Ronnie O’Sullivan didn’t get his 2024/25 snooker season off to the best start, failing to advance from Group 2 of Championship League Snooker on Tuesday.
The Rocket had been the pre-tournament favourite with the bookies, but he could only finish third in his four-player league table.
A rapid 3-0 victory over amateur top-up Kayden Brierley, where O’Sullivan compiled breaks of 72 and a brace of 53s, appeared to set him on his way.
But the reigning UK and Masters champion could only manage a 2-2 draw with Mitchell Mann, which meant that he needed a positive result from his remaining fixture of the day.
That didn’t materialise, with He Guoqiang producing a fine display and contributions of 80, 77, and 57 helping the Chinese cueist to a 3-0 victory at O’Sullivan’s expense.
It was a strong turnaround from He following his initial defeat to Mann, and having then beaten Brierley 3-0, the 23 year-old’s record of two wins and a loss proved to be enough to see him move through.
In a close finish, Mann could have ended in first had he beaten Brierley, but the Englishman lost the last frame and disappointingly had to settle for a draw.
In Group 12, Jack Lisowski topped the standings with an undefeated stretch of games at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester.
Still bidding for a maiden ranking title, Lisowski reached the last 32 of this competition with the aid of a pair of victories over Anton Kazakov and Jiang Jun.
The Englishman needed a single point from his last match against Mark Davis, and that’s exactly what he got as he won the opening two frames to guarantee his progress.
The penultimate day of a lengthy Stage One in Championship League Snooker takes place on Wednesday, meanwhile.
Ali Carter stars in Group 5, with the Captain set to face Xing Zihao, tour rookie Kreishh Gurbaxani, and amateur Joshua Thomand.
In Group 16, Chinese pair Zhou Yuelong and Fan Zhengyi will battle for first alongside Alfie Burden and Mink Nutcharut.
Tuesday, June 25th – Results
Group 2
1. Ronnie O’Sullivan 3-0 Kayden Brierley
2. Mitchell Mann 3-1 He Guoqiang
3. He Guoqiang 3-0 Kayden Brierley
4. Ronnie O’Sullivan 2-2 Mitchell Mann
5. Mitchell Mann 2-2 Kayden Brierley
6. He Guoqiang 3-0 Ronnie O’Sullivan
Group 12
1. Jack Lisowski 3-0 Anton Kazakov
2. Mark Davis 2-2 Jiang Jun
3. Mark Davis 3-1 Anton Kazakov
4. Jack Lisowski 3-1 Jiang Jun
5. Jiang Jun 2-2 Anton Kazakov
6. Jack Lisowski 2-2 Mark Davis
Championship League Snooker
Stage One Draw
Group 1 | Group 2 | Group 3 | Group 4 |
Scott Donaldson | He Guoqiang | Shaun Murphy | Mark Williams |
Group 5 | Group 6 | Group 7 | Group 8 |
Ali Carter | Gary Wilson | Robbie McGuigan | Jak Jones |
Group 9 | Group 10 | Group 11 | Group 12 |
Ma Hailong | Jackson Page | Ryan Day | Jack Lisowski |
Group 13 | Group 14 | Group 15 | Group 16 |
Si Jiahui | Hossein Vafaei | David Gilbert | Fan Zhengyi |
Group 17 | Group 18 | Group 19 | Group 20 |
Chris Wakelin | Stuart Bingham | Long Zehuang | Stuart Carrington |
Group 21 | Group 22 | Group 23 | Group 24 |
Neil Robertson | Joe O’Connor | Michael White | Martin O’Donnell |
Group 25 | Group 26 | Group 27 | Group 28 |
Matthew Stevens | Alexander Ursenbacher | David Lilley | Wu Yize |
Group 29 | Group 30 | Group 31 | Group 32 |
Ben Woollaston | Jamie Jones | Ashley Carty | Thepchaiya Un-Nooh |
Stage Two
Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D |
Scott Donaldson | David Gilbert | Long Zehuang | Mark Williams |
Group E | Group F | Group G | Group H |
Ali Carter | David Lilley | Jackson Page | Martin O’Donnell |
Stage Three
Final Group 1 | Final Group 2 |
Ali Carter | Jackson Page |
Final (bo5)
Ali Carter 3-1 Jackson Page
Featured photo credit: WST