Ali Carter left it late but managed to win Group 5 of Championship League Snooker at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester on Wednesday.
The 2024 Masters runner-up opened his 2024/25 snooker campaign with a 2-2 draw against amateur top-up Joshua Thomand.
That unexpected scoreline immediately put the Captain on the back foot, but he ultimately recovered with back-to-back victories to progress.
Carter overcame tour rookie Kreishh Gurbaxani 3-1 in a scrappy affair and then repeated that result against Xing Zihao.
The latter could have advanced at Carter’s expense with a draw in their final game.
There was late drama as the outcome of their match came down to a tight fourth frame, but Carter ultimately got the job done on the colours.
In Group 16, meanwhile, Fan Zhengyi topped the standings with a similar undefeated record of two triumphs and a draw.
The former European Masters champion recorded a brace of 3-0 victories over Alfie Burden and Zhou Yuelong, either side of a 2-2 tie with Mink Nutcharut.
Zhou had been the group’s top seed but surprisingly ended the day in last position having scored just a point from his three fixtures.
The first stage of this year’s Championship League Snooker finally concludes on Thursday with the last couple of groups.
Defending champion Shaun Murphy enters the fray in Group 3 alongside Tian Pengfei, Reanne Evans, and Steven Hallworth.
Another former champion fronts Group 15, with David Gilbert in action against Xu Si, Andrew Pagett, and Duane Jones.
Wednesday, June 26th – Results
Group 5
1. Ali Carter 2-2 Joshua Thomand
2. Xing Zihao 3-0 Kreishh Gurbaxani
3. Xing Zihao 3-1 Joshua Thomand
4. Ali Carter 3-1 Kreishh Gurbaxani
5. Joshua Thomand 3-1 Kreishh Gurbaxani
6. Ali Carter 3-1 Xing Zihao
Group 16
1. Zhou Yuelong 2-2 Mink Nutcharut
2. Fan Zhengyi 3-0 Alfie Burden
3. Fan Zhengyi 2-2 Mink Nutcharut
4. Alfie Burden 3-1 Zhou Yuelong
5. Alfie Burden 3-0 Mink Nutcharut
6. Fan Zhengyi 3-0 Zhou Yuelong
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
