Groups announced for 2011 Championship League Snooker - 17/12/2010

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CHAMPIONSHIP League Snooker returns in January as snooker's elite bid to claim a place in the 2011 Premier League Snooker tournament.

The event will again be staged at the Crondon Park Golf Club in Essex and all the action will be broadcast online via a number of betting websites.

World number one John Higgins is among a host of top stars in the first group, which will be played on Monday, January 3 and Tuesday, January 4.

He joins Ali Carter, Graeme Dott, Stephen Maguire, Shaun Murphy, Mark Selby and Mark Williams in an opening group that contains seven of the world's top ten.

Two players will be eliminated from each group and it does not get any easier in group two as current World Champion Neil Robertson and reigning Premier League Champion Ronnie O'Sullivan are among the new players.

The winner of each group will advance to the Winners' Group at the end of March and the overall champion will secure his spot in Matchroom Sport's prestigious Premier League tournament in the Autumn of 2011.

Marco Fu, who won the 2010 Championship League, comes in at Group Three, seven-time World Champion Stephen Hendry will be playing in Group Four, while world number four Ding Junhui comes in a group later.

The full groups are as follows (groups six and seven still to be confirmed)

Group 1 (January 3 and 4) - Ali Carter, Graeme Dott, John Higgins, Stephen Maguire, Shaun Murphy, Mark Selby and Mark Williams.

Group 2 (January 5 and 6) - Four players from Group 1 plus Jamie Cope, Neil Robertson and Ronnie O'Sullivan.

Group 3 (January 24 and 25) - Four players from Group 2 plus Mark Allen, Peter Ebdon and Marco Fu.

Group 4 (January 26 and 27) - Four players from Group 3 plus Stephen Hendry, Mark King and Matthew Stevens.

Group 5 (February 28 and March 1) - Four players from Group 4 plus Ding Junhui, Liang Wenbo and Ricky Walden.

Group 6 (March 2 and 3) - Four players from Group 5 plus three TBC.

Group 7 (March 21 and 22) - Four players from Group 6 plus three TBC.

Winners' Group (March 23 and 24) - Winners of groups 1 to 7