Tom Ford is the first snooker event winner of 2026 and Chris Wakelin produces the first 147 of the year !

It’s only January 4 and already snooker has produced an event winner and a 147!

Indeed, Tom Ford has won the Invitational championship League Snooker Group 1 yesterday:

Ford Wins Opening Group

Tom Ford made the perfect start to the 2026 BetVictor Championship League Invitational, beating Jackson Page 3-1 in the final to book his place in the Winners’ Group.

Results And Table

Leicester’s Ford, playing on home ground at the Mattioli Arena, will return in February alongside six other players to compete for the title.

The group phase saw Page, Joe O’Connor and Chris Wakelin all finish with four wins out of six, with Ford snatching fourth place with three wins.

In the semi-finals, Page came from 2-1 down to edge out Wakelin 3-2, making vital clearances of 86 and 54 in the last two frames. Ford enjoyed a 3-1 victory over O’Connor.

A break of 77 gave Page the opening frame of the final, but world number 28 Ford then took control with runs of 108, 76 and 97 to take the next three.

Group two gets underway on Sunday as Page, O’Connor, Wakelin and Elliot Slessor are joined by Gary Wilson, David Gilbert and Noppon Saengkham.

And Chris Wakelin has produced the first professional 147 of 2026

Wakelin Makes Maiden Maximum

Recently crowned BetVictor Scottish Open champion Chris Wakelin made the first 147 of his career at the BetVictor Championship League Invitational.

The perfect break came during his 3-2 win over Pang Junxu. It is a record extending 17th of this season and the 234th in snooker history.

The previous record for 147s in a single season came last term, when 15 were made. That tally looks set to be smashed in the current campaign, with the season just passing the halfway point.