Stephen maguire produced a commanding performance on the opening day

Ranking, becoming the only player to win all three of his matches to secure top spot in Group 15 and progress to the second stage of the tournament. He was joined by China’s Yao Pengcheng, who narrowly topped Group 26 at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester.

Maguire opened his campaign with a confident 3-1 victory over James Cahill, before cruising to back-to-back 3-0 wins against Liam Graham and Michael Holt. The Scotsman finished with a perfect nine points and dropped just a single frame across the day.Michael Holt, who was hoping to challenge

Maguire for qualification, had a more difficult day at the table. Despite a 3-0 win over Cahill, a 2-2 draw with Graham and a loss to Maguire left him second in the group with four points—just two clear of Graham in third.On the adjacent table, Yao Pengcheng edged a tightly contested Group 26 by a single point. The 28-year-old began with a 2-2 draw against top seed Lyu Haotian, then defeated Jamie Jones 3-1 to take control of the group heading into the final round.

Another draw, this time with Hanyang Zhao, was enough to see Yao through—remaining unbeaten across all three matches.Group 26 proved to be one of the most evenly matched of the day, with Lyu and Jones both finishing with one win, one draw, and one loss. Jones secured second place in the group standings by virtue of his 3-1 head-to-head win over Lyu earlier in the day.

The Championship League is the first ranking event of the new season and was won last year by Ali “The Captain” Carter. This year’s tournament runs until July 23, with the opening phase featuring 128 players split into 32 groups of four. Only the group winners progress to the second stage.The event takes place over three stages, beginning onMonday, June 30, with Winners’ Week starting onFriday,

July 18, and Finals Day scheduled forWednesday, July 23. The eventual champion will receive an invite to the 2025 Champion of Champions (November 10–16) and a £20,000 top prize.The action continues today with Masters champion Shaun Murphy headlining Group 3, and Matthew Seltin action in Group 22. For details on how to watch,