Si Jiahui edged Joe O’Connor 3-2 to claim victory in Group 3 of Championship League Snooker on Wednesday in Leicester.
The Chinese potter only just managed to scrape through from the round-robin phase with a record of three wins and three defeats from his six league encounters.
Si had looked out of the running but was able to win his last two league fixtures against Gary Wilson and O’Connor to go to the knockout stage in fourth place.
Xiao Guodong was his opponent in the semi-finals, the latter having topped the Group 3 league table with a strong showing of five wins and a single loss.
Si got his nose in front early, however, and was able to sustain his buffer with breaks of 84 and 73 helping him orchestrate a 3-2 triumph over his countryman.
In the other semi-final, O’Connor recorded a high break of 125 to see off the challenge of a third Chinese competitor, Yuan Sijun.
It looked for all money that O’Connor, who was runner-up in the season-opening ranking edition of Championship League Snooker, was going to advance in the competition.
The Leicester man took a close opening frame of the final and then doubled his advantage with an excellent run of 126.
But Si responded by taking the third and fourth frames to restore parity, and the 23 year-old duly completed the turnaround with a 97 break to win 3-2.
Si becomes the first top-16 member through to next month’s Winners’ Group, joining Tom Ford and Elliot Slessor who progressed earlier this week.
At odds of 6/1, Si and last year’s champion Mark Selby sit as joint-favourites in the Championship League outright betting market at sports betting sites like MelBet, which also has a wide range of casino content like MelBet BD Son of Egypt to enjoy.
O’Connor and Yuan, meanwhile, would normally have had the option of extending their stay in the tournament, but they have both withdrawn with matches in the German Masters qualifiers on their schedule for Thursday.
Xiao and Gary Wilson continue to Group 4, however, and will be joined by newcomers Kyren Wilson, Neil Robertson, Zhao Xintong, Matthew Selt, and Ben Woollaston.
Chris Wakelin and Antoni Kowalski both exit proceedings after finishing at the bottom of Group 3.
Group 4 takes place on Thursday and Friday at the Mattioli Arena.
There are various prize bonuses on offer, including money for frames won, reaching the group play offs, and recording the highest break in each group.
Championship League Snooker Group 3
Round Robin
1. Xiao Guodong – 5 points
2. Yuan Sijun – 4 points
3. Joe O’Connor – 4 points
4. Si Jiahui – 3 points
5. Gary Wilson – 2 points
6. Chris Wakelin – 2 points
7. Antoni Kowalski – 2 points
Semi-Finals
Si Jiahui 3-2 Xiao Guodong
Joe O’Connor 3-1 Yuan Sijun
Final
Si Jiahui 3-2 Joe O’Connor
Featured photo credit: WST
