O'Donnell ends Walden's Championship League hopes as Wu shows class

Martin O’Donnell reeled off three straight frames to complete a 3-1 win over Ricky Walden and advance to the last 32 of the Championship League at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester.

A draw would have been good enough for Walden to top Group 24 after he earlier completed wins over Umut Dikme (3-0) and Rory Thor (3-1).

But Welsh Open finalist O’Donnell edged the second frame on the final black against Walden before dominating the final two frames with a 94 break in the third frame boosting his prospects at the season’s first ranking event.

The played nicknamed ‘The MOD’ had earlier defeated Dikme 3-1 after being to held a 2-2 draw with Thor, but it ultimately did not cost him as he finished a point ahead of Walden.

Elsewhere, Chinese talent Wu Yize showed his scoring class with three straight victories against Joshua Cooper (3-1), Allan Taylor (3-1) and Ross Muir (3-1) booking his spot in the second phase of the competition as he finished five points clear of Scotland’s Muir at the top of Group 28.

Twenty-year-old Wu hit breaks of 142, 69 and 73 against Muir to finish off his day in style after he produced 64 and 86 against Taylor and 76, 76 and 83 in his win over Cooper.

There is £33,000 on the table for the winner plus a spot in the Champion of Champions later in the year which is worth another £12,500 for qualifying.