Hossein Vafaei continued his impressive start to the 2026 Championship League Snooker by progressing into Stage Three with another undefeated record on Friday in Leicester.
The Iranian had also advanced from Stage One with two wins and a draw, and he repeated the feat to emerge from Group B as one of the first eight players through to the last-eight stage.
Vafaei set the tone with a commanding 3-0 victory over former world champion Luca Brecel before following it up with a 3-1 success against Ian Burns.
The latter’s defeat to Brecel at the end of the day ensured that Vafaei didn’t have any concerns heading into his last match with Pang Junxu.
But the Iranian scored a 2-2 draw anyway to preserve his unbeaten streak in his Championship League Snooker campaign.
The former Shoot Out champion is bidding to capture only the second ranking title of his career, and he has made a confident start in pursuit of that goal.
Joining Vafaei in Stage Three will be Lei Peifan, who negotiated a closely fought Group A at the Mattioli Arena.
The former Scottish Open champion was also undefeated but won only one of his three matches.
A 3-0 victory over David Grace was supplemented by draws against Liu Hongyu and Zak Surety, with those five points proving enough to seal qualification.
Lei, like Vafaei, is chasing a second career ranking crown.
With many of the sport’s biggest stars absent from this year’s Championship League, there is a significant opportunity for several of the middle-ranked contenders to collect early-season silverware.
The second day of Stage Two takes place on Saturday with Gary Wilson, Dylan Emery, Stephen Maguire, and Stan Moody competing in Group C.
Reigning champion Maguire remains on course to successfully defend the title he won 12 months ago.
Elsewhere, Zhou Yuelong, Iulian Boiko, Noppon Saengkham, and Scott Donaldson battle it out in Group D.
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.
Friday, July 10
Group A Results
Lei Peifan 3-0 David Grace
Liu Hongyu 3-0 Zak Surety
Zak Surety 2-2 David Grace
Lei Peifan 2-2 Liu Hongyu
David Grace 3-1 Liu Hongyu
Lei Peifan 2-2 Zak Surety
Group A Table
1. Lei Peifan – 5 points
2. Liu Hongyu – 4 points
3. David Grace – 4 points
4. Zak Surety – 2 points
Click here for more information about the tournament.
Group B Results
Ian Burns 3-1 Pang Junxu
Hossein Vafaei 3-0 Luca Brecel
Hossein Vafaei 3-1 Ian Burns
Pang Junxu 2-2 Luca Brecel
Luca Brecel 3-0 Ian Burns
Hossein Vafaei 2-2 Pang Junxu
Group B Table
1. Hossein Vafaei – 7 points
2. Luca Brecel – 4 points
3. Ian Burns – 3 points
4. Pang Junxu – 2 points
Featured photo credit: WST
