Close between all seven after first day of group two - 06/01/2010

ALL seven of the players in the latest group of Championship League Snooker are still in contention after an enthralling day of action.

Only one point celebrates all of the competitors with every man losing at least once in the race to join Stephen Maguire in the Winners' Group in March.

The stakes are high as the eventual champion will claim a place in Matchroom Sport's Premier League Snooker competition in the Autumn.

World number one Ronnie O'Sullivan, who lost in the 2009 Premier League final after dominating the event for the previous five seasons, made the early running in Group Two of the internet-broadcast Championship.

Ronnie O'Sullivan won his first two matches on the opening day

O'Sullivan claimed wins over Mark Selby and Marco Fu before falling to defeats against Neil Robertson and Ali Carter.

Reigning World Champion John Higgins currently leads the pack but has played one more match than his nearest rivals.

The Group Two action concludes on Thursday with the top four after the league phase advancing to the semi-finals, but everyone will be vying to avoid a bottom two spot as that will lead to elimination.

Championship League Snooker - Group Two, day one
Results
Mark Selby 1 – 3 Judd Trump
0-90 (Trump 90), 16-110 (Trump 110), 84-8 (Selby 84), 28-79 (Trump 78)

John Higgins 1 – 3 Ali Carter
17-84 (Carter 40), 38-76 (Carter 33), 71-26 (Higgins 44), 4-71 (Carter 71)

Marco Fu 3 – 0 Neil Robertson
64-49, 73-23 (Fu 41), 91-0 (91 Fu)

Ronnie O'Sullivan 3 – 2 Mark Selby
53-65 (O'Sullivan 35, Selby 48), 17-76 (Selby 61), 80-41 (Selby 35), 146-4 (O'Sullivan 138), 91-0 (O'Sullivan 91)

Judd Trump 3 – 0 Ali Carter
74-57 (Trump 54, Carter 35), 101-0 (Trump 101), 75-47 (Trump 56, Carter 31)

John Higgins 3 – 2 Neil Robertson
32-106 (Higgins 32, Robertson 74), 78-36 (Higgins 78, Robertson 36), 83-0 (Higgins 71), 8-80 (Robertson 80), 135-9 (Higgins 85)

Ronnie O'Sullivan 3 – 0 Marco Fu
82-8 (O'Sullivan 81), 86-43 (O'Sullivan 79, Fu 43), 79-0 (O'Sullivan 79)

Ali Carter 0 – 3 Mark Selby
6-122 (Selby 122), 0-131 (Selby 131), 25-47

John Higgins 3 – 1 Judd Trump
80 (46, 34)-0, 84 (84)-1, 66-49 (31)-66 (46), 78 (78)-17

Neil Robertson 3 – 0 Ronnie O'Sullivan
70 (32)-21, 135 (135)-0, 110 (110)-0

Ali Carter 3 – 1 Ronnie O'Sullivan
77 (36)-46 (46), 66 (50)-0, 67 (67)-68 (41), 57 (37)-40 (40)

John Higgins 1 – 3 Marco Fu
66-3 (Higgins 34), 27-104 (Fu 104), 0-108 (Fu 31, 77), 16-70 (Fu 61)

Championship League Snooker is a joint venture between Matchroom Sport and Perform Group. Taking place from January to March, the event features 25 of the world’s best players and is streamed exclusively to 12 major betting sites around the world.

The winner of Championship League Snooker gains an entry to Sky Sports-televised Premier League Snooker, one of the biggest events in the world.
2010 Championship League Snooker - Participating Betting Sites
Bet365 – Global
Betfair – Europe
Ladbrokes – UK/Nordics
William Hill – UK
Paddy power – Ireland
Skybet – UK
Sportingbet – Europe (Ex UK/Nordics)
Unibet – Europe (Ex UK)
188bet – Asia
IBC Bet – Asia
Digibet – Germany
Betboo – South America