Premier League Snooker - History

History

The event started in 1987 as the Matchroom League. The inaugural event was won by Steve Davis, who won the first 4 years. The matches were of eight frames and all frames were played out. Three points were awarded for a win and one point for a draw. The winner of the tournament was the player, who finished top of the league. In 1990 there was also a tournament in Europe, called Matchroom International League.

In 1992 a play-off system was added. The top four players after the leagues phase played semi-finals and finals to determine the winner. In 1993 the event was renamed the European League and in 1998 the Premier League Snooker.

In 2005 Betfred took over the sponsorship of the tournament and introduced a 25 second shot clock and the matches in the leagues phase were shortened to six frames. In addition they offered £1000 for every century and frame won in the leagues phase. In the 2005/2006 season the event was moved from the second half of the calendar in the first half, thus there were two events in 2005.

It has been dominated by Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O'Sullivan, who between them have taken 20 of the 27 titles in the competition's history. O'Sullivan has won the most titles, having won 10 in total and 5 in row between 2005 and 2008.

Starting from 2013, Premier League will be replaced by a new tournament, Champion of Champions.