Reigning Masters champion Shaun Murphy suffered a shock early exit on day two of the 2025 BetVictor Championship League Snooker, losing all three of his matches to finish bottom of Group 3. In contrast, Matthew Selt and Alfie Burden delivered composed performances to top their respective groups and progress to Stage Two of the competition.
Murphy, the top seed in Group 3, began the day against group outsider Alfie Burden, who stunned the former World Champion with a 3-1 victory. It was a scoreline that would repeat itself throughout Murphy’s day, as he suffered back-to-back 3-1 defeats to Robbie McGuigan and Hungary’s Bulcsú Révész, leaving him winless and out of contention.
Burden’s confident start carried into his second match, where he whitewashed Révész 3-0 to take control of the group. Despite falling 3-1 to McGuigan in the final session, Burden edged through to the top spot on frame difference—having lost one fewer frame than McGuigan, with both players finishing level on points.
In Group 22, Matthew Selt made light work of his path to qualification. The Brit produced a trio of clinical 3-1 wins over Umut Dikme, Fergal Quinn, and Scott Donaldson, finishing the day with nine points and a +6 frame difference to comfortably seal his place in the next stage.
The Championship League is the first ranking event of the new snooker season and was won last year by Ali “The Captain” Carter. This year’s tournament runs until July 23, with 128 players split into 32 groups of four in the opening phase. Only the group winners advance to the next round.
The event takes place over three stages, beginning on Monday, June 30, with Winners’ Week starting on Friday, July 18, and Finals Day scheduled for Wednesday, July 23. The eventual champion will receive an invite to the 2025 Champion of Champions (November 10–16) and a £20,000 top prize.
The action continues today with Ryan Day headlining Group 25, while Yuan Sijun features in Group 18.For details on how to watch, click here.