2019 UK Championship facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
2019 Betway UK Championship

Tournament information
Dates	26 November – 8 December 2019
Venue	Barbican Centre
City	York
Country	England
Organisation(s)	WPBSA
Format	Ranking event
Total prize fund	£1,009,000
Winner's share	£200,000
Highest break	Barry Hawkins (ENG) (147)
Final
Champion	Ding Junhui (CHN)
Runner-up	Stephen Maguire (SCO)
Score	10–6
← 2018

The 2019 UK Championship was a big professional snooker tournament. It happened from November 26 to December 8, 2019. This was the 43rd time the UK Championship was held. It was also an important "ranking" event and the first "Triple Crown" event of the 2019–20 snooker season. People in the United Kingdom could watch it on BBC Sport, and those in Europe watched on Eurosport. The tournament was supported by a company called Betway.

Ronnie O'Sullivan had won the tournament in 2018. But in 2019, he was beaten by Ding Junhui in the last 16 round. Ding Junhui then went on to play Stephen Maguire in the final match. Ding won against Maguire with a score of 10–6. This was Ding's third time winning the UK Championship.

What is Snooker?

Snooker is a cue sport played on a large table covered with a green cloth. Players use a cue stick to hit a white ball (the cue ball). The goal is to pot (sink) other balls into six pockets around the table. There are 15 red balls and 6 coloured balls (yellow, green, brown, blue, pink, and black). Each ball has a different point value. Players try to score more points than their opponent.

Tournament Highlights

The 2019 UK Championship was full of exciting matches. Many top players competed to win the title.

Key Matches and Players

The tournament started with 128 players. They all wanted to become the champion. Matches were played in a "best of 11 frames" format. This means the first player to win 6 frames won the match.

• Ronnie O'Sullivan was the defending champion. He is one of the most famous snooker players. He won his first two matches easily. However, he lost to Ding Junhui in the last 16 round. This was a big surprise for many fans.
• Ding Junhui played very well throughout the tournament. He beat strong players like Ronnie O'Sullivan and Liang Wenbo. He showed great skill and focus in every match.
• Stephen Maguire also had a fantastic run. He won against tough opponents to reach the final. His journey to the final was very impressive.
• Barry Hawkins made a special achievement. He scored a maximum break of 147 points in his first match. This is the highest possible score in one frame of snooker. It's a very rare and exciting moment in the sport.

The Road to the Final

The tournament had several rounds. Players had to win many matches to move forward.

• Quarter-finals: In this round, eight players remained. Ding Junhui beat Liang Wenbo. Yan Bingtao won against John Higgins. Stephen Maguire defeated Matthew Stevens. And Mark Allen narrowly beat Nigel Bond.
• Semi-finals: Only four players were left. Ding Junhui continued his strong performance by beating Yan Bingtao. In the other semi-final, Stephen Maguire played incredibly well. He won against Mark Allen without losing a single frame. This set up an exciting final between Ding and Maguire.

The Final Match

The final was played on December 8, 2019. It was a "best of 19 frames" match. This means the first player to win 10 frames would be the champion.

Final: Best of 19 frames. Referee: Greg Coniglio Barbican Centre, York, England, 8 December 2019.
Ding Junhui (16)  China	10–6	Stephen Maguire (14)  Scotland
Afternoon: 95–38, 62–23 (56), 105–16 (105), 128–12 (128), 25–93, 49–77 (67), 12–76, 67–28 (66) Evening: 83–5 (83), 73–53 (Maguire 53), 0–104 (103), 71–27 (67), 1–104 (103), 0–124 (124), 131–0 (131), 103–8 (103)
131	Highest break	124
4	Century breaks	3
8	50+ breaks	5

Ding Junhui played very strongly in the final. He made four "century breaks." A century break is when a player scores 100 or more points in one turn. This shows how skilled he was. Stephen Maguire also played well, making three century breaks. In the end, Ding Junhui won the match 10–6. This made him the 2019 UK Champion.

Images for kids

• 

  Barry Hawkins made a maximum break in his first-round win over Gerard Greene.

• 

  Ding Junhui won the tournament for the third time, defeating Stephen Maguire 10–6.

The arena inside the York Barbican during the event