Chris Wakelin recovered from a shock opening defeat to secure his place in Stage Two of Championship League Snooker on Wednesday.
The Englishman is one of only four top-16 players competing in this year’s edition of the season-opening ranking event.
Wakelin’s day got off to the worst possible start when he suffered a surprise 3-1 loss to French amateur Brian Ochoiski in his opening fixture.
However, the world number 13 responded in impressive fashion with consecutive 3-0 victories over Yao Pengcheng and Luke Pinches.
The latter had replaced Sam Craigie in the draw and arrived at the final round-robin contest unbeaten after recording wins over Ochoiski and Yao.
But Wakelin’s whitewash proved enough to see him finish ahead of Pinches on frame difference and progress to Stage Two.
Meanwhile, Lei Peifan emerged unbeaten from Group 16 at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester.
The Chinese competitor was held to a 2-2 draw by promising compatriot Wang Xinbo in his opening encounter before responding with victories over Chatchapong Nasa and Ishpreet Singh Chadha.
Singh Chadha needed just a point after winning his first two fixtures with 3-0 scorelines, but Lei denied the Indian player to top the group with seven points and join Wakelin in the next phase of the competition.
Eighteen of the 32 Stage One group winners have now been determined, with the remaining places to be decided over the next week.
Two more groups are scheduled for Thursday.
Joe O’Connor headlines Group 17 alongside Liu Hongyu, Oliver Brown, and Paul Norris, while Group 30 features Stan Moody, Daniel Wells, Stuart Carrington, and Thanawat Thirapongpaiboon.
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.
Wednesday, July 1
Group 5 Results
Brian Ochoiski 3-1 Chris Wakelin
Luke Pinches 3-1 Yao Pengcheng
Yao Pengcheng 3-0 Brian Ochoiski
Chris Wakelin 3-0 Luke Pinches
Luke Pinches 3-1 Brian Ochoiski
Chris Wakelin 3-0 Yao Pengcheng
Group 5 Table
1. Chris Wakelin – 6 points
2. Luke Pinches – 6 points
3. Yao Pengcheng – 3 points
4. Brian Ochoiski – 3 points
Click here for more information about the tournament.
Group 16 Results
Lei Peifan 2-2 Wang Xinbo
Ishpreet Singh Chadha 3-0 Chatchapong Nasa
Ishpreet Singh Chadha 3-0 Wang Xinbo
Lei Peifan 3-0 Chatchapong Nasa
Chatchapong Nasa 2-2 Wang Xinbo
Lei Peifan 3-1 Ishpreet Singh Chadha
Group 16 Table
1. Lei Peifan – 7 points
2. Ishpreet Singh Chadha – 6 points
3. Wang Xinbo – 2 points
4. Chatchapong Nasa – 1 point
Featured photo credit: WST
