Defending champion Stephen Maguire was eliminated from the 2026 edition of Championship League Snooker on Saturday in Leicester.
The Scot, who won his seventh career ranking title with victory over Joe O’Connor in last year’s final, finished bottom of Group C as Stage Two continued at the Mattioli Arena.
A tight group ensured that there were plenty of permutations heading into the third and last round of fixtures.
Maguire, indeed, still had a chance to progress having drawn his opening two encounters against Stan Moody and Dylan Emery.
But the former world number two lost 3-1 Gary Wilson, with Emery’s 3-0 defeat of Stan Moody proving decisive in sending the Welshman through.
It marks the first time that 25 year-old Emery will contest the last-eight stage of a ranking event on the main tour.
Noppon Saengkham, meanwhile, emerged from Group D with an unbeaten record of two wins and a draw.
After beating Scott Donaldson in his initial match, the Thai secured a 2-2 draw with Ukrainian Iulian Boiki.
Both he and final opponent Zhou Yuelong had an opportunity to qualify for the last group phase, but it was Saengkham who seized the moment with a 3-1 success to finish on top.
Saengkham represents one of the best players to never win a ranking event, and the 33 year-old has given himself a big chance to break that duck here.
Emery and Saengkham join Hossein Vafaei and Lei Peifan who made it through Groups A and B on Friday.
There will be a rest day on Sunday before the action resumes on Monday with Groups E and F.
Chris Wakelin, the only member from the top 16 left in the running, headlines Group E alongside He Guoqiang and former champions Ali Carter and David Gilbert.
Rapidly rising star Chang Bingyu has Marco Fu, Jak Jones, and Mark Joyce for company in Group F.
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.
Saturday, July 11
Group C Results
Gary Wilson 2-2 Dylan Emery
Stephen Maguire 2-2 Stan Moody
Stan Moody 3-1 Gary Wilson
Stephen Maguire 2-2 Dylan Emery
Dylan Emery 3-0 Stan Moody
Gary Wilson 3-1 Stephen Maguire
Group C Table
1. Dylan Emery – 5 points
2. Gary Wilson – 4 points
3. Stan Moody – 4 points
4. Stephen Maguire – 2 points
Click here for more information about the tournament.
Group D Results
Zhou Yuelong 3-1 Iulian Boiko
Noppon Saengkham 3-1 Scott Donaldson
Noppon Saengkham 2-2 Iulian Boiko
Scott Donaldson 3-1 Zhou Yuelong
Scott Donaldson 3-1 Iulian Boiko
Noppon Saengkham 3-1 Zhou Yuelong
Group D Table
1. Noppon Saengkham – 7 points
2. Scott Donaldson – 6 points
3. Zhou Yuelong – 3 points
4. Iulian Boiko – 1 point
Featured photo credit: WST
