Jak Jones maintains World Championship winning run at Championship League snooker, Zhou Yuelong reaches last 32

Jak Jones picked up from where he left off at the World Championship in April by winning Championship League Group 26 on Wednesday.

The Welshman – who lost 13-10 to Mark Allen in the quarter-finals in Sheffield – showed why he defeated Ali Carter (10-6) and Neil Robertson (13-7) during his surprise run to the last eight on his Crucible debut by remaining unbeaten at the Morningside Arena.

After a 2-2 draw with Dean Young, Jones overcame Rebecca Kenna 3-0 before winning a group decider with compatriot Jamie Jones 3-1 to progress to the last 32 of the season’s first ranking event.

The world No. 37 was joined in the second group phase by Zhou Yuelong, who emerged the winner of Group 17.

Zhou enjoyed a 3-0 win over Chris Totten that included a 105 break before finishing with runs of 77, 75 and 50 in 3-0 victory over Ashley Hugill.

A 3-0 loss to Oliver Brown in his second match was not enough to derail Zhou’s title bid.

With the first round reaching the halfway stage, German Masters champion Carter takes to the table in Leicester on Thursday with Jackson Page and junior world champion Stan Moody also competing.

The tournament carries total prize money of £328,000 with the final on Friday July 21 also worth a spot in the final stage of the Champion of Champions in November.

Championship League latest group winners

• Group 3: Ashley Carty (Eng)
• Group 30: Daniel Wells (Wal)
• Group 11: Martin O’Donnell (Eng)
• Group 21: Chris Wakelin (Eng)
• Group 10: Michael White (Wal)
• Group 22: Robbie Williams (Eng)
• Group 5: Kyren Wilson (Eng)
• Group 29: Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (Tha)
• Group 6: Mark Williams (Wal)
• Group 27: Barry Pinches (Eng)
• Group 32: Xiao Guodong (Chn)
• Group 16: Ben Woollaston (Eng)
• Group 15: Matthew Stevens (Wal)
• Group 28: Anthony Hamilton (Eng)
• Group 17: Zhou Yuelong (Chn)
• Group 26: Jak Jones (Wal)

Championship League Stage 1

• June 26-30
• July 3-8
• July 10-14

Championship League Stage 2

Championship Stage 3

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