Chang Bingyu maintains perfect start to season at Championship League Snooker
Chang Bingyu and Ian Burns were Tuesday’s group winners at the 2026 Championship League Snooker Ranking Event.
Chang and Burns join opening day victors Dylan Emery and Xu Si in stage two of the £328,000 tournament at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester.
On the feature table, Chinese youngster Chang claimed maximum points to top Group 27.
The world number 48 began with a 3-0 victory (breaks of 77 and 64) over rookie Phil O'Kane before staying on and defeating two-time Crucible qualifier Jamie Clarke, 3-1, with the aid of breaks of 145 and 102.
Returning several hours' later for the final fixture in the group, Chang required only a draw against top seed in this pool, Ryan Day, to guarantee progression. But the Asian star did more than just that, racking up runs of 69, 127, and 89 in a 3-0 win.
One of the hottest young properties on the World Snooker Tour, Chang has been bigged up by several pundits to have an impactful season.
Last season upon his return to snooker's top flight, Chang wrote several headlines such as reaching his maiden ranking event final at the Scottish Open, and compiling two maximum 147 breaks - the last of which came in world championship qualifying and scooped him a £147,000 bonus.
The 23-year-old maintains his perfect start to the 2026/27 campaign - he has now won seven out of seven matches. That streak consists of recently qualifying for both the upcoming China and Wuhan Opens on home soil, and his 100% record at the Championship League on Tuesday.
Over on table two, Burns also finished the day with an unblemished results sheet as he too advanced to the last 32.
The 41-year-old Englishman put himself in a very strong position within a few hours, whitewashing both Jamie O'Neill (with runs of 73, 64, and 55) and Jeff Cundy (97), 3-0.
In fact, because of results in fixtures four and five, Burns was assured of qualification before he struck a ball in his final match against Steven Hallworth.
For good measure, though, and to continue his momentum, Burns wrapped up a 3-1 success over Hallworth with an effort of 96.
Action continues on Wednesday with two more new groups. Former International Championship winner Zhang Anda is set to be the main star attraction on the feature table.