The world snooker elite goes to Manchester for the 2016 Players Championship finals. The 32 highest-ranking players from the European and the Asian tours compete for a 1st prize of £100,000. The reigning champion is Joe Perry, who in 2015 won his first ranking title when he defeated Mark Williams by 4-3 in the 2015 Players Championship final in Bangkok.

This tournament has already been played. Please check the tournament calendar for future tournaments.

Where is the Players Championship 2016 being played?

The Players Championship 2016 will be played in Event City, Manchester, close to the legendary home ground of Manchester United, Old Trafford. Manchester has undergone massive changes in recent years, and is now considered a modern and trendsetting international city. Manchester has a lot on offer, especially for sports fans. Located very centrally in the UK and with a major international airport of its own, it is both fairly easy and inexpensive to visit Manchester.

The playing venue, Event City, opened in its present form in 2011 and is the largest exhibition and event venue in England outside of London. Next to Event City is Trafford Centre, the second largest shopping centre in the country. There are frequent and inexpensive busses to and from the city centre, departing every 10 minutes for most of the day.

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When will it be played?

The tournament will be played from March 22 to 27, 2016. The 32 best players on the combined Order of Merit from the European Tour and the Asian Tour will be participating. All matches until and including the quarter-finals will be best of 7 frames, the semifinals are best of 11 frames and the final on Sunday will be best of 19 frames. The first two rounds will see action on two tables simultaneously.

Tickets for the Players Championship 2016

Tickets are available online from TicketLine.

Prices per session goes from £10 in the first round to £20 for one of the final sessions, or from £15 to £35 all-day tickets.

Where to stay close to the tournament

There are a few value-for-money Premier Inn hotels located close to Event City, including Premier Inn Trafford North. As the area itself is a bit outside the city and fairly uninteresting (unless you want to go hang out at the shopping centre next door), you might consider finding a hotel closer to the city centre. Football fans may find Hotel Football Old Trafford to be of interest – it has a distinct football theme and is just next to the Man U home ground about halfway between Event City and central Manchester. It is also close to the trendy canalside Salford part of the city. If you prefer to stay in the actual city centre, you might want to find a hotel near Piccadilly Gardens which is close to everything.

Going to Manchester

Manchester Airport is just 15 minutes by train from Manchester Piccadilly. It is one of the largest airports in the country with a large number of international connections. Train services are also ample, with frequent connections from the east, west, north and south. Manchester is a little over two hours away by train from London Euston. One-way tickets are available from as little as £21 if purchased in advance on TheTrainLine.