Championship League: Ronnie O'Sullivan loses crunch Group C clash as Stuart Bingham advances

After beating Harvey Chandler and Sam Craigie for the loss of just one frame, O'Sullivan needed only to avoid defeat to advance to Thursday's finals, but instead found himself behind for the first time in the event and was unable to recover.

Bingham took the first frame but it was the second which spelled disaster for O'Sullivan, who looked set to take it and move within one of the point he needed, only for his opponent to somehow steal his way into a 2-0 lead.

O'Sullivan was plainly not in the form which had seen him both begin and end with centuries against Chandler, and when a regulation black went begging in frame three, he had presented Bingham with a group-winning opportunity.

The former world champion took it nervelessly, just as he had the previous frame, a break of 75 ending the hopes not only of O'Sullivan, but of Craigie, too.

It had in a sense been a coming-of-age 24 hours for Craigie, who was superb on Monday and started Tuesday's group with a 3-1 defeat of Bingham, again showcasing a smooth action and purity of strike which marks him out as a real talent.

He then became the first man to take a frame off O'Sullivan, but a 3-1 defeat there left him needing Bingham to beat O'Sullivan by the same scoreline to leave him in with a chance of causing an upset.

With any kind of result for O'Sullivan against him, Craigie's hopes were slim, and yet it was the other outcome he couldn't get away with - a 3-0 victory for Bingham - which surprised everyone and confirmed his exit. That it was Bingham's first victory over O'Sullivan since he went on to win the world title in 2015 only added to the strangeness of the evening, and the way this group was won.

Bingham had responded to his opening defeat by despatching Chandler with three half-centuries, before the Masters champion took advantage of a lacklustre O'Sullivan to become the first man to reach the final group.

It was Bingham who had scraped through the first stage with the lowest points total, thanks to a bit of luck to go with his nous. Here, he became the first player so far to top a group despite losing a match, completing a turnaround which didn't look at all likely when he was beaten midway through the afternoon.

Nor did it look likely that O'Sullivan won fall down to third, but that's what happened when Craigie ended on a high, beating Chandler 3-0 to edge ahead of The Rocket in a group ultimately decided on frame difference, not just for first, but second and third, too.

In a brief chat over Zoom, O’Sullivan said: “I’ve really been enjoying the lockdown, I’ve had the best three months of my life.

“Talking about snooker and talking about this and that…I want the lockdown to go on for another five years if it can!”

Woollaston rolls on

Ben Woollaston joined Bingham as one of the four finalists after topping Group D.

Woollaston lost 3-1 to Martin O’Donnell in his opening match but emphatically rebounded with successive breaks of 134, 101 and 127 helping him to a 3-0 win over Tom Ford, who failed to register a single point in the encounter.

Ford then did his conqueror a massive favour by overcoming O’Donnell 3-1, which led to Woollaston topping the standings after overcoming Liang Wenbo 3-0.

Tuesday's results and tables

Group C

1. Stuart Bingham (Q) P 3 W 2 L 1 D 0 FD +4 Pts 6
2. Sam Craigie P 3 W 2 L 1 D 0 FD +3 Pts 6
3. Ronnie O'Sullivan P 3 W 2 L 1 D 0 FD +2 Pts 6
4. Harvey Chandler P 3 W 0 L 3 D 0 FD -9 Pts 0

Ronnie O'Sullivan 3-0 Harvey Chandler

Stuart Bingham 1-3 Sam Craigie

Stuart Bingham 3-0 Harvey Chandler

Ronnie O'Sullivan 3-1 Sam Craigie

Ronnie O'Sullivan 0-3 Stuart Bingham

Sam Craigie 3-0 Harvey Chandler

Group D

1. Ben Woollaston (Q) P 3 W 2 L 1 D 0 FD +4 Pts 6
2. Martin O'Donnell P 3 W 2 L 1 D 0 FD +2 Pts 6
3. Tom Ford P 3 W 1 L 1 D 1 FD -1 Pts 4
4. Liang Wenbo P 3 W 0 L 2 D 1 FD -5 Pts 1

Tom Ford 2-2 Liang Wenbo

Martin O'Donnell 3-1 Ben Woollaston

Martin O'Donnell 3-1v Liang Wenbo

Tom Ford 0-3 Ben Woollaston

Martin O'Donnell 1-3 Tom Ford

Liang Wenbo 0-3 Ben Woollaston