Stuart Bingham and Elliot Slessor both boasted perfect records as they coasted through Stage One of Championship League Snooker on Saturday.
Bingham, a former winner of the invitational version of this tournament, recorded 3-0 victories over Halim Hussain and Hatem Yassen to begin Group 11.
The 2015 world champion required only a draw from his last game against Antoni Kowalski to progress, the latter having beaten the same two opponents with 3-0 and 3-1 scorelines.
Kowalski would have moved forward in the competition with a victory over Bingham and duly won the first frame of their affair with a run of 88.
But Ballrun regained control and breaks of 64 and 54 helped him to a 3-1 triumph against the young player from Poland.
It was an even easier outing for Slessor, who had already wrapped up top spot from Group 17 after the second round of fixtures.
The Englishman beat amateur top-up Mark Lloyd 3-1 and Oliver Brown 3-0 to move to six points in the round-robin format.
With his nearest challenger at that point only on two points, it didn’t really matter what Slessor did in his remaining fixture against Stan Moody.
But a 3-1 defeat of the teenager with the aid of a break of 113 ensured that he sealed his spot in the next phase in style.
Both Stuart Bingham and Elliot Slessor will be involved in Stage Two of Championship League Snooker later this month in Leicester.
Bingham’s outright snooker odds for the tournament have been slashed to 10/1 with Slessor being priced at 16/1, although Wu Yize remains the current betting favourite at 8/1.
Before Bingham and Slessor rejoin the fray, the outcomes of a lot of groups from Stage One at the Mattioli Arena are still to be determined.
There is a short break from the action on Sunday before play resumes on Monday with Groups 6 and 7.
Defending champion Ali Carter heads Group 6 with the Captain beginning his 2025/26 season against Liam Davies, Huang Jiahao, and Jack Bradford.
Gary Wilson is the top seed in Group 7 and will be joined by women’s world champion Bai Yulu, Amir Sarkhosh, and Alex Clenshaw.
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.
Saturday’s Results
Group 11
Stuart Bingham 3-0 Halim Hussain
Antoni Kowalski 3-1 Hatem Yassen
Antoni Kowalski 3-0 Halim Hussain
Stuart Bingham 3-0 Hatem Yassen
Hatem Yassen 3-0 Halim Hussain
Stuart Bingham 3-1 Antoni Kowalski
Table
1. Stuart Bingham – 9 points
2. Antoni Kowalski – 6 points
3. Hatem Yassen – 3 points
4. Halim Hussain – 0 points
Group 17
Elliot Slessor 3-1 Mark Lloyd
Stan Moody 2-2 Oliver Brown
Stan Moody 2-2 Mark Lloyd
Elliot Slessor 3-0 Oliver Brown
Oliver Brown 3-0 Mark Lloyd
Elliot Slessor 3-1 Stan Moody
Table
1. Elliot Slessor – 9 points
2. Oliver Brown – 4 points
3. Stan Mooyd – 2 points
4. Mark Lloyd – 1 point
Featured photo credit: WST
