The “group phase” at the 2025 ranking Championship League Snooker concluded yesterday in Leicester.

Ben Mertens and Tom Ford won their respective groups, completing the line-up for the “Final day”, i.e. today.

Here is the report shared by WST:

Ford Motors To Final Phase

Leicester’s Tom Ford clinched top spot in Group H to earn a place in tomorrow’s final stage of the BetVictor Championship League in his home city, while Ben Mertens topped Group G by the narrowest of margins. 

Shoot Out champion Ford clinched his progression thanks to a 3-1 win over two-time ranking event finalist Wu Yize, top scoring with 131. Earlier in the day he made a 132 during a 3-0 win over Wu’s Chinese compatriot Liu Wenwei and secured a 2-2 draw with former Masters and UK Champion Matthew Stevens. 

Belgium’s Mertens came through courtesy of making the group’s high break. Remarkably all four players ended up tied on one win, one draw and one loss, with identical frame differences. However, a break of 111 from Mertens in his 3-0 win over Yao Pengcheng proved to be the difference. He took the final frame of the day to draw 2-2 with Sam Craigie and clinch the group, having lost 3-0 to Iran’s Amir Sarkhosh earlier in the day. 

The final phase takes place tomorrow, when the winner will be crowned. Joining Mertens and Ford are Stephen Maguire, Pang Junxu, Xu Si, Joe O’Connor, Matthew Selt and Ricky Walden. 

As always, all the detailed results are available on snooker.org: Group G and Group H

So … here is WST looking at our “Finalists”:

BetVictor Championship League: The Final Eight

The first ranking title of the season will be won on Wednesday evening as the BetVictor Championship League comes to a conclusion, after 23 days of action in Leicester.

Just eight players remain, divided into two groups of four. The two group winners will meet in the best-of-five frame final on Wednesday night, with the champion to bank a total of £33,000 and earn a place in the Champion of Champions in November. The contenders for the crown are:

Group A

Joe O’Connor
From: England
Age: 29
World Ranking: 28
Playing on home territory in Leicester, O’Connor is looking for his first ranking title. He has previously reached two finals, at the 2022 Scottish Open, and the World Open in March this year when he was beaten by John Higgins. A formidable talent who beat Mark Selby at the Crucible last year, O’Connor will hope to make further breakthroughs this season.

Xu Si
From: China
Age: 27
World Ranking: 41
Last season was by far the best of Xu’s career so far, highlighted by a run to the semi-finals of the International Championship where he knocked out Judd Trump. He also made a 147 at that event, and another maximum during the Welsh Open qualifiers. He is aiming to reach a ranking event final for the first time.

Ricky Walden
From: England
Age: 42
World Ranking: 40
Walden won ranking titles in 2008, 2012 and 2014 – all of them in China – and was a regular member of the top 16 from 2012 to 2017. Since then he has struggled to return to those heights, indeed his last ranking final was 2016. Another title would prove that Walden’s best days are not over yet.

Tom Ford
From: England
Age: 41
World Ranking: 19
Previously a contender for the unwanted title of ‘best player not to win a ranking event’, Ford broke his duck in December last year when he won the Shoot Out, at the Mattioli Arena which is home to Wednesday’s action. Another crown tonight would be a huge step towards fulfilling his potential. 

Group B

Stephen Maguire
From: Scotland
Age: 44
World Ranking: 27
A run to the final of last season’s Welsh Open was a reminder of Maguire’s class as a break-builder and competitor. Like Walden he has slipped down the rankings in recent years but remains determined to return to better days. The most experienced player left in the field, he is looking for a seventh ranking title and first since 2020.

Pang Junxu
From: China
Age: 25
World Ranking: 26
Since winning the Rookie of the Year award in 2021, Pang has made steady progress. In 2023 he reached his first ranking final, at the WST Classic in Leicester where he lost to Mark Selby. And last season he won a match at the Crucible for the first time, beating Zhang Anda. One of many up-and-coming Chinese players on the tour, he could be the next to land a maiden ranking title. 

Matthew Selt 
From: England
Age: 40
World Ranking: 33
Selt’s finest hour came at the 2019 Indian Open when he beat John Higgins in the semi-finals and Lyu Haotian in the final to land his first ranking title. Success on Wednesday night would make him one of only 42 players to win two or more. His only other final came at the 2022 Turkish Masters when he was runner-up to Judd Trump.

Ben Mertens
From: Belgium
Age: 20
World Ranking: 94
Mertens sneaked through the second stage on Tuesday night, having made the highest break of a group where all four players finished with the same points and frame difference. This is already a landmark week as he has never before reached the last eight of a ranking event. Much has been expected of Mertens since he played in the World Cup at the age of just 14 – perhaps this will be the season when we see the Belgian’s true colours.

Here is a curious “observation” … each of the two groups comprises two players in their “40th”” and two players in their “20th”. All players in their 40th are British, whilst only one of those in their 20th is British, Joe O’Connor who is 29 and the oldest of that quatuor. Isn’t this telling us something about the future of the sport, and the need to break the “UK centric” mentality that still prevails in its organisation and gouvernance?

Anyway…

Some personal “predictions” that will probably prove as reliable as Belgium’s weather forecasts 😉

Group A:

• Who I want to win: Ricky Walden
• Who I think will win: Joe O’Connor

Group B:

• Who I want to win: Ben Mertens
• Who I think will win: Stephen Maguire