Breaking News: Snooker star holds on to win Championship League group
Jak Jones got his 2024/25 season off to a positive start by topping Group 8 of Championship League Snooker in dramatic circumstances on Monday.
This year’s surprise World Championship finalist went undefeated at the Mattioli Arena with a victory and two draws from his three round-robin fixtures.
The Welshman began the day with a 2-2 draw with Antoni Kowalski, Poland’s newest professional player who ended up sharing the points in all of his ties.
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Jones then beat Hungary’s first ever snooker professional, overcoming Révész Bulcsú 3-1 with a high break of 88 that would ultimately prove to be crucial.
By this point, Jordan Brown had accumulated the same number of points following a 3-1 win and a 2-2 draw with the same opponents.
When Jones subsequently went 2-1 up against Brown in the last match of the day, the latter knew that, with their records set to be identical, only a contribution higher than Jones’ earlier 88 would take him through.
The Northern Irishman indeed won the frame but fell agonisingly short of his target, breaking down on 87 to concede a spot in Stage Two of the competition.
In Group 7, meanwhile, Tom Ford was the highest ranked player but was forced to pull out midway through the day’s action due to medical reasons.
That opened the door for the remaining three contenders, who each secured one win and suffered one loss from the revised three-player format.
It came down to frame difference with the points level, ensuring a terrific start to life on the tour for rookie Robbie McGuigan.
The Northern Irishman’s 3-0 whitewash defeat of Sanderson Lam ended up being critical as he edged out both Lam and Barry Pinches in the final standings.
On Tuesday, Championship League Snooker continues with two more groups in what is the campaign’s first ranking tournament.
Group 24 sees Ricky Walden in action against Martin O’Donnell, Rory Thor, and Umut Dikme.
Wu Yize is the top seed in Group 28, with the young Chinese competitor cueing up alongside Ross Muir, Allan Taylor, and Joshua Cooper.
Championship League Snooker
Stage One Draw
| Group 1 June 20th |
Group 2 June 25th |
Group 3 June 27th |
Group 4 |
| Kyren Wilson | Ronnie O’Sullivan | Shaun Murphy | Mark Williams |
| Scott Donaldson | He Guoqiang | Tian Pengfei | |
| Baipat Siripaporn | Mitchell Mann | Reanne Evans | |
| Daniel Womersley | Kayden Brierley | Steven Hallworth |
| Group 5 June 26th |
Group 6 June 24th |
Group 7 | Group 8 |
| Ali Carter | Gary Wilson | Robbie McGuigan | Jak Jones |
| Xing Zihao | Joe Perry | ||
| Kreishh Gurbaxani | Michael Holt | ||
| Joshua Thomond | Huang Jiahao |
| Group 9 June 24th |
Group 10 | Group 11 | Group 12 June 25th |
| John Higgins | Jackson Page | Ryan Day | Jack Lisowski |
| Ma Hailong | Mark Davis | ||
| Ben Mertens | Jiang Jun | ||
| Artemijs Zizins | Anton Kazakov |
| Group 13 June 21st |
Group 14 June 20th |
Group 15 June 27th |
Group 16 June 26th |
| Si Jiahui | Hossein Vafaei | David Gilbert | Zhou Yuelong |
| Jimmy Robertson | Louis Heathcote | Xu Si | Fan Zhengyi |
| Zak Surety | Manasawin Phetmalaikul | Andrew Pagett | Alfie Burden |
| Lee Daegyu | Josh Mulholland | Duane Jones | Mink Nutcharut |
| Group 17 | Group 18 June 21st |
Group 19 June 22nd |
Group 20 June 22nd |
| Chris Wakelin | Stuart Bingham | Noppon Saengkham | Pang Junxu |
| Anthony Hamilton | Long Zehuang | Stuart Carrington | |
| Ahmed Aly Elsayed | Lei Peifan | Gong Chenzhi | |
| Hamim Hussain | Alfie Davies | Gerard Greene |
| Group 21 | Group 22 | Group 23 | Group 24 June 18th |
| Neil Robertson | Joe O’Connor | Michael White | Ricky Walden |
| Martin O’Donnell | |||
| Rory Thor | |||
| Umut Dikme |
| Group 25 | Group 26 June 19th |
Group 27 June 19th |
Group 28 June 18th |
| Matthew Stevens | Matthew Selt | Yuan Sijun | Wu Yize |
| Graeme Dott | David Lilley | Ross Muir | |
| Alexander Ursenbacher | Liam Graham | Allan Taylor | |
| Florian Nuessle | Paul Deaville | Joshua Cooper |
| Group 29 | Group 30 | Group 31 | Group 32 |
| Ben Woollaston | Jamie Jones | Ashley Carty | Thepchaiya Un-Nooh |
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