Mark Williams won Group D of Championship League Snooker on Monday at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester.
The Welshman was involved in a tight group in Stage Two of the competition with Si Jiahui, Ben Woollaston, and Stuart Carrington.
The first four games during the round-robin play were drawn, leaving it all to play for heading into the third and last round of fixtures.
Woollaston recorded a 3-1 victory over Carrington to give himself an opportunity to progress.
But Williams went one better by whitewashing Si with a 3-0 scoreline that sent him ahead of Woollaston on frame difference.
Williams finished runner-up to Shaun Murphy in this tournament 12 months ago and will be hoping to go one better this time around.
In Group H, meanwhile, Martin O’Donnell prevailed with a similar undefeated record of one triumph and two draws.
Much like in Group D, everything played out evenly over the course of the opening four games with O’Donnell locked in a tie with Jak Jones, Matthew Stevens, and Ma Hailong.
When Jones and Stevens duly couldn’t be separated in another 2-2 result, it left the door ajar for either O’Donnell or Ma to pounce.
It was the former who took advantage, last season’s Welsh Open runner-up edging Ma in a tight fourth frame on the colours.
Williams and O’Donnell join Ali Carter, David Gilbert, Scott Donaldson, and Long Zehuang in Stage Three on Wednesday.
The remaining two spots in the last eight will be filled on Tuesday, with Groups F and G still to be played.
Gary Wilson, Ryan Day, Joe O’Connor, and David Lilley compete in Group F, while Group G comprises Jackson Page, Michael White, Alexander Ursenbacher, and Robbie McGuigan.
Monday, July 1st – Results
Group D
1. Mark Williams 2-2 Stuart Carrington
2. Si Jiahui 2-2 Ben Woollaston
3. Si Jiahui 2-2 Stuart Carrington
4. Mark Williams 2-2 Ben Woollaston
5. Ben Woollaston 3-1 Stuart Carrington
6. Mark Williams 3-0 Ben Woollaston
Group H
1. Jak Jones 2-2 Ma Hailong
2. Matthew Stevens 2-2 Martin O’Donnell
3. Matthew Stevens 2-2 Ma Hailong
4. Jak Jones 2-2 Martin O’Donnell
5. Martin O’Donnell 3-1 Ma Hailong
6. Jak Jones 2-2 Matthew Stevens
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
