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On July 23rd, Beijing time, the third round of the Championship League officially kicked off, with eight players battling for two spots in the finals. This year's Championship League has been quite surprising, as none of the players in the top eight were ranked in the top 16. The highest-ranked player is Tom Ford, who is ranked 19th.
The Championship League operates through a round-robin format, where each group competes in six matches. Three of these matches begin at 7 p.m., followed by consecutive sessions, while the other three start at midnight, also in a back-to-back format.
At this point, both groups have completed three matches, and the players advancing to the finals have already been decided: O'Connor and Maguire have secured their spots, while Xu Si and Pang Junxu have been eliminated. Let's take a look at how the matches unfolded.
Table 1: The Players’ Struggles
The four players at Table 1 included Ford, Xu Si, O'Connor, and Walton. The first match featured Xu Si against Ford. Although Xu Si started strong with a break of 79 in the opening frame and followed up with a 58 in the third, the match ended in a 2-2 draw, with neither player able to pull ahead.
The second match saw O'Connor face Walton. Walton managed an impressive break of 78, but O'Connor kept pace with breaks of 69 and 62. Despite Walton's strong performance, O'Connor won the match 3-1.
In the third match, Xu Si faced O'Connor. The first frame was quite tense, with Xu Si taking an early lead in red ball potting before committing a foul, giving O'Connor 5 points. After some defensive play, Xu Si gained another shot at the table, but his 9-point run wasn't enough to dominate. After multiple exchanges, O'Connor eventually took the first frame.
In the second frame, Xu Si got a chance to take the lead but his 37-point break was interrupted. O'Connor capitalized, scoring up to 53, and was on the verge of finishing the frame. However, O'Connor made a rare mistake by missing the black ball, and Xu Si pounced on the opportunity, making a stunning clearance to win 54-53.
In the third frame, the situation flipped. Xu Si made a strong 59-point break but ended up losing narrowly 71-72 to O'Connor. The final frame became a long battle, and O'Connor sealed his victory, taking the match 3-1. As a result, Xu Si was eliminated with a record of 1 draw and 2 losses, while O'Connor advanced with two wins and one loss.
From the results so far, it is clear that O'Connor has secured his place in the finals, with Ford and Walton trailing behind after three rounds of play.
Table 2: Pang Junxu's Struggles and Maguire's Dominance
The four players at Table 2 included Pang Junxu, Mertens, Maguire, and Selter. Based on the current standings, Maguire seems likely to finish top of the group.
The first match was between Pang Junxu and Mertens. Pang Junxu performed below expectations, despite a solid 54-point break in the first frame. However, Mertens capitalized on Pang's mistake and cleared the table to win the first frame. In the second frame, Pang managed to score 69 points, but Mertens came back with an impressive 83-point break, eventually winning the frame. Pang Junxu had another chance in the third frame but struggled to make a significant impact and ended with just 9 points. After three rounds, Pang Junxu was left with a 0-3 record.
In the second match, Maguire faced Selter. Though both players had their chances, Maguire proved to be the stronger player, winning each frame. Despite only making a single 69-point break, Maguire still secured a comfortable 3-0 victory.
The third match between Maguire and Mertens also ended in a dominant 3-0 victory for Maguire. Maguire scored breaks of 75 and 68 to seal the win. With two wins under his belt, Maguire had established a solid lead in the group, while Mertens had one win and one loss, and both Pang Junxu and Selter remained winless.
The fourth match is currently ongoing, and despite Pang Junxu's outstanding performance with breaks of 78 and a massive 136, Selter has also made a break of 77. Currently, the score stands at 2-1 in favor of Pang Junxu. Even if he wins this match 3-1, he cannot become the group leader due to Maguire’s earlier victories.
At this point, it is clear that the final championship will be contested between Maguire and O'Connor. It remains to be seen whether the underdog O'Connor will continue his impressive form or if the six-time champion Maguire will break his five-year ranking title drought.
