DALE EXITS AS WOOLLASTON AND JONES ADVANCE

Dominic Dale exits on Day Six, while Ben Woollaston and Jamie Jones secure their spots in the second stage of the BetVictor Championship League ranking event at Morningside Arena, Leicester.

Snooker veteran Dominic Dale scraped a 3-1 win over Dylan Emery in the opening match of Day 5, despite both players struggling on the green baize. He then secured a 2-2 draw in his second match, delivering a top break of 89 against rising star Stan Moody.

Dale entered his final match needing a win over 2015 Welsh Open finalist Ben Woollaston, who led the group by one frame prior to their match. Despite Dale claiming the first frame, Woollaston secured his spot in the next stage by compiling runs of 78, 71, and 75.

Three-time ranking semi-finalist Jamie Jones cleared the table in his opening match, executing quick runs of 65, 124, and 80 against Scotsman Chris Totten. However, Jones struggled in his second match, falling short in the first two frames against Indian cueist Ishpreet Singh Chadha. 'The Welsh Warrior' made a comeback to level the match 2-2, with runs of 55 and 69.

Jones completed the day with another 2-2 draw against Liu Hongyu. Thanks to a difference in frame losses and his top break of 124 in the opening match, Jones remained top of his group and advanced to the next stage.The Championship League is the first ranking event of the new season and was won last year by the 2005 World Champion, Shaun “The Magician” Murphy. The opening tournament of the season runs until July 3rd. In the first phase, 128 players are split into 32 groups of four, with those 32 group winners going through to the next round. 

The tournament takes place over three stages, starting on Monday, 10 June. Winners’ Week will run from Friday 28, June concluding with Finals Day on Wednesday, 3 July. The eventual winner will also receive an invite into the 2023 Champion of Champions this November 11 to November 17alongside the £20,000 first-place prize.

(Photo by Zheng Zhai)