Alexander Ursenbacher was the only player to win a match in Group 26 of the BetVictor Championship League as he topped the table to reach the second round.
The Swiss ace drew his first two matches 2-2 against Graeme Dott and Matthew Selt, notably making a break of 121 in his opening tie. Ursenbacher then scored a handy 3-0 win over Florian Nuessle which put him top of the table.
Dott and Selt had also scored 2-2 draws in their first two games, and they met in the last match of the evening, both needing a 3-0 win and a break higher than 121. Dott took the opener then missed the final yellow on 106 in frame two, and that proved costly as Selt won the third then made a 119 in the fourth to secure yet another 2-2 draw.
David Lilley dominated Group 27, scoring three wins out of three to book his place in the next phase. A break of 85 helped him to a 3-0 win over Liam Graham, and Lilley went on to beat Paul Deaville 3-0 and Yuan Sijun 3-1.
As you may have guessed, being unwell, I saw very little of the action yesterday. I still watched a bit in the evening and, from what I saw even Florian Nuessle didn’t play that badly. This was a very, very hard group. Dotty is never easy to beat and never knows when he is beaten. Selt is more or less in the same mould. Alex is a bit inconsistent, but on a good day, and with the right mindset and motivation he can beat even the very best. Yesterday was such a day apparently. I’m also always happy to see players from mainland Europe doing well.
I saw nothing of the other group, but David Lilley is a bit of a mystery to me. On his day he can beat the best, on other days he looks very ordinary. Yesterday must have been one of “his” days. I expected better from Yuan Sijun but then, maybe, he’s just back from China after the summer break?
OHNSTONE’S PAINT TO SPONSOR THE MASTERS, PART OF SNOOKER’S TRIPLE CROWN
Snooker’s greatest and most historic invitation event, The Masters, will be sponsored by Johnstone’s Paint for the next three years.
World Snooker Tour is delighted to expand its far-reaching partnership with Johnstone’s Paint to include title sponsorship of The Masters, part of the sport’s Triple Crown Series alongside the World Championship and the UK Championship.
The 2025 Johnstone’s Paint Masters will run from January 12-19 at the fabulous Alexandra Palace in London. The world’s top 16 players will compete for prize money of over £1 million and the famous trophy at a tournament first staged in 1975. Ronnie O’Sullivan lifted the trophy for a record-extending eighth time in 2024, beating Ali Carter 10-7 in a thrilling final.
Earlier this year, WST announced a new partnership with Johnstone’s Paint, a brand of PPG Architectural Coatings, UK & Ireland. PPG’s portfolio boasts a distinguished array of brands within the coatings industry including the prestigious Johnstone’s and Leyland Brands. From a global perspective PPG was originally founded and headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and currently operates in over 70 countries worldwide.
Johnstone’s Paint was lead partner of both the Players Championship and Tour Championship, providing a range of themed activations and initiatives for snooker fans. This relationship which will continue to develop at the sport’s flagship invitation event over the next three years.
Moreover, Johnstone’s Paint will use their new affiliation with snooker to help inspire their community projects. In education, they work with STEM learning and will challenge school children to design a player waistcoat which could be worn during tournaments.
And snooker projects will be considered for the Colourful Communities programme, where PPG volunteers bring colour and vitality to communities where the company operates around the world. Since the program’s launch in 2015, 500 projects have been completed in nearly 50 countries, involving nearly 25,000 PPG volunteer employees and reaching more than 8.2 million people. PPG’s investment in the project since its inception has totalled $10 million, with a planned additional $5 million by 2030 to further develop the initiative.
New World Champion Kyren Wilson said: “The Masters has grown so much in recent years, many players consider it the best atmosphere on the tour and it is a title that everyone wants to win. Having landed the world title, the Masters is now at the top of my list! It’s fantastic to bring Johnstone’s Paint on board as title sponsor, I’m sure they have great ideas to work together with our sport and help us engage with fans.”
WST’s Chief Commercial Officer Peter Wright said: “We are delighted to build on this exciting partnership and to continue to create a colourful future by working with Johnstone’s Paint.
“In recent years, the Johnstone’s Paint Masters has made huge leaps forward to the extent that every session is packed with an audience of over 2,000, and the experience of coming to Alexandra Palace has become a bucket list item for fans who love live sport.
“Snooker is enjoying incredible progress in terms of our television audience, live attendance and digital growth and we are pleased to welcome Johnstone’s Paint as part of this journey. We will be working closely with them on a range of initiatives including their outstanding community projects.”
PPG’s Marketing Director, UK & Ireland Megan Esmond said: “We are extremely excited about the partnership; it’s not only about driving brand awareness but the broader opportunities it provides too. Including driving engagement with our employees and customers as well as opening up doors to make a difference in the snooker community, through our Colourful Community projects.”
I’m always happy to see a sponsor that is not a bookie … so this is good news to me!
Ronnie O'Sullivan 
In the meantime Ronnie is into politics, supporting the independent ex-labour candidate Faiza Shaheen for the upcoming elections.
https://x.com/faizashaheen/status/1802723206328959402?t=JYbZT38C4H-lCrM-xsav0Q&s=09