Ben Mertens reached the last 32 of a ranking event for the fifth time in his career by topping Group 10 at BetVictor Championship League in Leicester.
Mertens and Group 23 winner Sam Craigie progress to the second stage which gets underway on July 18th.
Belgium's 20-year-old Mertens scored heavily throughout the day to earn top spot. He opened with a 3-0 win over Jonas Luz, highlighted by a break of 131 in the third frame. He then drew 2-2 with Alfie Davies, helped by runs of 130 and 131. In the last match of the group he faced Jak Jones, who also had a win and a draw under his belt. Mertens eased to a 3-0 success with breaks of 64, 59 and 76.
Craigie is back in action after missing a whole season with a neck injury, but won his British Open qualifying match last month and followed up today by battling through a tight group. After beating Jimmy Robertson 3-0 with a top run of 79, he drew 2-2 with Mark Davis with a top break of 101. Craigie then let slip a 2-0 lead and drew 2-2 with Connor Benzey, which left the group wide open as Robertson and Davis met in the last match. Both needed to win to top the table, but their 2-2 draw meant Craigie was just ahead of Davis on frame difference.
Shoot Out champion Tom Ford and Thailand's Noppon Saengkham are among the players in action when play resumes in Leicester on Friday.
