Snooker is back in the UK following the COVID-19 suspension

Snooker became the first live sport to return to action in the U.K on Monday with the start of the Championship League in Milton Keynes.

Judd Trump, Ronnie O’Sullivan and Mark Selby are among the 64 players competing, with Trump looking to continue his record-breaking season.

Safety measures have been strongly enforced with all players being tested for COVID-19 prior to the event, and social distancing is being enforced with the removal of handshakes.

Players have also bought their own rests.

The format is a round-robin with 16 groups of four competing to be group winners.

The winners then compete in the next stage of the tournament the week following.

World Champion and World number one Trump has won six ranking titles this season and is three century breaks away from becoming only the second player in history to make 100 centuries in a single season.

In contrast, five-time World Champion Ronnie O’Sullivan is looking to try and recover after a disappointing season which has seen him win just one title in the last 12 months.

O’Sullivan cruised through his opening matches, winning all three matches 3-0 and not dropping a frame for the entire day.

Currently 10 players have qualified for the next round including Trump, David Gilbert and Luca Brecel.

Meanwhile, two of the top 16 players are already out – Mark Selby and Kyren Wilson both struggled to find their form after such a long break and failed to win their groups.

Notable absentees from the tournament include former world champions John Higgins, Mark Williams and Shaun Murphy.

Furthermore, with many of the sport’s Chinese players still stuck in their home country, only two of China’s snooker stars Liang Wenbo and Chen Feilong have been able to compete.

The Snooker Championship League continues at 4pm today.