On January 5, 2022, Beijing time, the third group of the Snooker Champions League ended, and Zhao Xintong won all eight games and advanced to the winner group. Although Xiao Guodong lost to Zhao Xintong in the final, his upset defeat of Selby in the semi-final was eye-catching. Don't forget, Xiao Guodong lost 3-0 to Selby in the final round of the round robin, and then returned a 3-1 in the semi-finals, which was quite tough.
Three Chinese players played in the third group of matches, the most outstanding performance is undoubtedly Zhao Xintong, two match days, Zhao Xintong received 3 good news. First of all, he beat Selby and beat Bingham twice, both of whom are top players, which will make Zhao Xintong more confident. Secondly, Zhao Xintong broke through from the third group, advanced to the winner group, warmed up for the Masters through the competition, and could rest and adjust in the next few days.
The third good news is another milestone moment in Zhao Xintong's career, in the game against Ryan Day, Zhao Xintong scored a single 122 points and 100 points successively, officially unlocking the 100th career breaker, which is not easy. At the end of 2021, Zhao Xintong won the championship at the British Championship, and at the beginning of 2022, Zhao Xintong won 8 consecutive victories in the Champions League and completed the 100th career breaker, and the era that belongs to him may really come.
Another Chinese player, Xiao Guodong, also played very well, in the round robin, Xiao Guodong defeated the world champion Bingham, and also made Ryan Day, Joe Perry, Lu Ning and other powerful players become his defeats. Xiao Guodong only lost two games in the round robin, losing to Zhao Xintong and Selby. In the last round against Selby, Xiao Guodong did play average, scoring a total of 4 points in the whole game, and Selby played a single shot of 94 points, 108 points, and 131 points, making Xiao Guodong an audience.
Xiao Guodong entered the single-elimination round with a third place in the group, and coincidentally, the semi-final opponent was still Selby. The interval between the two games was very short, but Xiao Guodong adjusted his form and feel in time, shooting a four-shot 50+ in the semi-finals to beat Selby 3-1 and burst out of the big cold. The winning Xiao Guodong advanced to the final of the group and successfully met with Zhao Xintong.
Although in the group final, Xiao Guodong defeated Zhao Xintong 2-3, but his performance on this matchday was really outstanding, and it will also make him gain self-confidence. In this way, Xiao Guodong will continue to compete in the fourth group, and continue to compete with the masters in a short period of time, and the training value is very large.
In this Champions League, Chinese players have indeed played well, Liang Wenbo and Zhao Xintong have been promoted to the winners' group, Lu Ning and Xiao Guodong can continue to participate, and the mental outlook of Chinese players has been significantly improved. Zhao Xintong's victory at the British Championship will indeed inspire other Chinese golfers, and I believe that Chinese players will make greater breakthroughs in the next competition!