Ricky Walden and Matthew Selt both advanced to the last eight of Championship League Snooker by topping tight groups in Stage Two on Monday.
Walden was the only contender in Group E at the Mattioli Arena to finish his trio of round-robin fixtures with an undefeated record.
The Englishman, who is chasing a fourth career ranking crown, beat former Championship League Snooker winner David Gilbert in his first bout of the day.
A 2-2 draw with Chris Wakelin followed to set up a winner-takes-all tie with Liu Hongyu who had orchestrated a similar record against the same opponents.
A draw would have been enough for either had they also boasted the highest break, but it didn’t matter as Walden scored a 3-1 victory to advance on seven points.
With world number 16 Wakelin placing last and being dumped out of the tournament, it means there are no members from the top 16 of the rankings left in the running this year.
Selt, meanwhile, prevailed in Group F with a record of two wins and one draw as well.
The former Indian Open champion drew 2-2 with Liam Davies in his first outing in Leicester, and he ended up sharing the same number of league points as the Welshman by the end of play.
But Selt’s 3-0 defeat of Stuart Bingham bettered Davies’ 3-1 triumph over the same opponent, which ultimately proved critical in determining their respective frame differences.
Ricky Walden and Matthew Selt join Stephen Maguire, Pang Junxu, Joe O’Connor, and Xu Si in Stage Three that takes place on Wednesday.
Before that, the remaining two groups from Stage Two will be conducted on Tuesday at the Mattioli Arena.
The highest-ranked competitor in Group G is world number 70 Ben Mertens, who will go up against Sam Craigie, Amir Sarkhosh, and Yao Pengcheng.
There is considerably more established firepower in Group H, with Wu Yize up against Matthew Stevens, Tom Ford, and Liu Wenwei.
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.
Monday’s Results
Group E
Chris Wakelin 2-2 Liu Hongyu
Ricky Walden 3-1 David Gilbert
Liu Hongyu 3-1 David Gilbert
Chris Wakelin 2-2 Ricky Walden
Ricky Walden 3-1 Liu Hongyu
David Gilbert 3-0 Chris Wakelin
Table
1. Ricky Walden – 7 points
2. Liu Hongyu – 4 points
3. David Gilbert – 3 points
4. Chris Wakelin – 2 points
Group F
Stuart Bingham 2-2 Dylan Emery
Matthew Selt 2-2 Liam Davies
Matthew Selt 3-1 Dylan Emery
Liam Davies 3-1 Stuart Bingham
Liam Davies 3-1 Dylan Emery
Matthew Selt 3-0 Stuart Bingham
Table
1. Matthew Selt – 7 points
2. Liam Davies – 7 points
3. Dylan Emery – 1 point
4. Stuart Bingham – 1 point
Featured photo credit: WST
