David Gilbert produced a remarkable finish to win Group 15 as Stage One of Championship League Snooker concluded on Thursday.
A strange set of results saw all six round-robin fixtures involving Gilbert, Xu Si, Duane Jones, and Andrew Pagett end in 2-2 draws.
With almost everything in the league table identical, their respective positions came down to the highest break compiled during the day’s play in Leicester.
A 100 from Pagett and a 130 from Jones proved not to be enough, which seemed like sending Xu through courtesy of his contribution of 131.
But playing against the Chinese competitor in the last game and trailing 2-1, Gilbert constructed a marvellous run of 136 to advance instead.
In what is largely a dull format, it marked one of the most exciting climaxes to a Championship League Snooker group ever.
The situation was much clearer in Group 3, with defending champion Shaun Murphy easing his way into the last 32.
The Magician, who beat Mark Williams in last year’s final to claim the last of his 12 ranking titles, lost only one frame as he orchestrated a perfect record at the Mattioli Arena.
Murphy secured a brace of 3-0 triumphs over Steven Hallworth and Tian Pengfei either side of a 3-1 victory against Reanne Evans.
With the lineup for Stage Two now complete, the next phase of Championship League Snooker can finally begin after almost three weeks of action.
Groups B and C take place on Friday, with both Murphy and Gilbert immediately returning to the fray.
In Group B, Gilbert will face Stuart Bingham, Ashley Carty, and He Guoqiang.
Murphy entertains Hossein Vafaei, Jamie Jones, and Long Zehuang in Group C.
Like before, the player who finishes in first place following the round-robin format will advance.
Thursday, June 27th – Results
Group 3
1. Shaun Murphy 3-0 Steven Hallworth
2. Tian Pengfei 3-0 Reanne Evans
3. Steven Hallworth 3-1 Tian Pengfei
4. Shaun Murphy 3-1 Reanne Evans
5. Steven Hallworth 3-0 Reanne Evans
6. Shaun Murphy 3-0 Tian Pengfei
Group 15
1. David Gilbert 2-2 Duane Jones
2. Xu Si 2-2 Andrew Pagett
3. Xu Si 2-2 Duane Jones
4. David Gilbert 2-2 Andrew Pagett
5. Andrew Pagett 2-2 Duane Jones
6. David Gilbert 2-2 Xu Si
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
Totally agree about the dull format. The first stage is ridiculously long.
More good news for Gilbert today as he not only won his group to reach the last day but finally beat Stuart Bingham at the 14th attempt. Nobody beats Dave Gilbert 14 times in a row!
Impossible to get properly invested in it, even if some of the groups have been dramatic. That Gilbert-Bingham record really was one of the most bizarre.
No crowd, short matches and the length of it are all negatives for me. While there’s a Euros to watch and lots of tennis also.
Yep, pretty much a yawn fest.