YAN BINGTAO SECURES SPOT IN WINNERS' GROUP

YAN BINGTAO SECURES SPOT IN WINNERS' GROUP

Invitational January 18th, 2022

Yan Bingtao has won Group 6 of the 2022 BetVictor Championship League Snooker Invitational beating Martin Gould 3-1 in the group final at the Morningside Arena, Leicester live on FreeSports in the UK and networks worldwide.

Scores and Table

Yan started the day on top having won three of his four matches on day one to all but secure a playoff spot. The World number 15 continued that form beating Kyren Wilson in his penultimate group match 3-0 with breaks of 110, 114, and 75 before a similar whitewash over Gould to complete the group section with five wins from six collecting 17 frame wins in the process.

The group was looking to be pretty set at the conclusion of the afternoon session with jostling for position in the top four the main story as Gould, Ding Junhui, and Wilson all made the playoffs.

Gould was the brightest in the afternoon overcoming both Jordan Brown and Ali Carter by scorelines of 3-1 and 3-2 with the former German Masters winner cruising into the group semi-final stage.

The Pinner Pot came from behind to defeat Ding 3-2 in the semi-finals after finding himself 1-0 down after an excellent break of 134 from the former UK champion. Gould soon turned the contest on its head winning the following two frames to lead but faced a nervy final frame decider in which it did look like Ding could steal it from under Gould’s nose.

Yan meanwhile faced the reigning champion Kyren Wilson in his semi-final. The 2021 Masters champion delivered another 3-0 win over his counterpart with a final break of 83 to set up a group final clash with Gould.

It was Yan who got off the mark the quickest in the final with the Tiger knocking in a break of 94 in the first frame and 65 to pinch the second after Gould missed the opportunity to finish the it off on a break of 63. Gould did take the third frame, but Yan proved too strong overall and sealed it with a break of 63 in the last frame.

Yan said: “I feel very good. It is difficult to win the group with seven players. Last year I missed out in the semi-final. This is very good practice for me. I think I have more confidence in myself.”

Wilson, Ding, Carter, and Gould will all return in Group 7 alongside Ronnie O’Sullivan, Neil Robertson, and John Higgins who will join the competition. Brown and Selt were both eliminated after taking sixth and seventh spots, respectively.

Each of the seven players faces each other once in the round-robin group stage, after which the top four players in the league table progress to the play-offs. The eventual group champion advances to February’s Winners’ Group. The bottom two players in each group phase are eliminated. All matches are best of five.

The tournament carries a prize fund of £205,000 with players earning £100 per frame won with significant bonuses for their final group position and increased prize money in the Winners’ Group. A place in the 2022 Cazoo Champion of Champions is also on the line with each group featuring seven players with matches being held over two days.

The 2022 BetVictor Championship League Snooker Invitational returns with Group 7 on Tuesday, 1 February from 11 am on FreeSports in the UK and Ireland as well as networks worldwide. Table 2 is available globally on Matchroom.Live excluding the Nordic and Baltic regions.

Where to Watch 

  • Foxtel – Australia
  • FreeSports – UK and Ireland
  • Nova – Czech Republic & Slovakia
  • NTV – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenia, and Uzbekistan
  • Sky Network – New Zealand
  • SuperSport – Africa
  • Sportklub – Croatia & Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Kosovo, and Slovenia
  • TVP – Poland
  • Viaplay – Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania
  • Viaplay – Iceland
  • Viaplay – Scandinavia
  • Zhibo.TV – China
  • Matchroom.Live – Table 1 is available exclusively to those outside of the countries listed above. Table 2 will be available live on Matchroom.Live excluding the Nordic and Baltic regions
  • The tournament will also be live on betting websites around the world

 

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