The 2026 Championship League Snooker commenced on Monday with Xu Si and Dylan Emery advancing from their first group stages.
However, the dominant story from day one of the 2026/27 season’s opening ranking event was the withdrawal of Kyren Wilson.
The former world champion had already won his opening fixture of the round-robin phase when it was then announced that he would be withdrawing from the event.
The reason? An awful situation at his home whereby burglars had broken in and stolen personal items of value including cash that was set aside for charity.
Wilson released a statement on social media pleading for any information that might lead to the return of the stolen goods.
With the Kettering cueist out, Group 3 was reduced to three people and Wilson’s early victory over Haydon Pinhey scrapped.
Welshman Emery ended up topping the standings, taking seven points in total from the round-robin phase.
Emery beat teenager Michal Szubarczyk in his first clash before drawing 2-2 with Haydon Pinhey, meaning his walkover 3-0 result against Wilson proved enough to see him finish in first.
Pinhey could have finished on the same number of points but could only manage a 2-2 draw against Poland’s Szubarczyk at the end of the day.
Xu, meanwhile, prevailed from a closely fought Group 24 that saw the four players separated by just a couple of points.
Crucially, the Chinese competitor was the only one to go undefeated – beating Craig Steadman 3-1 in his first tie before securing back-to-back draws against Julien Leclercq and Michael Holt.
Xu and Emery will move forward to Stage Two, which will feature the 32 group winners from Stage One.
Another 30 group winners will need to be decided from this early section, with two more groups scheduled for Tuesday in Leicester.
Ryan Day fronts Group 27 with Chang Bingyu, Jamie Clarke and Phil O’Kane, while Group 2 features Ian Burns and Steven Hallworth alongside amateur top-ups Jamie O’Neill and Jeff Cundy.
Championship League Snooker represents the opening ranking event of the fledgling 2026/27 snooker season.
The overall winner on July 15th 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, June 22
Group 3 Results
Haydon Pinhey w/o Kyren Wilson
Dylan Emery 3-1 Michal Szubarczyk|
Dylan Emery 2-2 Haydon Pinhey
Michal Szubarczyk w/o Kyren Wilson
Michal Szubarczyk 2-2 Haydon Pinhey
Dylan Emery w/o Kyren Wilson
Group 3 Table
1. Dylan Emery – 7 points
2. Haydon Pinhey – 5 points
3. Michal Szubarczyk – 4 points
4. Kyren Wilson – 0 points
Click here for more information about the tournament.
Group 24 Results
Xu Si 3-1 Craig Steadman
Michael Holt 3-1 Julien Leclercq
Craig Steadman 3-0 Michael Holt
Xu Si 2-2 Julien Leclercq
Julien Leclercq 3-0 Craig Steadman
Xu Si 2-2 Michael Holt
Group 24 Table
1. Xu Si – 5 points
2. Julien Leclercq – 4 points
3. Michael Holt – 4 points
4. Craig Steadman – 3 points
Featured photo credit: WST
