Fan Zhengyi knocked in the first 147 break of the fledgling 2025/26 snooker season at Championship League Snooker on Thursday.
The former European Masters champion made the perfect break in the second frame of his round-robin contest with Xu Si in Group 29.
Fan’s second maximum moment represents the 218th that has been competitively made on the World Snooker Tour.
A record 15 maximums were compiled during the recent 2024/25 campaign.
Fan’s 147 break proved unimportant in the grander scheme of things, however, with the Chinese potter exiting the competition with a haul of just two points.
Xu instead topped Group 29 with a record of two victories and a draw, beating Michal Szubarczyk and Liam Highfield before securing a tie with Fan to safeguard his spot in the last 32.
In Group 27, meanwhile, Dylan Emery progressed with a similar seven-point total.
The Welshman could only draw his opening fixture of the day against Canadian rookie Sahil Nayyar.
But triumphs over Gary Thomson and Aaron Hill followed, with Emery leapfrogging the latter into first at the end of play.
Stage Two Draw
Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D |
Joe O’Connor | Zhang Anda | Pang Junxu | Jack Lisowski |
Elliot Slessor | Stephen Maguire | Lei Peifan | Xu Si |
Haydon Pinhey | Yuan Sijun | Robbie Williams | David Lilley |
Ng On Yee | Thepchaiya Un-Nooh | Alfie Burden | Artemijs Zizins |
Group E | Group F | Group G | Group H |
Chris Wakelin | Stuart Bingham | Ben Mertens | Tom Ford |
David Gilbert | Matthew Selt | Amir Sarkhosh | Wu Yize |
Ricky Walden | Liam Davies | Sam Craigie | Matthew Stevens |
Liu Hongyu | Dylan Emery | Yao Pengcheng | Liu Wenwei |
Xu Si and Dylan Emery complete the lineup for Stage Two, which will finally commence on Friday in Leicester.
Group A will see Joe O’Connor, Elliot Slessor, Ng On Yee, and Haydon Pinhey rejoin the fray.
Zhang Anda – the highest ranked player still in the hunt for glory – returns in Group B alongside Stephen Maguire, Yuan Sijun, and Thepchaiya Un-Nooh.
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 27
Aaron Hill 3-0 Gary Thomson
Dylan Emery 2-2 Sahil Nayyar
Dylan Emery 3-0 Gary Thomson
Aaron Hill 3-0 Sahil Nayyar
Gary Thomson 3-1 Sahil Nayyar
Dylan Emery 3-0 Aaron Hill
Table
1. Dylan Emery – 7 points
2. Aaron Hill – 6 points
3. Gary Thomson – 3 points
4. Sahil Nayyar – 1 point
Group 29
Xu Si 3-0 Michal Szubarczyk
Liam Highfield 3-1 Fan Zhengyi
Fan Zhengyi 2-2 Michal Szubarczyk
Xu Si 3-1 Liam Highfield
Liam Highfield 3-1 Michal Szubarczyk
Xu Si 2-2 Fan Zhengyi
Table
1. Xu Si – 7 points
2. Liam Highfield – 6 points
3. Fan Zhengyi – 2 points
4. Michal Szubarczyk
Featured photo credit: WST
The first of the season is the correct way to phrase it! Well done Fan. A consolation for his early exit.