paid to Carter hopes . premierleaguesnooker.com . . 10 November 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111122000205/http://www.premierleaguesnooker.com/news/higgins_puts_paid_to_carter_hopes.htm . 22 November 2011 . dead .
- Web site: Williams on course for play-offs . premierleaguesnooker.com . . 10 November 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111123101052/http://www.premierleaguesnooker.com/news/williams_on_course_for_playoffs.htm . 23 November 2011 . dead .
- Web site: Williams claims third play-off spot . premierleaguesnooker.com . . 10 November 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111206183526/http://www.premierleaguesnooker.com/news/williams_claims_third_playoff_spot.htm . 6 December 2011 . dead .
- Web site: PartyCasino.com Premier League – Night 10 (2011) . WWW Snooker . 17 November 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120201131135/http://www.snooker.org/res/index.asp?event=151 . 1 February 2012 . live .
- Web site: Murphy keeps Potters hopes alive . premierleaguesnooker.com . . 17 November 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111122000314/http://www.premierleaguesnooker.com/news/murphy_keeps_potters_hopes_alive.htm . 22 November 2011 . dead .
- Web site: Rocket cruises into play-offs . premierleaguesnooker.com . . 17 November 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111122000320/http://www.premierleaguesnooker.com/news/rocket_cruises_into_playoffs.htm . 22 November 2011 . dead .
- Web site: Rocket on course for more PLS glory . premierleaguesnooker.com . . 17 November 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111121013428/http://www.premierleaguesnooker.com/news/rocket_on_course_for_more_pls.htm . 21 November 2011 . dead .