The Champion of Champions 2016 was held in the Ricoh Arena, in Coventry from November 7th to November 12th, 2016 and was won by John Higgins who beat Ronnie O’Sullivan by 10-7 in the final. Both Judd and Neil took part. Neil was the defending Champion, but lost in the last 16 to Stuart Bingham. Judd went one better, losing in the QF to the eventual winner John Higgins.
All detailed results are on Cuetracker as usual.

The first China Championship took place in Guangzhou from 1 to 5 November 2016. The tournament will become ranking and open to 128 players next year, but this first instalment was invitational, very lucrative, and featuring 16 players only. Judd and Neil were involved as top 10 players, but neither got past the first round: Judd to Ali Carter, Neil to Michael Holt. John Higgins won the event.
All results are on Cuetracker as usual.

The International Championship proper was played in Daqing, China, from Sunday 23 October to Sunday 30 October and was won by Mark Selby who beat Ding Junhui by a severe 10-1 in the final. Once again it was Judd who got the best result among the Grove players: he reached the semi finals where he lost by 9-4 to Ding Junhui. Neil lost in the last 16, Li Hang in the last 32, Luca Brecel and Oliver Lines – who had to play Neil – in the last 64.

Judd reached the final of the first event of the Home Nations Series, the English Open 2016, played in Manchester from October 10 to October 17, 2016, his second final in 8 days. He lost by 9-6 to Liang Wenbo. This defeat put an end to a 14 consecutive wins run. Although Judd was certainly disappointed, he should be able to take a lot of positives from the last 3 weeks: he demonstrated outstanding consistency, remarkable stamina and a very solid all-round game. He is now third in the World …

Judd beat Ronnie O’Sullivan by 9-8 to win the inaugural European Masters 2016 in Bucharest, on the day of 10th anniversary of the passing of the much moved Paul Hunter. It’s Judd’s 6th ranking title. It was a thrilling final. Judd trailed for most of the match, despite being the better player all along; he had 3 centuries. But Ronnie used all his experience, battling qualities and break-building skills to counter Judd’s extraordinary long potting and scoring powers. So it did come to a decider, much to the delight of …

The last 128 qualifying round for the International Championship 2016 was played in Preston from 26 to 29 September, 2016. All Grove players entered. Neil, Judd, Luca, Oliver and Li Hang won their match and will be in Daqing at the end of October

The last 128 and last 64 rounds of the European Masters 2016 were played in Preston, from 26 to 28 September 2016. The European Masters is a new event and the final stages will be played in Bucharest next week. All Grove players were involved but only Judd, Neil and Luca managed to book their place in Bucharest. It was unfortunate that Oliver Lines and Neil had to clash in the last 64.
All detailed results are on Cuetracker as usual

The Shanghai Masters 2016, main event, was played from September 19 to September 25, 2016, in Shanghai, China. Judd and Neil were the only Grove players involved and none of them had a deep run. Neil was beaten in the last 32, by Ryan Day and Judd lost in the last 16 to Michael White. The conditions were tough and they were not alone in their fate: only 2 of the top 10 seeds reached the QF …

Yushan, China – 25-31 July, 2016. It proved to be a bit of a strange tournament with a lot of top players going out as early as the last 64 or 32, one of them being Judd who was outplayed by former Grove player Zhang Anda. Neil was the only Grove player who had a deep run in the tournament: he reached the semi finals where he lost by 5-2 to an exceptionally brilliant Joe Perry.
The tournament was won by Ali Carter, his first ranking win since he beat cancer …

Neil, Judd, James Cahill and Li Hang were competing in the Riga Masters, from 22 to 24 June 2016. Chen Zhe had qualified as well but visa issues forced him to withdraw. Neil won the event, beating Michael Holt by 5-2 in the final. The event, that was part of the European Tour in previous seasons, is now a full ranking event … and Neil 12th ranking title.