Yesterday was the last day of stage 1 at the 2023 Ranking CLS, with one experienced player and one rookie progressing to stage 2. Here is the report shared by WST:
Astley And Liu Complete Stage Two Line-Up
John Astley and Liu Hongyu secured the final two spots up for grabs at Winners’ Week of the BetVictor Championship League Snooker – Ranking Edition at the Morningside Arena, Leicester live on Viaplay Xtra in the UK, and broadcasters worldwide including Viaplay in Scandinavia, the Baltics, Poland, and the Netherlands and Table 2 live on Matchroom.Live globally.
Astley opened with a 3-1 win over Thailand’s Mink Nutcharut, making breaks of 128 and 79. He then drew 2-2 with Ma Hailong which meant that his final match against Gary Wilson would decide the group. BetVictor Scottish Open champion Wilson had drawn his first two matches so needed a win, but Astley got the better of the Georgie derby by a 3-1 scoreline to secure his place in phase two next week.
China’s 19-year-old Liu, embarking on his debut season as a professional, opened his campaign with a superb 3-1 victory against seasoned campaigner Ricky Walden, making a top break of 75. Liu then beat David Lilley 3-0 and Peng Yisong 3-1 to make it three wins out of three and top his group.
BetVictor Championship League Snooker returns on Monday, 17th July with stage two. Kyren Wilson headlines Group E on table one, while three-time world champion Mark Williams headlines Group F on table two.
I didn’t see much of yesterday action but what I saw was Mink, not playing well at all but trying her heart out at the table. She managed two draws and finished third, ahead of Gary Wilson who was the highest ranked player in that group.
Liu Hongyu was playing his first matches as a professional and managed to win his group, just like Long Zehuang had done before him. Those two are CBSA nominees. In general the Chinese rookies have done quite well, unlike some of the much fancied/hyped Brit youngsters. Of course, some of the British/Irish youngsters are very young and it’s good to be confident, but there is a huge gap between the young amateur game and the professional tour. I’m not sure that putting them in the spotlights and heightening expectations on them is helpful. There have been a few starting on tour with ambitions to “Show Ronnie wrong”, because in general he isn’t rating them very high … only to prove him very right. Of course it’s more complex that that, there is no reason why all young players should be numpties but the system isn’t helping them. And – my very personal unpopular opinion – many, at amateur level, are made to believe that they are much better then they actually are and the brutal reality check is too much for them to cope with.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 
Yes completely different from what I expected! Liu Hongyu was very measured, played excellent safety, and clearly loved playing on these tables. Ma Hailong made a couple of centuries, including a 140, but then a series of bizarre events seemed to distract him and he allowed Mink to level. Both Chinese rookies looked very well prepared, unlike the seeded players who have missed out on a favourable draw.
Although Liu Hongyu was an academy boy, he actually qualified via the Oceania continental championship, played in New Zealand. He’s played in quite a lot of international amateur events now, getting close to qualifying for the tour several times. Ma Hailong beat Stan Moody to win the WSF title in Sydney. The ‘CBSA Nominations’ were actually decided by an event, somewhat like Q School, in Beijing. Long Zehuang, Xing Zihao and Jiang Jun qualified. The other new player, He Guoqiang, came through Asia/Oceania Q School. Before departing, all 6 players attended a class in Beijing to educate them against ‘gambling and corruption’:
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/3te7jYiwvJkEQ01-uPs6oQ
The British (and European) youngsters did seem unprepared, but they probably felt more pressure. They are less technically drilled than the CBSA players, which will be exposed in an unfamiliar situation. They will adapt, and playing with home advantage will ultimately help them.
Gary Wilson and Elliot Slessor ALWAYS play on for a ridiculous amount of snookers. Must be something in the mindset from that part of England.
“..what I saw was Mink, not playing well at all but trying her heart out at the table. She managed two draws and finished third, ahead of Gary Wilson who was the highest ranked player in that group”
According to Wikipedia, Gary finished #3 due to having a higher break than Mink.
I only saw Mink and I’m happy if she really ended up 3rd (I didn’t stay till the end of the last match). She really fought hard and in her very last frame made an 80 clearance, so she slowly improved over the day. I was pretty annoyed with Gary Wilson though still playing for snookers in the 4th frame when he needed 7. It was really unlikely that Mink could be so bad as to grant him then.
I saw Stan Moody speaking big, try to stay on the Tour for more than 2 years first.
Gary Wilson does that quite often – he wasn’t singling out Mink.
OK, good, I know he never knows when he is beaten, but 7 were too much.