The 2019–20 snooker season was a series of professional snooker tournaments played between 9 May 2019 and 22 August 2020. In total, 47 events were held during the season: however, the ending of the season was highly disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. 18 world ranking tournaments were planned to take place, but only 17 were played. An event was held in Austria, the first time in any snooker season, while the 2020 China Open was cancelled. The Tour Championship and the World Snooker Championship were postponed, and the Gibraltar Open played with no audience. The season contained 128 professional tour players, 35 of which had been given new two-year places on the tour from a combination of invitations and qualifying events.
Judd Trump, the reigning world champion, won a record six ranking titles for a season. Trump also became the second player ever to compile over 100 century breaks in a season. Ronnie O'Sullivan won the 2020 World Snooker Championship, defeating Kyren Wilson with a score of 18–8. By doing so O'Sullivan also won his 37th ranking title, the most of any player. The other Triple Crown championships were the 2019 UK Championship, won by Ding Junhui, and the 2020 Masters, won by Stuart Bingham.
Players The World Snooker Tour in the 2019–20 season consisted of a field of 128 professional players. The highest 64 players on the 2018–19 snooker world rankings after the 2019 World Championship qualified for a place in the field, whilst an additional 29 players who had previously won a two-year tour card also qualified. Eight places were also given to players who were highest on the one-year ranking list, but had not already qualified after the previous tour.
The remaining places were offered by means of invitation and by competing in qualifying events. Three players came from the Challenge Tour, two players came from the CBSA China Tour, and sixteen places were available through the Q School events. The four remaining places were given to continental championship winners, whilst Amine Amiri won the African Billiards & Snooker Confederation's nomination, and an invitational offer was given to longstanding tour player Jimmy White. The following players received a tour card for two seasons:
New professional players
One Year Ranking List
International champions
African Billiards & Snooker Confederation nomination
CBSA China Tour
Challenge Tour
Invitational Tour Card
Q School
Event 1
Event 2
Event 3
Q School Order of Merit
Season summary The season consisted of a series of different tours. The main tour was the World Snooker Tour, consisting of events that carried both world ranking and invitational points.
Ranking events The opening ranking event was the Riga Masters, where Mark Joyce and Yan Bingtao reached the finals, both of whom had not won a ranking event prior. Bingtao won the event, the first teenager to win a ranking event since the 2006 Northern Ireland Trophy. Shaun Murphy reached the final in both of the next two ranking tournaments, losing 3–10 to reigning world champion Judd Trump in the International Championship, but winning the China Championship on a 10–9 over Mark Williams. The first of four Home Nations Series events, was won by Mark Selby, defeating David Gilbert 9–1 at the English Open. The next two events were won by Trump, who won the World Open and the Northern Ireland Open. The first of the Triple Crown tournament events—the UK Championship—was held between November and December. Both finalists had won the event before, but neither for over 10 years, with Ding Junhui defeating Stephen Maguire to win the title for the third time. The final ranking event of the year was the Scottish Open, held in December, the third Home Nations event. This event was also won by Selby, who defeated Jack Lisowski with a score of 9–6.
The first ranking event held in 2020 was the European Masters in Austria. This was the first ranking event held in the country. The event was won by Neil Robertson, who completed a whitewash 9–0 victory against Zhou Yuelong. This was the first multisession final whitewash since the 1989 Grand Prix. Robertson also appeared in the final of the next two events, losing to Trump 6–9 in the German Masters, but winning the World Grand Prix 10–8 over Graeme Dott. Murphy won his second title of the season at the Welsh Open, defeating Kyren Wilson 9–1. The one- timed Snooker Shoot Out was won by Michael Holt, his first championship in his 24-year career. Having won four events already in the season, Trump won the Players Championship with a score of 10–4 over Yan and Gibraltar Open with a score of 4–3 over Wilson. Trump's six ranking event wins became the most made by one player in the history of the World Snooker Tour. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Gibraltar Open was played without a live audience in attendance after the first day, and subsequent events were played without fans. The China Open was cancelled due to restrictions. The Tour Championship, scheduled for March, was postponed, and was played in June. It was won by Maguire, his first title in seven years. Maguire only qualified for the event after Ding withdrew. The final ranking event and third Triple Crown event of the season was the World Snooker Championship, held in July and August. Used as a trial event for the UK Government, it was originally planned for spectators to be present, but this was revoked after the first day, with audiences also allowed for the final. The championship was won by Ronnie O'Sullivan, defeating Wilson 18–8 in the final. This gave O'Sullivan his sixth world title.
Trump was named World Snooker Player of the Year, Fans' Player of the Year, and Snooker Journalists' Player of the Year. Trump also became the second player ever to compile one hundred century breaks in a season. O'Sullivan received the Performance of the Year award for winning his sixth world title and record breaking 37th ranking title. Louis Heathcote was named Rookie of the Year, whilst Higgins' maximum break at the world championship was named The Magic Moment of the Year.
Other events The season began with a series of three pro–am tournaments. The Vienna Open was won by Mark Joyce, with the Pink Ribbon being won by Bingham. The World Cup team event was won by Higgins and Maguire representing Scotland. The 2019 Paul Hunter Classic was won by Barry Hawkins over Wilson with a score of 4–3. The 2019 Six-red World Championship, a six-red snooker variant tournament, was won by Maguire, defeating his World Cup winning partner Higgins with a score of 8–6. The 2019 Shanghai Masters was won by O'Sullivan, retaining the championship he won in 2017 and 2018. The Haining Open Chinese pro-am event was won by Thepchaiya Un-Nooh.
The Champion of Champions tournament, with participants being winners of events from the prior 12 months, was won by Robertson, who defeated Trump 10–9 in the final. The second Triple Crown event, the 2020 Masters was won by Bingham, who defeated Ali Carter in the final with a score of 10–8. Carter had not qualified for the event, but was given the place after defending champion O'Sullivan withdrew. The year-long Championship League event was won by Scott Donaldson, with a second Championship League organised as a test event for returning to play after the lockdown. The second event was won by Luca Brecel. A series 10 of Challenge Tour events were held for players not on the main tour, which culminated in a Challenge Tour play-off, won by Allan Taylor over Adam Duffy 4–0.
Calendar The following tables outline the dates and results for all the World Snooker Tour, World Women's Snooker Tour, World Seniors Tour, Challenge Tour, and other events in the season.
World Snooker Tour Start Finish Tournament Venue Winner Runner-up 24 Jun 30 Jun World Cup Wuxi City Sports Park Stadium in Wuxi, China Scotland40 China B 26 Jul 28 Jul Riga Masters Arēna Rīga in Riga, Latvia52 4 Aug 11 Aug International Championship Baihu Media Broadcasting Centre in Daqing, China103 24 Aug 25 Aug Paul Hunter Classic Stadthalle in Fürth, Germany43 2 Sep 7 Sep Six-red World Championship Bangkok Convention Center in Bangkok, Thailand86 9 Sep 15 Sep Shanghai Masters Regal International East Asia Hotel in Shanghai, China119 China Championship Guangzhou Tianhe Sports Centre in Guangzhou, China109 14 Oct 20 Oct English Open K2 in Crawley, England91 28 Oct 3 Nov World Open Yushan Sport Centre in Yushan, China105 4 Nov 10 Nov Champion of Champions Ricoh Arena in Coventry, England109 11 Nov 17 Nov Northern Ireland Open Waterfront Hall in Belfast, Northern Ireland 97 26 Nov 8 Dec UK Championship Barbican Centre in York, England 106 9 Dec 15 Dec Scottish Open Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland 96 12 Jan 19 Jan Masters Alexandra Palace in London, England 108 22 Jan 26 Jan European Masters Messe Dornbirn in Dornbirn, Austria 90 29 Jan 2 Feb German Masters Tempodrom in Berlin, Germany 96 3 Feb 9 Feb World Grand Prix The Centaur in Cheltenham, England 108 10 Feb 16 Feb Welsh Open Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff, Wales 91 20 Feb 23 Feb Shoot Out Watford Colosseum in Watford, England 10 24 Feb 1 Mar Players Championship Waterfront in Southport, England 104 7 Oct 5 Mar Championship League Morningside Arena in Leicester, England 30 13 Mar 15 Mar Gibraltar Open Europa Point Sports Complex in Gibraltar, Gibraltar 431 Jun 11 Jun Championship League Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes, England RR 20 Jun 26 Jun Tour Championship Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes, England 106 31 Jul 16 Aug World Championship Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England 188 Ranking event Non-ranking event
Inaugural European Series champion and Betvictor bonus winner:
World Women's Snooker Start Finish Tournament Venue Winner Runner-up 17 Aug Women's Tour Championship Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England 10 14 Sep 15 Sep UK Women's Championship Northern Snooker Centre in Leeds, England 42 17 Oct 20 Oct Australian Women's Open Mounties in Sydney, Australia 42 23 Nov 24 Nov Eden Women's Masters Frames Sports Bar in Coulsdon, England 42 31 Jan 2 Feb Belgian Women's Open The Trickshot in Bruges, Belgium 42
World Seniors Tour Start Finish Tournament Venue Winner Runner-up 15 Aug 18 Aug World Seniors Championship Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England53 24 Oct 25 Oct UK Seniors Championship Hull Venue in Hull, England42 19 Aug 22 Aug World Seniors Championship Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England 54
Challenge Tour Start Finish Tournament Venue Winner Runner-up 31 Aug 1 Sep Challenge Tour 1 Ballroom Nürnberg in Nuremberg, Germany31 21 Sep 22 Sep Challenge Tour 2 The Crucible Sports & Social Club in Newbury, England31 5 Oct 6 Oct Challenge Tour 3 Northern Snooker Centre in Leeds, England30 19 Oct 20 Oct Challenge Tour 4 The Trickshot in Bruges, Belgium31 16 Nov 17 Nov Challenge Tour 6 Hungary Snooker Academy in Budapest, Hungary 31 14 Dec 15 Dec Challenge Tour 7 De Maxx in Pelt, Belgium 31 18 Jan 19 Jan Challenge Tour 8 Tamworth Sports Bar in Tamworth, England 31 15 Feb 16 Feb Challenge Tour 9 Terry Griffiths Matchroom in Llanelli, Wales 31 28 Feb 29 Feb Challenge Tour 5 The Winchester in Leicester, England 31 1 Mar 2 Mar Challenge Tour 10 The Winchester in Leicester, England 31 20 Jul Challenge Tour Playoffs English Institute of Sport in Sheffield, England 40
Other events Start Finish Tournament Venue Winner Runner-up 9 May 12 May Vienna Open 15 Reds Köö Wien Snooker Club in Vienna, Austria54 20 Jul 23 Jul Pink Ribbon South West Snooker Academy in Gloucester, England43 29 Aug 1 Sep Independence Day Cup Lider BK in Kyiv, Ukraine40 22 Oct 26 Oct Haining Open Haining Sports Center in Haining, China53
World ranking points
The 2019–20 snooker season featured the following points distribution for World Snooker Tour ranking events: