Championship League snooker LIVE RESULTS: Bingham, Jones, O’Connor, and Selt all make it to Group Five

Here we go

Just 15 minutes until play starts here in Leicester.

It's winner takes all on table one and win or go home on table two.

• 11am – Stuart Bingham vs Joe O’Connor
• 11am – Matt Selt vs Jimmy Robertson

All to play for

Well, it's mostly all to pay for today in Group 4.

Joe O'Connor is sitting very pretty indeed having won all four of his matches yesterday in an impressive day for the hometown hero.

Stuart Bingham also went unbeaten in his three matches - but something will have to give with the pair facing each other in the early match.

The rest of the group is pretty open - Mark Selby has two wins from three and both Jak Jones and Jimmy Robertson have one win from three.

Jackson Page is winless in four and Matthew Selt has just one win in four.

More from Murphy

The Magician added: "In the grand pantheon of things I’ve had a really good career, I’m proud of what I’ve achieved and I don’t think I’m finished yet.

"It’s very hard to accept anything other than winning when you have won them.

"It’s hard to see losing in the semis or a final as success because what you want is a repeat of the success you had when you lifted trophies.

“But, I think a few other players are starting to realise what an achievement it is to get to these major finals.

"Judd [Trump] said at the UK Championship that it was his fourth UK final and he didn’t think he got the credit he deserved for that. T

"To some degree I might say the same. I’ve been to three UK finals, two Masters finals and four World Championship finals — that’s pretty good. Most people are calling that a really good career."

Murphy begins his Masters campaign against Gary Wilson on Sunday at 7pm.

Murphy magic

Shaun Murphy says he has been trying for a decade to recapture the magic he felt a decade ago when he captured the Triple Crown.

This year marks the 10th anniversary since that dominant spell and it's something Murphy has been working to find since.

He told SportsBoom: "I wish anniversaries were written in the stars, but sadly I don’t think it works like that.

"When I started attending the Masters as a child and went to the Wembley Conference Centre to watch it the Triple Crown wasn’t a thing.

"It has since then become a big deal. To complete it at the Masters, which is somewhere I went every year to watch, was special. I’ll always remember that very fondly.

"It was the win that completed my Triple Crown set so that was extra pressure on it from that point of view.

"I very nearly lost my first match to Mark Selby having led 5-1. I scrambled over the line at the end, but from then I never looked back.

"I played some magical snooker really throughout the week and if I’m honest I’ve been trying to recapture that for ten years."

'I hope Ronnie's OK'

Ronnie O’Sullivan’s late Masters replacement Neil Robertson admits he is worried about the legend.

The Rocket’s form had plunged in recent weeks and he dropped out of this this week’s Championship League following poor results in it.

But missing a Triple Crown event is another matter.

And World No 17 Robertson said: “From a personal point I’m buzzing to be in the Masters. But I really hope Ronnie’s okay.

“He’s been a bit indifferent in terms of his thoughts on the game this season. I hope he’s good and we see him back playing soon.

“It’s important if he’s feeling the way he is to pull out of the Masters, that he takes a break to refocus.”

Today's Championship League fixtures

Yesterday's two unbeaten stars open today's Group 4 action.

Joe O'Connor won all his four matches whilst Stuart Bingham picked up three straight victories.

• 11am - Stuart Bingham vs Joe O'Connor
• 11am - Matt Selt vs Jimmy Robertson
• 12.30pm - Jak Jones vs Jackson Page
• 12.30pm - Mark Selby vs Stuart Bingham
• 2pm - Mark Selby vs Stuart Bingham
• 2pm - Matt Selt vs Joe O'Connor
• 3.30pm - Jak Jones vs Jimmy Robertson
• 4.30pm - Jak Jones vs Stuart Bingham
• 4.30pm - Matt Selby vs Jackson Page

The Con is on!

World No 37 Joe O’Connor must be ecstatic after his perfect record yesterday

He tops Group Four with a quarter of victories ahead of three-out-of-three star Stuart Bingham.

The duo meet in one of Saturday’s two openers.

Meanwhile, Selby notched two wins from three matches.

That follows the legend's perfect record in Group Three of five wins earlier in the week – only to lose out in the semi-finals.

O’Connor first saw off Jak Jones 3-2, then peaked his 3-1 win over Jimmy Robertson with a 119 break.

Next came a 3-2 victory from 2-0 down over Selby in arguably the day’s best match before he cruised past Jackson Page 3-0.

Trump claims Rocket can no longer ‘intimidate’ rivals

Judd Trump reckons Ronnie O’Sullivan will be sensing retirement soon – because he can no longer “intimidate” opponents.

World No 1 Trump has won £1.2millions this season, meaning he could pass £2m and surpass the Rocket’s record.

The 2019 Crucible king, 35, said of the 49-year-old,seven-time world champ: “He maybe doesn’t have the same intimidating factor that he had.

“A lot more players are able to beat him. He’s not able to put in the consistency that he had.

“Now, people can bring their best game against him, something they couldn’t do before.

“Ronnie, for me, has never been an absolutely incredible player who blows you away, he just had this intimidation that no other player had.

“He’s someone, from what I can tell, he probably wants to have one big last hurrah and get out of here. To be honest, it could be any point where one more World Championship and he calls it a day."

Wilson reveals family 'struggle' now he's world champ

Kyren Wilson has admitted winning the 2024 World Championship has put a huge strain on his family life.

But the 33-year-old believes they will eventually see the "struggle" as "worthwhile".

Wilson told the Metro: "I feel like I’ve spent more time in hotel rooms and out of a suitcase than ever before but I just mentally accepted that was going to be the case this year and not let it consume me

!I wanted to make sure I enjoyed it because you are only going to be first time world champion once. If you let it consume you then what’s the point? What’s the point of working so hard to achieve that?"

But he added: "My wife has barely seen me this season and my kids have struggled with me being away.

"They’re so young and they will get to a certain age when they do realise it’s all worthwhile and I’ve achieved something very special. That’s a result of doing all this.

"Hopefully they can follow in my footsteps and take up the game as well.

"The youngest is looking at doing that, trying to convince the eldest to have a go because he’s got a bit of talent as well. We’ll see how it goes."

Selby loves tough Masters format

Mark Selby reckons the harder structure of the UK Championship and Masters mean whoever wins the Triple Crown events will definitely deserve it.

The four-time world champ has won the Masters three times and the UK twice

He said of this weekend's Ally Pally event: "I just think it’s so difficult to win. It’s the same with the UK now especially now it’s got back to the tiered structure.

“You look at Judd [Trump] he went and won the tournament, but his draw was absolutely brutal. He had Neil Robertson first game and then John Higgins.

“That’s going to happen on the tiered structure. I keep saying I prefer that structure even though you get tougher draws.

“If you win the tournament, you can hold the trophy at the end and you know you really deserve it.

"It’s the same at the Masters. Any match is capable of being a final."

Robertson urges the Rocket to 'refocus'

Ronnie O'Sullivan's late Masters replacement Neil Robertson admits he is worried about the legend.

The Rocket's form had plunged in recent weeks and he dropped out of this this week's Championship League following poor results in it.

But missing a Triple Crown event is another matter.

And World No 17 Robertson said: “From a personal point I’m buzzing to be in the Masters. But I really hope Ronnie’s okay.

“He’s been a bit indifferent in terms of his thoughts on the game this season. I hope he’s good and we see him back playing soon.

“It’s important if he’s feeling the way he is to pull out of the Masters, that he takes a break to refocus.”

O'Connor and Bingham lead table

World No 37 Joe O'Connor must be ecstatic after four straight wins today.

He tops Group Four ahead of three-out-of-three star Stuart Bingham.

And the duo meet in one of Saturday's two openers.

Meanwhile, Selby has two wins from three matches.

That follows his perfect record in Group Three of five wins earlier in the week - only to lose out in the semi-finals.

O'Connor first saw off Jak Jones 3-2, then peaked his 3-1 win over Jimmy Robertson with a 119 break.

Next came a 3-2 victory from 2-0 down over Selby in arguably the day's best match before he cruised past Jackson Page 3-0.