SGB Championship 2022

The 2022 SGB Championship season is the 75th season of the second tier of British Speedway and the 5th known as the SGB Championship.

SGB Championship 2022
LeagueSGB Championship
No. of competitors10
ChampionsPoole Pirates
Knockout CupPoole Pirates
PairsRedcar Bears
Riders' ChampionshipSam Masters
Jubilee Leaguesuspended
Highest averageSam Masters
Division/s aboveSGB Premiership
Division/s belowSGB National League

Summary

Eleven clubs competed in the Championship in 2022, with Oxford returning to the sport after a 15 year absence.[1] The Eastbourne Eagles and the Kent Kings did not compete in the 2022 edition, with the Kings riding in the National Development League as The Royals, and Eastbourne not riding at all.

Alongside the league and Knockout Cup, a new Summer competition was added in form of a group stage before a three team final at Sheffield. The tournament was called 'The Championship Jubilee League' which was eventually suspended until the 2023 season. However the additional fixtures created an issue due to the suspension of fixtures during the Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II and the heavy rain during October. In retrospect an additional event could have been added after the completion of the league and cup fixtures. Poole Pirates dominated the season again and successfully defended their league and knockout cup double crown.[2][3]

Newcastle Diamonds withdrew from the Championship and closed their doors on June 21. Their results were expunged from the League and they were withdrawn from the Knockout Cup and Jubilee League.[4]

League

[5]

Regular Season

League Table

Pos.ClubMHomeAwayFAPts+/−
WDL4W3WD1LL
1Leicester Lions (SF)189003201387574246+133
2Glasgow Tigers (SF)188102201487674440+132
3Poole Pirates (QF)187112122286675239+114
4Plymouth Gladiators (QF)188010113482579332+32
5Edinburgh Monarchs (QF)187021104380680332+3
6Redcar Bears (QF)187021102578382930-46
7Scunthorpe Scorpions188010002778683226-46
8Berwick Bandits185131001781080921+1
9Oxford Cheetahs184050102674187817-137
10Birmingham Brummies184050101771690216-188

NOTE: Newcastle’s results were expunged from the table on 28-06-22 following their withdrawal from the 2022 Championship.

  • (SF) = Qualification for the League Play-off Semi Finals
  • (QF) = Qualification for the League Play-off Quarter Finals

Fixtures & Results

Home \ AwayBERBIREDIGLALEIOXFPLYPOLREDSCU
Berwick58–3256–3442–4841–4959–3159–3045–4543–4757–33
Birmingham48–4240–5033–5738–5243–4746–4435–5550–4049–41
Edinburgh50–4052–3639–5139–5048–4248–4249–4148–4149–41
Glasgow56–3456–3446–4456–3453–3749–4145–4557–3359–31
Leicester55–3562–2847–4252–3855–3548–4148–4260–3062–28
Oxford40–5042–4844–4646–4443–4750–4042–4847–4349–40
Plymouth49–4146–4448–4254–3660–3055–3553–3739–5148–42
Poole49–4154–3649–4151–3943–4758–3245–4555–3455–35
Redcar53–3750–4045–3944–4648–4247–4348–4240–5046–44
Scunthorpe60–3054–3651–3950–4055–3554–3642–4845–4447–43
Source: [6]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

League Scoring System

  • Home loss by any number of points = 0
  • Home draw = 1
  • Home win by any number of points = 3
  • Away loss by 7 points or more = 0
  • Away loss by 6 points or less = 1
  • Away draw = 2
  • Away win by between 1 and 6 points = 3
  • Away win by 7 points or more = 4

Play-offs

Quarter FinalsSemi FinalsFinal
3Poole Pirates6050110
4Plymouth Gladiators3040703Poole Pirates6050110
2Glasgow Tigers303969
3Poole Pirates4952101
5Edinburgh Monarchs5441951Leicester Lions413879
6Redcar Bears3649855Edinburgh Monarchs363773
1Leicester Lions5353106

Home team scores are in bold
Overall aggregate scores are in red

Grand Final

First Leg

26 October[7]Poole Pirates
Richard Lawson 12
Zach Cook 10
Steve Worrall 9
Danny King 8
Ben Cook 5
Drew Kemp 4
Nathan Ablitt 1
49–41Leicester Lions
Scott Nicholls (guest) 9
Nick Morris 9
Richie Worrall 8
Connor Mountain 5
Joe Thompson 5
Dan Thompson 4
Max Clegg 1
Poole Stadium
Referee(s):
Mick Bates

Second Leg

4 November[8]Leicester Lions
Nick Morris 7
Connor Mountain 6
Kyle Howarth 6
Richie Worrall 6
Joe Thompson 5
Max Clegg 5
Dan Thompson 3
38–52Poole Pirates
Richard Lawson 14
Steve Worrall 11
Zach Cook 9
Ben Cook 8
Danny King 8
Drew Kemp 2
Nathan Ablitt 0
Adrian Flux Arena
Referee(s):
Jim McGregor

Knockout Cup

The 2022 SGB Championship Knockout Cup was the 54th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams and the 5th edition under the SGB Championship Knockout Cup name.[9]

Bracket

Round OneQuarter FinalsSemi FinalsFinal
                    
Newcastle Diamonds413273
Edinburgh Monarchs4958107
Edinburgh Monarchs533791
Glasgow Tigers325289
Glasgow Tigers
Bye
Edinburgh Monarchs473583
Redcar Bears435497
Oxford Cheetahs473986
Redcar Bears435194
Redcar Bears5156107
Berwick Bandits393473
Berwick Bandits
Bye
Redcar Bears413879
Poole Pirates4852100
Plymouth Gladiators
Bye
Plymouth Gladiators'423274
Poole Pirates4858106
Poole Pirates
Bye
Poole Pirates4460104
Leicester Lions463076
Leicester Lions643094
Birmingham Brummies263056
Leicester Lions5845101
Scunthorpe Scorpions324577
Scunthorpe Scorpions
Bye

Home team scores are in bold
Overall aggregate scores are in red

Final

First Leg

7 October[10]Redcar Bears
Charles Wright 14
Erik Riss 9
Kyle Newman 9
Lewis Kerr 7
Kasper Andersen 2
Jordan Jenkins 2
Jason Edwards 1
41–48Poole Pirates
Danny King 11
Ben Cook 11
Zach Cook 8
Richard Lawson 7
Steve Worrall 5
Nathan Ablitt 3
Drew Kemp 2
Ecco Arena

Second Leg

12 October[11]Poole Pirates
Richard Lawson 13
Ben Cook 9
Zach Cook 9
Steve Worrall 9
Danny King 6
Drew Kemp 6
Nathan Ablitt 0
52–38Redcar Bears
Erik Riss 11
Lewis Kerr 6
Kyle Newman 6
Kasper Andersen 4
Jason Edwards 4
Jordan Jenkins 4
Kye Thomson (guest) 3
Poole Stadium

Jubilee League

The three group winners were supposed to have met in a three-leg final, with each side hosting a leg. However, following the death of the Queen, the competition was initially suspended and then following fixture congestion and weather problems it was decided to hold the final the following season. The decision to hold the final seemed odd because Glasgow had pulled out and Leicester had moved leagues. It was eventually cancelled.[12]

Group stage

Scottish Group

Fixtures

Home \ AwayBER[13]EDB[14]GLA[15]
Berwick Bandits[13]44–4641–46
Edinburgh Monarchs[14]51–3950–40
Glasgow Tigers[15]65–2553–37
Source: [citation needed]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Table

Pos.ClubMHomeAwayFAPts+/−
WDL4W3WD1LL
1Glasgow Tigers (Q)4200010012041539+51
2Edinburgh Monarchs4200010011841769+8
3Berwick Bandits4002000021492080-49

Northern Group

Fixtures

Home \ AwayLEI[16]RED[17]SCU[18]
Leicester Lions[16]51–3956–34
Redcar Bears[17]51–3947–43
Scunthorpe Scorpions[18]46–4450–40
Source: [citation needed]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Table

Pos.ClubMHomeAwayFAPts+/−
WDL4W3WD1LL
1Leicester Lions (Q)4200000111901707+20
2Scunthorpe Scorpions4200000111731877-14
3Redcar Bears4200000021771836-6

Southern Group

Fixtures

Home \ AwayBRM[19]OXF[20]PLY[21]POL[22]
Birmingham Brummies[19]46–4452–3834–56
Oxford Cheetahs[20]56–3456–3445–45
Plymouth Gladiators[21]57–3245–4539–51
Poole Pirates[22]59–3148–4262–28
Source: [citation needed]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Table

Pos.ClubMHomeAwayFAPts+/−
WDL4W3WD1LL
1Poole Pirates (Q)63002010032121919+102
2Oxford Cheetahs62100012028825211+36
3Birmingham Brummies6201000032293106-81
4Plymouth Gladiators6111000032412984-57

Pairs Championship

The 2022 edition of the SGB Championship Pairs Championship took place on Friday 12 August, at Oxford Stadium, Oxford.

Result

Group B[23]
PosClubRidersPts
1stRedcar (Q)Charles Wright & Lewis Kerr25
2ndPoole (Q)Steve Worrall & Danny King22
3rdBerwickChris Harris & Jye Etheridge22
4thOxfordScott Nicholls & Aaron Summers13
5thPlymouthAdam Roynon & Ben Morley8

Semi Finals

Team OneTeam TwoScoreResult
PooleLeicester6-3S.Worrall, Morris, King, R.Worrall
RedcarGlasgow5-4Basso, Wright, Kerr, Hume

Final

Team OneTeam TwoScoreResult
RedcarPoole7-2Wright, Kerr, King, Worrall (R)

Riders Championship

The 2022 edition of the SGB Championship Riders Championship took place on Wednesday 24 August , at Poole Stadium, Poole.[24]

PlacingRiderTotal1234567891011121314151617181920PtsPos2122
1 (12) Sam Masters (EDI)1231323121-1st
2 (6) Danny King (PP)10330221021st2nd
3 (3) Lewis Kerr (RED)10321311042nd3rd
4 (4) Ryan Douglas (SS)1222332122-4th
5 (8) Richard Lawson (PP)10132221063rd-
6 (5) Nick Morris (LEI)10231131054th-
7 (15) Josh Pickering (EDI)91320397--
8 (11) Charles Wright (RED)92123198--
9 (9) Scott Nicholls (OXF)91231299--
10 (7) Chris Harris (BER)700133710--
11 (16) Kyle Howarth (LEI)730301711--
12 (13) Troy Batchelor (OXF)621210612--
13 (10) Justin Sedgmen (BIR)402020413--
14 (17) Ben Cook (PP)211214
15 (14) Tom Brennan (GLA)101000115--
16 (1) Michael Palm Toft (PLY)110---116--
17 (18) Zach Cook (PP)11117
18 (2) Leon Flint (BER)000000018--
PlacingRiderTotal1234567891011121314151617181920PtsPos2122

m - exclusion for exceeding two minute time allowance • t - exclusion for touching the tapes • x - other exclusion • e - retired or mechanical failure • f - fell • ns - non-starter • nc - non-classify

gate A - insidegate Bgate Cgate D - outside

Leading averages

Final Averages - SGB Championship, Knockout Cup, Jubilee League and Play-Off Matches only.

RiderTeamAverage
1 Sam MastersEdinburgh10.15
2 Richard LawsonPoole9.92
3 Ryan DouglasScunthorpe9.85
4 Josh PickeringEdinburgh9.34
5 Danny KingPoole9.08
6 Nick MorrisLeicester9.06
7 Kyle HowarthLeicester9.02
=8 Chris HarrisBerwick8.98
=8 Craig CookGlasgow8.98
=8 Steve WorrallPoole8.98

Squads & final averages

Berwick Bandits

Birmingham Brummies

Edinburgh Monarchs

Glasgow Tigers

Leicester Lions

Oxford Cheetahs

Plymouth Gladiators

Poole Pirates

Redcar Bears

Scunthorpe Scorpions

See also

References