Snooker Championship League Winners Group 2017: Thursday Results and Reaction

John Higgins was crowned 2017 Snooker Championship League champion on Thursday evening after he demolished Welshman Ryan Day 3-0 in the tournament final at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry, England.

The 41-year-old became the tournament's first Scottish champion and defeated 2016 champion Judd Trump 3-2 in the play-off fixture to earn his place in the final, while Day edged Barry Hawkins 3-2 in the other semi.

Despite finishing fourth in the table—the lowest of any qualifier—Higgins hit top form to surprise Trump in the play-offs before dominating Day in the evening decider.

David Gilbert and Anthony McGill exited at the play-off stage after each winning one of their six outings, while Englishman Mark Davis also bowed out on frame difference, despite boasting a record of three wins and three losses (identical to Higgins).

Read on for a recap of Thursday's action from Ricoh Arena as Higgins recovered from a sluggish start to take the crown in Coventry.

Final
Play-Offs
Player 1	Score	Player 2
John Higgins	3-0	Ryan Day
Player 1	Score	Player 2
John Higgins	3-2	Judd Trump
Ryan Day	3-2	Barry Hawkins

Visit Snooker.org for a look at Thursday's results in full. 

Finals Recap

Higgins may have made his way to Thursday's play-off stage in shaky form, but any rust was well and truly shaken off in time for his home run, where the veteran conjured up his best to take the title.

In the end, Day could barely find his footing in the final as Higgins collected two 50-plus breaks of 84 and 138, per World Snooker Data, while Live Snooker confirmed the Scot's rewards for winning:

It was ultimately a comfortable win for Higgins, who dismissed Day, 36, in rather rudimentary fashion as the current world no. 6 showcased a cool head in a setting he's grown more familiar with.

Both Higgins and Day edged their respective play-offs 3-2, with the latter recovering from a frame down to defeat Hawkins in close fashion, while Higgins defeated Trump after a mid-match lull almost saw him lose focus.

Trump was undoubtedly one of Thursday's stronger performers earlier on, although he still showed enough class in defeat to show send some of his professional peers well wishes in their upcoming fixtures, via World Snooker:

Day's play-off performance against Hawkins was particularly impressive as he came upon two century breaks of 137 and 123 to send The Hawk home.

Higgins gathered momentum as the day wore on and found his stride the longer he advanced into the day, ultimately fending off the assaults of two foes who finished higher than him in the Winners' Group to take the top prize.

Winners' Group Recap

Thursday produced a number of fine performances from the four stars heading into the play-off stage, and Trump starred as the most impressive of that quartet after winning in each of his Day 2 fixtures.

The Bristolian topped the Winners' Group table with a record of five wins and one defeat, and fellow pro Matthew Selt praised Trump's prolific record after beating Hawkins and McGill 3-2 and 3-1, respectively:

His reward for topping the standings was a play-off meeting against an out-of-form Higgins, who was somewhat fortunate to advance given his win record mirrored that of the departing Davis.

And it was Davis who bowed out with his head held high after narrowly missing out on a play-off place by frame difference, contributing one of the highlights of the day with a superb 147 clearance in his 3-2 win over Higgins:

His other defeat came at the hands of Day, who enjoyed a resurgence in results at just the right juncture to clinch a play-off place opposite Hawkins and become the only competitor to win three matches on Thursday.

The Welshman beat McGill and Davis 3-1 either side of a climactic collision with Gilbert, a showdown that came down to the final ball, as illustrated by Live Snooker:

Both Hawkins and Day headed into the play-offs with records of four wins and two losses in the Winners' Group, although Hawkins just pipped his foe to second in the table after losing one frame fewer.