David Gilbert moved into the last eight of Championship League Snooker after winning his second group stage in Leicester on Friday.
It took until the 16th day of the 2024/25 campaign’s opening ranking tournament for the Englishman to enter the fray.
But having squeezed through his initial round-robin foursome in dramatic fashion on Thursday, Gilbert was immediately back on the baize for Stage Two.
Buoyed by the terrific 136 century break that took him through a day earlier, the 2021 champion progressed to the final group stage in comprehensive fashion this time around.
Gilbert, who made a second career appearance at the semi-finals of a World Championship last month, secured back-to-back 3-1 victories over Ashley Carty and He Guoqiang.
That left him needing just a point from his final fixture against Stuart Bingham, who oddly enough Gilbert had never beaten in 13 previous attempts.
Breaks of 62 and 52, however, guaranteed the draw he required, and he duly won the third frame for good measure to ensure his 100% winning record for the day.
Gilbert will be joined in Stage Three by Long Zehuang, who despite being the lowest ranked competitor prevailed from Group C at the Mattioli Arena.
Reigning champion Shaun Murphy had looked to be on course to continue his defence of the tournament.
The Magician beat Long 3-1 to open his account and then followed that up with a 3-0 defeat of Jamie Jones.
Murphy needed only a point against final opponent Hossein Vafaei but was whitewashed by the Iranian, leaving the door ajar for Long.
Having earlier recovered to eclipse Vafaei 3-0, the 27 year-old from China orchestrated the same scoreline against Jones in his last match to top the group.
Long, Vafaei, and Murphy all finished on six points with a record of two wins and a defeat, but the former advanced thanks to his superior frame difference.
On Saturday, Stage Two continues with two more groups.
Neil Robertson has withdrawn from the competition, meaning Group E boasts only three players in the form of Ali Carter, Jack Lisowski, and Wu Yize.
In Group A, Chris Wakelin entertains Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, Fan Zhengyi, and Scott Donaldson.
Friday, June 28th – Results
Group B
1. David Gilbert 3-1 Ashley Carty
2. Stuart Bingham 3-1 He Guoqiang
3. Stuart Bingham 2-2 Ashley Carty
4. David Gilbert 3-1 He Guoqaing
5. He Guoqiang 3-1 Ashley Carty
6. David Gilbert 3-0 Stuart Bingham
Group C
1. Shaun Murphy 3-1 Long Zehuang
2. Hossein Vafaei 3-1 Jamie Jones
3. Long Zehuang 3-0 Hossein Vafaei
4. Shaun Murphy 3-0 Jamie Jones
5. Long Zehuang 3-0 Jamie Jones
6. Hossein Vafaei 3-0 Shaun Murphy
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