Pang Junxu, a Chinese snooker player who was named Rookie of the Year and is believed by O'Sullivan to have the potential to win the World Championship, aims to become the first post-00s snooker champion. On the third day of the new year, he made a strong appearance at the first snooker event of 2025 - the invitational version of the Champion League.
At the beginning of this season, Pang Junxu achieved a remarkable comeback in the Shanghai Masters, defeating last season's triple crown winner Gary Wilson with a score of 6-5. In the quarter-finals, he faced four-time World Champion Mark Selby, who had easily defeated wildcard player Cao Jin with a score of 6-1 in the previous round.
In the quarter-final match against Selby, Pang Junxu initially trailed 0-1 and 1-2, but then lost two consecutive frames in the third and fourth rounds, only to bounce back and lead Selby 3-2. However, Selby suddenly found his attacking rhythm and completely dominated Pang Junxu's offensive and defensive pace.
From the fifth to the ninth frame, Selby won four frames in a row, ultimately reversing the game with a total score of 6-3 to advance. In the last four frames, Selby's performance was particularly impressive, as he scored a century break (118 points) and three 50+ breaks (75 points, 60 points, 81 points).
The detailed scores for the nine frames between Pang Junxu and Selby were: 0-95 (83)-0, 76 (62)-25, 91 (91)-0, 0-86 (86), 63-21, 1-81 (75), 23-89 (60), 0-81 (81), 1-118 (118).
Despite the loss to Selby, Pang Junxu's overall performance was commendable. In the last event of 2024, he achieved a significant victory with a score of 5-2, eliminating World Champion Ken Doherty in the qualifying round of the World Open. On the third day of 2025, Pang Junxu made a strong appearance in the Champion League, defeating Wakelin 3-0 in the first round of Group One. In the third round, he also defeated Lessels 3-1.
