On January 4, 2022, Beijing time, the snooker Champions League began the third group competition. On the first match day, China's players were in full swing, and Zhao Xintong defeated two consecutive world champions Selby and Bingham to temporarily top the list with a record of three total victories. Xiao Guodong ranked second with 2 wins and 1 loss, and Lu Ning defeated his old rival Joe Perry 3-2, also winning 2 wins and 1 loss, temporarily ranking fourth.
Entering 2022, the first major event is undoubtedly the Masters, and before that, the Champions League will also play a group stage, and Zhao Xintong, who is about to participate in the Masters, will find a feel through the Champions League. Debuting in the New Year, Zhao Xintong showed a good competitive state. Against Selby, Zhao Xintong shot two 50+ shots to win 3-0. Facing Bingham, Zhao Xintong scored a single shot of 73 points to win 3-1.
After defeating two world champions in a row, Zhao Xintong is full of confidence. Facing Xiao Guodong in the third round, Zhao Xintong shot a three-shot 60+ to win 3-2. Zhao Xintong, who won all three games, temporarily ranked first in the third group and basically got a place in a single-elimination round. Although Xiao Guodong lost to Zhao Xintong 2-3, his performance was also excellent, killing Bingham 3-2 in the first round, and facing Joe Perry in the second round, Xiao Guodong scored a shot in the decider to win 3-2 again. Xiao Guodong, who has won 2 and lost 1, is temporarily ranked second in the group.
The focus of the matchday was on the showdown between Ronin and Joe Perry, who had met in the second group, when it was Ronin who won. However, the two clashed in that match, and Ronin was questioned for crashing a white ball, slamming the club in anger, and not shaking hands with Joe Perry. After the game, Lu Ning took the initiative to apologize and face Joe Perry again, and whether the two could freeze their previous suspicions was the biggest concern.
In the end, the two shook hands before and after the game, although there was no expression on their faces, but the game was the most important. The result was a win for Ronin, who beat Joe Perry 3-2. Separately, Ronin shot a three-shot 50+ in the second round to sweep Ryan Day 3-0. However, against Selby, Ronin lost 3-1. With 2 wins and 1 loss, Lu Ning is temporarily in fourth place in the group.
At the end of the first match day, Zhao Xintong won all three games, Xiao Guodong won two wins and one loss, Lu Ning won two wins and one loss, and the three Chinese players were full of firepower, and they won 7 wins and 2 losses together, including a derby, all three of them ranked in the top four of the group, it can be said that the performance was quite outstanding, and it was a good start for the new year.
Next, the three will strive to maintain the top four positions in the group so that they can compete for the winner's group. Zhao Xintong then faced Joe Perry, Ryan Dai and Lu Ning in turn, the opponent's strength was average, and as long as Zhao Xintong won the next game, he should be able to lock in the top four of the group. Xiao Guodong played against Lu Ning, Ryan Dai and Selby in turn, and Lu Ning played against Xiao Guodong, Bingham and Zhao Xintong in turn, and wish the Chinese players good luck!