Wu Yize pipped Craig Steadman on frame difference to win Group 9 of Championship League Snooker on Thursday.
A lot is expected from the 21 year-old this season following his breakthrough campaign last time around during which he reached two ranking event finals.
Wu began this term poorly by suffering a 5-2 defeat to Louis Heathcote in last week’s Wuhan Open qualifiers.
But the Chinese competitor, who started the campaign with a career-high ranking of number 20 in the world, immediately got himself back on track in Leicester.
Wu and amateur top-up Steadman drew their initial fixture against one another at the start of the day’s play.
The pair proceeded to beat their other round-robin opponents Wang Yuchen and Kreish Gurbaxani, but their respective margins of victories proved crucial.
While Steadman won back-to-back matches with 3-1 scorelines, Wu was able to overcome the same challengers with whitewash displays.
In Group 28, meanwhile, Ricky Walden progressed with a similar record of two wins and a tied game.
The three-time ranking event winner inflicted a first defeat of the season on returning pro Chang Bingyu before sharing the spoils with Steven Hallworth.
He needed just a point against Robert Milkins to be absolutely guaranteed of topping the league format, but he took all three after orchestrating a 3-1 success against his fellow Englishman.
Both Wu Yize and Ricky Walden move forward in the 2025/26 campaign’s opening ranking event, but they will have to wait a couple of weeks before reentering the fray in Stage Two.
Before that, there are still 24 groups from Stage One to be completed at the Mattioli Arena.
The action continues on Friday with Zhang Anda representing the top seed in Group 2 alongside Cheung Ka Wai, Chris Totten, and George Pragnell.
World number 44 Daniel Wells is the highest-ranked player in Group 32, with the Welshman joined by He Guoqaing, Ng On Yee, and Leone Crowley.
Championship League Snooker represents the opening ranking event of the fledgling 2025/26 snooker season.
The overall winner on July 23rd will take home £33,000 worth of prize money and ranking points, plus a ticket to the lucrative Champion of Champions invitational later this year.
Live coverage is available for Ireland and UK viewers on the Matchroom Multi Sport and Matchroom Pool YouTube channels.
Thursday’s Results
Group 9
Wu Yize 2-2 Craig Steadman
Wang Yuchen 3-1 Kreishh Gurbaxani
Craig Steadman 3-1 Wang Yuchen
Wu Yize 3-0 Kreishh Gurbaxani
Craig Steadman 3-1 Kreishh Gurbaxani
Wu Yize 3-0 Wang Yuchen
Table
1. Wu Yize – 7 points
2. Craig Steadman – 7 points
3. Wang Yuchen – 3 points
4. Kreishh Gurbaxani – 0 points
Group 28
Ricky Walden 3-1 Chang Bingyu
Robert Milkins 2-2 Steven Hallworth
Robert Milkins 2-2 Chang Bingyu
Ricky Walden 2-2 Steven Hallworth
Chang Bingyu 3-0 Steven Hallworth
Ricky Walden 3-1 Robert Milkins
Table
1. Ricky Walden – 7 points
2. Chang Bingyu – 4 points
3. Robert Milkins – 2 points
4. Steven Hallworth – 2 points
Featured photo credit: WST
