The last-eight lineup for Championship League Snooker is now known after Tom Ford and Ben Mertens advanced from Stage Two on Tuesday.
After more than two weeks of play at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester, the remaining contenders will be split into two final groups of four on Wednesday.
The two table toppers following the round-robin phase will subsequently face each other for the 2025/26 snooker season’s opening ranking title.
Reigning Snooker Shoot Out champion Ford progressed from Group H with an undefeated record of two wins and a draw.
The Englishman edged Matthew Stevens and Wu Yize in a tight group, with rookie Liu Wenwei taking up the rear with a hat-trick of defeats.
It was incredibly tight in Group G, however, where all four players finished on the same number of points and the exact same frame difference.
Ben Mertens, Amir Sarkhosh, Sam Craigie, and Yao Pengcheng remarkably all ended the day with respective records of one win, one draw, and one loss.
The only way to separate them was by who made the highest break of the day’s play, which was Belgium’s Mertens.
The 20 year-old’s century break of 111 in his first outing against Yao ultimately proved to be pivotal in seeing him move through in the competition.
Stage Three Draw
| Group A | Group B |
| Tom Ford | Pang Junxu |
| Joe O’Connor | Stephen Maguire |
| Ricky Walden | Matthew Selt |
| Xu Si | Ben Mertens |
Ford and Mertens join Stephen Maguire, Joe O’Connor, Pang Junxu, Xu Si, Matthew Selt, and Ricky Walden in Wednesday’s final day of action.
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 G
Ben Mertens 3-0 Yao Pengcheng
Sam Craigie 3-0 Amir Sarkhosh
Yao Pengcheng 3-0 Sam Craigie
Amir Sarkhosh 3-0 Ben Mertens
Amir Sarkhosh 2-2 Yao Pengcheng
Ben Mertens 2-2 Sam Craigie
Table
1. Ben Mertens – 4 points
2. Amir Sarkhosh – 4 points
3. Sam Craigie – 4 points
4. Yao Pengcheng – 4 points
Group H
Tom Ford 3-0 Liu Wenwei
Wu Yize 2-2 Matthew Stevens
Wu Yize 3-1 Liu Wenwei
Tom Ford 2-2 Matthew Stevens
Matthew Stevens 3-1 Liu Wenwei
Tom Ford 3-1 Wu Yize
Table
1. Tom Ford – 7 points
2. Matthew Stevens – 5 points
3. Wu Yize – 4 points
4. Liu Wenwei – 0 points
Featured photo credit: WST
