The Kettering cueist is the tournament’s defending champion.
Kyren Wilson is through to the Winners’ Group of the Championship League after emerging from Group 5 on Thursday in Milton Keynes.
The 29 year-old’s record of four wins and two defeats from the round-robin stage proved to be enough to see him reach Group 5’s semi-finals.
After subsequently falling 2-1 down to Ronnie O’Sullivan in the last four, Wilson compiled successive century breaks of 128 and 132 to deny the “Rocket” a place in the final.
Mark Williams was Wilson’s last opponent, and despite losing the opening two frames the latter bounced back in gritty fashion with contributions of 78 and 83 helping him to a 3-2 success.
Wilson triumphed in the last edition of the Championship League towards the end of last year when it was briefly staged a ranking event and open to all 128 players on the Main Tour.
The 2021 tournament has reverted back to its original guise, with players invited based on their rankings and seven groups of seven players in each determining the final Winners’ Group contenders.
In addition to Kyren Wilson, Zhou Yuelong, Graeme Dott, John Higgins, and Judd Trump have already booked their spots in the Championship League finale later this season.
There are two more preliminary groups remaining, with the first of those set to take place on Friday and Saturday.
Williams, Ali Carter, and Joe Perry will receive another opportunity in Group 6, but O’Sullivan has chosen to withdraw from the competition and is being replaced by Li Hang.
The “Rocket” began the round-robin phase strongly and won all four of his league encounters on the opening day with the aid of six century breaks – including three in a row against Mark Selby.
However, O’Sullivan lost his remaining fixtures on the second day and was ultimately denied a place in the final by Wilson’s comeback.
David Gilbert, Anthony McGill, and Liang Wenbo are the other newcomers to the fold, as Selby and Barry Hawkins exit proceedings after placing bottom of Group 5.
The Championship League is a tournament that has always been played behind closed doors and is primarily directed at the online betting market, with some here available to choose from.
There are various prize-money bonuses on offer for the players, from winning frames, reaching the play-off stages of each group, and for achieving the highest break.
The overall winner will also be rewarded with an invite to the lucrative Champion of Champions at the end of the year.
Live coverage of Championship League Snooker is available throughout this week via several platforms, which you can check here.
Click here to view the 2021 Championship League Snooker draw.
Featured photo credit: @CLSnooker
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