Jack Lisowski and Luca Brecel emerged from Stage One in every of Championship League Snooker with good data on Wednesday in Leicester.
Lisowski topped Group 7 with a hat-trick of victories towards Jack Bradford, Zhao Hanyang, and Liam Highfield.
With so many star names absent from the draw, the world quantity 17 is without doubt one of the highest-ranked gamers on this season’s rating version of the Championship League.
Lisowski broke his duck in rating occasions final season with a memorable victory on the Northern Eire Open, and he later reached the ultimate of the Welsh Open as properly.
But the 2025/26 marketing campaign ended poorly with a failure to qualify for the World Championship, so the 35 year-old can be hoping to reestablish consistency at first of this time period – particularly with a return to the highest 16 on the playing cards.
Brecel, in the meantime, secured some much-needed rating factors along with his trio of triumphs over Mitchell Mann, Deng Haohui, and Aaron Hill in Group 31.
The Belgian, a world champion as lately as 2023, has plummeted approach down the rankings these days after a horrible interval of type.
Actually, Brecel is approach down at quantity 64 on the provisional end-of-year standings and simply throughout the cut-off level for tour survival as issues stand.
Doing properly within the Championship League, which Brecel received in 2022, could not do a lot to instantly influence his rating standing given the comparatively low prize fund on supply, however the confidence gained from a couple of wins may show necessary.
The lineup for Stage Two and the final 32 is nearly full, with the winners of simply two extra teams from Stage One to be decided.
These happen on Thursday, as pre-tournament favorite Zhao Xintong lastly enters the fray in Group 1 alongside David Grace, Gao Yang, and Simon Blackwell.
Elsewhere, Zak Surety has Matthew Selt, Andrew Higginson, and Gong Chengzhi for firm in Group 32.
Championship League Snooker represents the opening rating occasion of the fledgling 2026/27 snooker season.
The general winner on July fifteenth will take residence £33,000 value of prize cash and rating factors, plus a ticket to the profitable Champion of Champions invitational later this yr.
Reside protection is offered for Eire and UK viewers on the Matchroom Multi Sport and Matchroom Pool YouTube channels.
Wednesday, July 8
Group 7 Outcomes
Jack Lisowski 3-0 Jack Bradford
Liam Highfield 3-1 Zhao Hanyang
Liam Highfield 3-1 Jack Bradford
Jack Lisowski 3-0 Zhao Hanyang
Zhao Hanyang 3-0 Jack Bradford
Jack Lisowski 3-1 Liam Highfield
Group 7 Desk
1. Jack Lisowski – 9 factors
2. Liam Highfield – 6 factors
3. Zhao Hanyang – 3 factors
4. Jack Bradford – 0 factors
Click on right here for extra details about the match.
Group 31 Outcomes
Luca Brecel 3-0 Mitchell Mann
Deng Haohui 3-1 Aaron Hill
Luca Brecel 3-0 Deng Haohui
Aaron Hill 3-1 Mitchell Mann
Mitchell Mann 3-1 Deng Haohui
Luca Brecel 3-1 Aaron Hill
Group 31 Desk
1. Luca Brecel – 9 factors
2. Aaron Hill – 3 factors
3. Mitchell Mann – 3 factors
4. Deng Haohui – 3 factors
Featured photograph credit score: WST
