On June 27, 2024, Beijing time, in the group round-robin match of Group 5 and Group 16 of the first phase of the World Snooker Champions League, the world star Carter and the Chinese post-00 player Fan Zhengyi successfully advanced to the top 32.
In the group round-robin of Group 5, former world runner-up Carter completed a record of two wins and one draw with a 2-2 draw with Tomund, a 3-1 win over Gulbaksani and a 3-1 victory over Chinese teenager Xing Zihao, and finally defeated Chinese teenager Xing Zihao to complete the promotion.
In the group round-robin of Group 16, Chinese post-00 teenager Fan Zhengyi swept Burton 3-0, drew 2-2 with Wangharuthai and swept Zhou Yuelong 3-0 to complete two wins and one draw and accumulate 7 points to advance to the round of 32.
Carter thrillingly defeated Xing Zihao and successfully advanced to the top 32
In the group round-robin of Group 5, Carter was in the same group as Tomund, Xing Zihao, and Gulbaksani. It's clear that Carter is the strongest player in the group, but his progress to the tournament has been thrilling. In Carter's opening game, he drew 2-2 with Tomond with a 62-point performance in a single stroke.
Immediately afterwards, Carter defeated Gulbaksani 3-1 with a single-stroke performance of 54 points. After entering the last game, Carter defeated Xing Zihao 3-1 with a single stroke of 87 points, 73 points and a single game reversal performance.
In this way, Carter ranked the group with 7 points with a record of two wins and one draw, and advanced by beating Xing Zihao by virtue of a game difference. Xing Zihao has two wins and one loss, ranking second with 6 points. Tomund is third with four points from one win, one draw and one loss, while Gulbaksani is at the bottom of the rankings with three defeats.
Fan Zhengyi swept Zhou Yuelong and successfully entered the top 32
In the group round-robin of Group 16, Chinese players Zhou Yuelong and Fan Zhengyi were in the same group as Wangharuthai and Burton. Zhou Yuelong is the strongest existence in this group, but he eventually became the background emperor of Fan Zhengyi's promotion.
In Fan Zhengyi's first game, he swept Burton 3-0 with a single stroke of 61 and 91 points to win his first win of the season. Immediately afterwards, Fan Zhengyi scored 121 points and 65 points with a single shot to draw 2-2 with Wangharuthai. After entering the last game, Fan Zhengyi swept Zhou Yuelong 3-0 with a single stroke of 113 points, 57 points and three consecutive wins.
In this way, Fan Zhengyi ranked first in the group with two wins and one draw and accumulated 7 points and advanced to the round of 32. Burton are second with six points from two wins and one loss. Wangharuthai ranked third with two draws and one loss, while Zhou Yuelong ranked bottom with one draw and two losses.
Zhou Yuelong's state was sluggish, and Xing Zihao was out
From the group round-robin of Group 5 and Group 16, Zhou Yuelong and Xing Zihao's exit is still a bit regrettable. In the group round-robin of Group 5, Xing Zihao first swept Gulbaksani 3-0 with 70 points in a single stroke and three consecutive wins to win the first victory of the season.
Immediately afterwards, he defeated Tomund 3-1 with a perfect performance of 125, 95 and 97 points in a single stroke. After entering the last game, Xing Zihao only needs to win two games to complete the promotion. Unfortunately, he suffered a single-game comeback in the final game. In the end, Xing Zihao missed the top 32 with a difference of one game and one point.
In the group round-robin of group 16, Zhou Yuelong, the strongest player in the group, can be said to be in a very low state, and he ranked at the bottom with one draw and two losses, which is really incredible. Although the veteran Burton completed a record of two wins and one loss in the group, Fan Zhengyi had no choice but to achieve two wins and one draw. In this way, Fan Zhengyi became the final winner, and Burton was regrettable.