Stuart Bingham became the latest player to advance to the Winners’ Group of the Championship League after emerging victoriously from Group 4 on Thursday.
Bingham, a Championship League winner in 2015, wasn’t all that convincing in the round-robin stage but his record of three wins and three defeats proved enough for him to progress to the semi-finals.
In the last four, the 45 year-old compiled breaks of 137, 65, and 51 to overcome the challenge of world number one Mark Selby.
Bingham subsequently needed all five frames again in the final as he edged past Kyren Wilson for glory, the latter having enjoyed a 100% record from Group 4 up until that point.
Liang Wenbo, Graeme Dott, and Zhao Xintong were the previous three competitors to seal their places in the Winners’ Group next month, with an additional three spots still up for grabs.
Wilson, Scott Donaldson, and Lu Ning will get another crack at qualification when they take part in Group 5 on Friday and Saturday – with Selby dropping out of the running ahead of his tilt at success in next week’s Masters.
David Gilbert, Ali Carter, Martin Gould, and Jordan Brown will therefore be the newcomers entering the fold in the non-ranking edition of this Championship League.
Record three-time champion Judd Trump and Group 3 runner-up Xiao Guodong were the two players eliminated after finishing bottom of Group 4.
Live coverage of the event in Leicester is available of FreeSports.
Featured photo credit: WST
During this group Xiao Guodong became the 38th player to compile 200 career centuries.