On January 22, 2025, the fifth group of the Snooker Championship League concluded with a surprise result. The world number one player, Trump, lost 0-3 to the 80s veteran Matthew Selt, failing to advance to the winners' group, which was somewhat unexpected. Two world champions, Robertson and Bingham, have already been eliminated.
The championship league is held twice each season, with the first event being a ranking tournament and the second an invitational. Prior to this, four players had advanced to the winners' group: Hussein Vafi, Si Jiahui, Mark Selby, and Kyren Wilson. The world number one, Trump, competed in the fifth group but lost 0-3 to Matthew Selt in the group final, an unexpected outcome. Additionally, Robertson and Bingham, two other world champions, lost their eligibility to compete.
The competition used a round-robin format. Initially, Trump won all four of his matches, but then lost 2-3 to Matthew Selt in the fifth match. Later, he won against Joe O'Connor. During this period, Trump completed several century breaks, maintaining his good form from this season and demonstrating the level expected of the world number one. However, in short-format matches, it's all about on-the-spot performance. Facing the capable Matthew Selt, Trump failed to seize the opportunity.
With a record of five wins and one loss in the group stage, Trump advanced to the semi-finals. He then faced Joe O'Connor again, blasting breaks of 107 and 65 points to eliminate O'Connor 3-2. In another match, Matthew Selt defeated Jack Jones 3-1. The two competed for the group championship and a spot in the winners' group. Born in 1985 and ranked 33rd in the world, Selt has won ranking events and served as a practice partner for O'Sullivan.
After the match began, Trump only scored 31 points before interrupting his attack in the first game, while Selt took over and blasted a break of 102 points. In the second game, Trump made another mistake, and Selt blasted another break of 102 points. In the third game, Trump did not score, and Selt sealed the victory with a break of 95 points, ultimately sweeping Trump 3-0. Matthew Selt became the champion of the fifth group and advanced to the winners' group by defeating the world number one.
However, according to the rules of the championship league, Trump can continue playing by joining the sixth group. Also remaining are Jack Jones, Tom Ford, and Joe O'Connor, who will compete against Lisowski, Gilbert, and Noppon Saengkham. As for the performances of the two world champions, Robertson and Bingham, they were far from expectations, ranking at the bottom of the group, and have therefore been eliminated, unable to continue competing.
The next ranking event is the German Masters, held from January 27 to February 3. At that time, 15 Chinese players will participate, with the most attention focused on Ding Junhui, ranked ninth. As a former champion, whether he can bring surprises remains to be seen. Let's wait and see, and cheer him on!