Chang Bingyu continued his undefeated start to the 2026/27 snooker season with a dominant display to top Group 27 of Championship League Snooker on Tuesday.
The 23 year-old had a strong last campaign, rocketing up the rankings as he reached the final of the Scottish Open.
Chang has watched from the sidelines in recent years – not helped by a ban that curtailed his progress – as some of his fellow Chinese competitors like Zhao Xintong and Wu Yize have taken the limelight.
But it very much looks like it’s only a matter of time before the former IBSF world amateur champion joins the highest echelons of the sport as well.
Chang is already into the world’s top 50 and has no ranking points to defend this term, so a push towards the top 16 could quickly be on the cards.
He coasted through his first group stage at the Championship League in Leicester, dropping just a single frame as he overcame Ryan Day, Jamie Clarke, and Phil O’Kane.
Chang also won all four of his qualifying fixtures at the Mattioli Arena earlier this month, meaning he has a perfect record from the seven games he has contested so far.
In Group 2, Ian Burns emerged from a round-robin in which there were no members from the top 64 involved, following the withdrawal of Mark Williams a few days ago.
Like Chang, Burns only surrendered a single frame as he finished in first place through wins over Steven Hallworth, Jamie O’Neill, and Jeff Cundy.
Chang and Burns join Xu Si and Dylan Emery in Stage Two, which won’t get under way for another few weeks.
There are still 28 more group winners from Stage One to be determined, with the next couple on the agenda for Wednesday’s order of play in Leicester.
Zhang Anda fronts Group 10 with Jiang Jun, Ross Muir, and Daniel Womersley for company, while former Championship League runner-up Jackson Page is in Group 25 alongside Long Zehuang, Artemijs Zizins, and Ashley Hugill.
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.
Tuesday, June 23
Group 2 Results
Steven Hallworth 3-1 Jeff Cundy
Ian Burns 3-0 Jamie O’Neill
Ian Burns 3-0 Jeff Cundy
Jamie O’Neill 3-0 Steven Hallworth
Jamie O’Neill 3-1 Jeff Cundy
Ian Burns 3-1 Steven Hallworth
Group 2 Table
1. Ian Burns – 9 points
2. Jamie O’Neill – 6 points
3. Steven Hallworth – 3 points
4. Jeff Cundy – 0 points
Click here for more information about the tournament.
Group 27 Results
Jamie Clarke 3-1 Ryan Day
Chang Bingyu 3-0 Phil O’Kane
Chang Bingyu 3-1 Jamie Clarke
Ryan Day 3-0 Phil O’Kane
Jamie Clarke 3-0 Phil O’Kane
Chang Bingyu 3-0 Ryan Day
Group 27 Table
1. Chang Bingyu – 9 points
2. Jamie Clarke – 6 points
3. Ryan Day – 3 points
4. Phil O’Kane – 0 points
Featured photo credit: WST
