Zhang Anda and Jackson Page progress at Championship League Snooker

Zhang and Page - who were the top seeds in their respective groups - both advance to stage two of the £328,000 world ranking event set to take place next month at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester.

Dylan Emery and Xu Si were successful on Monday’s opening day meanwhile Chang Bingyu and Ian Burns navigated their gauntlets on Tuesday. This competition spans 21 days in total.

Former International Championship victor Zhang won Group 10 with a 100% record, winning all three of his matches.

The current world number 20 - one of the highest ranked players in this year’s competition - compiled breaks of 88, 57, and 64 as he defeated amateur top-up player Daniel Womersley, 3-0. Returning for the evening session a few hours’ later, Zhang continued his unblemished record as he saw off Ross Muir, 3-0, with the aid of runs of 104 and 67.

Group qualification went down to the final fixture as Zhang faced Chinese compatriot Jiang Jun who also picked up maximum points against Muir and Womersley. However, as 20-year-old Jiang scored 3-1 wins, Zhang could secure top spot with just a draw due to having a better frame aggregate.

Zhang got the job done swiftly and in style, fashioning efforts of 115 and 95 in going 2-0 up and guaranteeing the point he needed to win the group.

Despite relinquishing his first frame of the day in the third - he made a 65 but lost by one point on the final black - Zhang took the final frame for a 3-1 success.

It has been a solid start to the new top-flight campaign for Zhang who qualified for the China Open but missed out on the Wuhan Open.

Page progresses

Over on table two, Welshman Jackson Page continued his great start to the 2026/27 term.

Runner-up to Ali Carter in this tournament here two years ago - his maiden appearance in a ranking event final - Page is on course for another deep run as he capped a very competitive Group 25.

The 24-year-old began the day with a 3-1 victory over Ashley Hugill before he made breaks of 120 and 80 in a 2-2 draw with Latvian youngster Artemijs Zizins.

Like on the main feature table elsewhere at the Mattioli, the identity of the group winner would not be decided until the final fixture. Page faced Long Zehuang knowing that a draw would be enough; Long required a win to leapfrog him and progress. At this point, Zizins (who drew all three of his matches) and Hugill (who got two draws) were both eliminated.

China’s Long deposited the opening frame with the help of a 61, but world number 35 Page levelled up, and then crafted an 83 as he crucially took frame three for the point he was looking for. Long would take the final frame meaning the last five results from that group were 2-2 draws.

Earlier this month, Page qualified for the main draw, televised stages of both the China and World Opens, so he already has lots of snooker to look forward to in the coming weeks.