On June 20, 2024, Beijing time, the second phase of the World Snooker Championship League Group A and Group E round-robin matches came to an end, and former world runner-up Carter and post-90s star Donaldson successfully entered the quarterfinals.
In the group round-robin of Group A, Donaldson defeated Wakelin 3-1, swept Tachaiya 3-0 and drew 2-2 with Fan Zhengyi, ranking first in the group with two wins and one draw, accumulating 7 points and successfully advancing to the quarterfinals.
In the group round-robin of Group E, due to Robertson's withdrawal, Carter, Lisowski and Wu Yize played each other one more time. In the end, Carter scored 8 points with a 2-2 draw with Wu Yize, a 3-1 win over Lisowski, a 2-2 draw with Wu Yize and a 3-1 win over Lisowski to advance to the quarterfinals.
Donaldson went undefeated in three fights to advance to the quarterfinals
In the group round-robin of Group A, Donaldson was in the same group as Tachaiya, Fan Zhengyi, and Wakelin. It's clear that Donaldson is the strongest being, and the end result proves it.
In Donaldson's first game, he won three games in a row with a single stroke of 106 and 81 points, and reversed Wakelin 3-1 to complete the first victory in the group. Immediately afterwards, Donaldson scored 68 points and 55 points in a single stroke, and won three games in a row to sweep Tachaiya 3-0 to complete the two consecutive group wins.
After entering the final game of the group, Donaldson won two games in a row with a performance of 54 points in a single stroke and drew 2-2 with Fan Zhengyi. As a result, Donaldson finished the promotion with seven points with a record of two wins and one draw.
Fan Zhengyi ranked second with one win and two draws and 5 points. Tachaiya is third with four points from one win, one draw and one loss, while Wakelin is bottom of the group with three defeats.
Carter qualified with eight points from two wins and two draws
In the group round-robin of Group E, Carter was in the same group as Lisowski, Robertson and Wu Yize. But due to Robertson's retirement, the three in the group needed to play two round-robin matches.
In Carter's first game, he drew 2-2 with Wu Yize by scoring 53 and 78 points in a single stroke. Immediately afterwards, he defeated Lisowski 3-1 with a single stroke of 59, 60, and 58 points.
Next, Carter drew 2-2 with Wu Yize with a single shot of 53 points, 130 points, and 50 points. Heading into the final game, Carter defeated Lisowski 3-1 with a single-shot score of 120, 61 and a single-game stunner.
As a result, Carter topped the group with eight points from two wins and two draws. Chinese teenager Wu Yize has one win, two draws and one loss, accumulating 5 points and ranking second in the group. Lisowski, on the other hand, finished bottom of the group with one win and three losses.
Carter and Donaldson deservedly made it to the quarterfinals
Although Chinese teenagers Fan Zhengyi and Wu Yize did not enter the quarterfinals, objectively speaking, this is a normal thing. Whether it is Group A or Group E, Wu Yize and Fan Zhengyi's strength is not the strongest, so it is not surprising that they lost the game.
But Donaldson and Carter were clearly the strongest players in the two groups, both offensively and defensively, much better than their own group. Moreover, Donaldson advanced with a record of two wins and one draw, while Carter advanced with a record of two wins and two draws.
Such performances made their promotion very convincing. But none of their players in the same group performed similarly, so there was little threat to their qualification. For an event like the Champions League, fewer upsets can also increase the value of the game. In that sense, Carter and Donaldson's successful promotion is still a very meaningful thing.