Defending champion Mark Selby advances

Mark Selby received Group 4 of Championship League Snooker on Saturday, prolonging his defence of the invitational occasion in Leicester.

The native lad triumphed on the Mattioli Area final yr and may have a chance to repeat the success when he competes in February’s Winners’ Group.

Selby received 4 out of his six round-robin fixtures throughout the 2 days of motion in Group 4 to comfortably attain the knockout part.

Within the semi-finals, the previous world champion edged Joe O’Connor 3-1 in what was a repeat of the general title-deciding contest from 2024.

Within the Group 4 ultimate, Selby compiled breaks of 134, 84, and 80 to then simply dispatch the problem of Jak Jones.

It was the fourth time in as many teams to begin the month of January that Jones had been denied a spot within the Winners’ Group in a ultimate.

Prize Cash

Teams 1–7
Winner: £3,000
Runner-up: £2,000
Semi-final: £1,000
Body-win (league stage): £100
Body-win (play-offs): £300
Highest break: £500

Winners’ Group
Winner: £10,000
Runner-up: £5,000
Semi-final: £3,000
Body-win (league stage): £200
Body-win (play-offs): £300
Highest break: £1,000

Mark Selby will as an alternative transfer ahead within the competitors, becoming a member of Hossein Vafaei, Si Jiahui, and Kyren Wilson within the Winners’ Group.

As regular, the Championship League Snooker winner subsequent month will obtain an invite to the profitable Champion of Champions towards the top of the yr.

Jones, who regardless of falling on the final hurdle on so many events may have already banked a good sum of money from this event via the varied bonuses on provide, may have one other crack in Group 5 after the Masters.

The Welshman can be joined by O’Connor and Stuart Bingham, who had topped the Group 4 league desk earlier than dropping to Jones within the semi-finals.

Matthew Selt additionally will get a second probability having completed in fifth place after the round-robin play.

The quartet can be joined by newcomers Neil Robertson, Tom Ford, and Judd Trump – the latter a three-time former champion of the occasion.

Jimmy Robertson and Jackson Web page had been eradicated, in the meantime, after putting on the backside of Group 4.

Schedule

Group 1: January 3–4
Hossein Vafaei
Jak Jones
Pang Junxu
Ryan Day
Chris Wakelin
Elliot Slessor
Gary Wilson

Group 2: January 6–7
Si Jiahui
Jak Jones
Ali Carter
Chris Wakelin
Robert Milkins
Ryan Day
Pang Junxu

Group 3: January 8–9
Kyren Wilson
Jak Jones
Mark Selby
Ali Carter
Chris Wakelin
Robert Milkins
Ronnie O’Sullivan

Group 4: January 10–11
Mark Selby
Jak Jones
Stuart Bingham
Joe O’Connor
Matthew Selt
Jimmy Robertson
Jackson Web page

Group 5: January 20–21
Judd Trump
Tom Ford
Neil Robertson
Jak Jones
Stuart Bingham
Matthew Selt
Jackson Web page

Group 6: January 22–23
David Gilbert
Jack Lisowski
Noppon Saengkham

Group 7: January 24–25
Xiao Guodong
Zhou Yuelong
Matthew Selt

Winners’ Group: February 3–4

Featured photograph credit score: WST