Pang upstaged by Carrington at Championship League on Long day in Leicester

Stuart Carrington emerged as the winner of Group 20 at the Championship League on Saturday as he earned a 2-2 draw with Pang Janxu to progress at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester.

World No. 72 Carrington needed a point against Pang in the section decider after completing wins over Gong Chenzhi (3-1) and Gerard Greene (3-0) and held his nerve to reach the last 32 of the season’s first ranking event.

Despite former WST Classic finalist Pang, the talented world No. 29, producing breaks of 67 and 57 to twice level the contest it was not enough to avoid an early exit.

There were no such problems for Pang’s compatriot Long Zehuang in topping Group 19 with three straight victories over Lei Peifan (3-1), Alfie Davies (3-1) and Jamie O’Neill (3-1) as he finished five points clear of Davies.

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Long made five 50-plus breaks, finishing with a 98 in his win against O’Neill, who had replaced Noppon Saengkham in the competition.

Four-time world champion John Higgins begins his campaign on Monday, with Scottish and Welsh Open champion Gary Wilson also in action.

Stage one consists of 32 groups of four players. The eight group winners contest a further two groups with the winners meeting in the final.

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.