Thepchaiya Un-Nooh boasted an undefeated record as he reached the last 32 of Championship League Snooker in Leicester on Tuesday.
The Thai competitor began his day in Group 31 at the Mattioli Arena with a 2-2 draw with Gao Yang where he compiled breaks of 71 and 79.
Un-Nooh then inflicted a 3-0 defeat on Reanne Evans before overcoming Martin O’Donnell by the same margin to move through.
The latter had won his opening couple of fixtures and needed just a draw to progress, but Un-Nooh dominated their affair by compiling runs of 74, 76, and 98.
In Group 24, meanwhile, Chinese rookie Liu Wenwei topped proceedings with a similar record of two victories and a draw.
Liu sealed his first professional card in May by emerging from the Asia-Oceania leg of Q School in Thailand.
Aged just 21, he secured impressive back-to-back triumphs over Jordan Brown and Jackson Page to guarantee his qualification after just two out of the three round-robin ties.
Liu had no pressure going into his final game against amateur top-up Zack Richardson, with their four frames against each other shared.
Welshman Page went all the way to the final 12 months ago but has bowed out at the first stage in 2025.
For Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and Liu Wenwei, the prospect of an early title this season remains on the cards with the pair set to rejoin the fray in Stage Two.
There are still four more groups from the lengthy Stage One to be completed with two more on Wednesday’s order of play schedule.
Chris Wakelin, one of only two top-16 members left in the running, is in Group 5 alongside Julien Leclercq, Mitchell Mann, and Daniel Womersley.
Joe O’Connor fronts Group 16 with Zak Surety, Liam Pullen, and Andrew Pagett for company at the Mattioli Arena.
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.
Tuesday’s Results
Group 24
Jackson Page 2-2 Zack Richardson
Liu Wenwei 3-0 Jordan Brown
Jordan Brown 2-2 Zack Richardson
Liu Wenwei 3-1 Jackson Page
Liu Wenwei 2-2 Zack Richardson
Jackson Page 3-1 Jordan Brown
Table
1. Liu Wenwei – 7 points
2. Jackson Page – 4 points
3. Zack Richardson – 3 points
4. Jordan Brown – 1 point
Group 31
Martin O’Donnell 3-0 Reanne Evans
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 2-2 Gao Yang
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 3-0 Reanne Evans
Martin O’Donnell 3-1 Gao Yang
Gao Yang 3-1 Reanne Evans
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 3-0 Martin O’Donnell
Table
1. Thepchaiya Un-Nooh – 7 points
2. Martin O’Donnell – 6 points
3. Gao Yang – 4 points
4. Reanne Evans – 0 points
Featured photo credit: WST
This event began on the same day Wimbledon commenced. The grass court major ended three days ago and yet we still haven’t completed Stage One in Leicester!
Indeed. It’s a real thriller…!
I detect sarcasm 😆