Xiao Guodong
Non-Ranking, Snooker Headlines

Xiao Guodong completes Championship League Winners’ Group

Xiao Guodong reached the Winners’ Group of Championship League Snooker on Saturday by winning Group 7 in Leicester.

This season’s vastly improved competitor from China edged David Gilbert in a close final at the Mattioli Arena.

Xiao led 1-0 and 2-1 only for his opponent to restore parity on two occasions with breaks of 69 and 101.

Yet Gilbert, who had compiled a maximum break during the round-robin phase, could never get his nose in front in the contest.

Xiao scored a run of 59 in the fifth frame to help him secure a 3-2 victory and a place in next month’s Winners’ Group.


Prize Money

Groups 1–7
Winner: £3,000
Runner-up: £2,000
Semi-final: £1,000
Frame-win (league stage): £100
Frame-win (play-offs): £300
Highest break: £500

Winners’ Group
Winner: £10,000
Runner-up: £5,000
Semi-final: £3,000
Frame-win (league stage): £200
Frame-win (play-offs): £300
Highest break: £1,000


The 35 year-old had emerged from the initial round-robin stage with a record of four victories and a single loss to comfortably reach the semi-finals.

In the last four, this term’s Wuhan Open champion destroyed Noppon Saengkham 3-0 with breaks of 75, 100, and 123 – leaving his Thai challenger pointless.

It was a much closer affair in the final, but Xiao managed to get the job done as he continues to threaten for silverware across a brilliant campaign.

Gilbert hit the 147 break during his 3-1 defeat of Zhou Yuelong in the league section, but that will be small consolation as there are no more opportunities left to qualify for the concluding stages of the invitational competition.

Ricky Walden, who had gone through the round-robin undefeated before losing to Gilbert in the last four, has also been eliminated in addition to Saengkham, Zhou, and Joe O’Connor.

Jak Jones withdrew from the event at the beginning of Group 7, ending this edition of Championship League Snooker with a record 32 century breaks.

Xiao Guodong, meanwhile, joins Hossein Vafaei, Si Jiahui, Kyren Wilson, Mark Selby, Matthew Selt, and Judd Trump in the Winners’ Group.

That is scheduled for February 4th and 5th, where the overall champion of the tournament will be crowned.

In addition to the various prize money bonuses that are on offer, the winner will receive an invitation to participate in the lucrative Champion of Champions next season.

Schedule

Group 1: January 3–4
Hossein Vafaei
Jak Jones
Pang Junxu
Ryan Day
Chris Wakelin
Elliot Slessor
Gary Wilson

Group 2: January 6–7
Si Jiahui
Jak Jones
Ali Carter
Chris Wakelin
Robert Milkins
Ryan Day
Pang Junxu

Group 3: January 8–9
Kyren Wilson
Jak Jones
Mark Selby
Ali Carter
Chris Wakelin
Robert Milkins
Ronnie O’Sullivan

Group 4: January 10–11
Mark Selby
Jak Jones
Stuart Bingham
Joe O’Connor
Matthew Selt
Jimmy Robertson
Jackson Page

Group 5: January 20–21
Matthew Selt
Judd Trump
Jak Jones
Joe O’Connor
Tom Ford
Stuart Bingham
Neil Robertson

Group 6: January 22–23
Judd Trump
Joe O’Connor
David Gilbert
Noppon Saengkham
Jak Jones
Jack Lisowski
Tom Ford

Group 7: January 24–25
Xiao Guodong
David Gilbert
Ricky Walden
Noppon Saengkham
Zhou Yuelong
Joe O’Connor
Jak Jones


Winners’ Group: February 4-5
Hossein Vafaei
Si Jiahui
Kyren Wilson
Mark Selby
Matthew Selt
Judd Trump
Xiao Guodong


Featured photo credit: WST

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