Pang Junxu and Xu Si both remained on course for a first ranking title as they progressed to the last eight of the BetVictor Championship League by topping their groups on Saturday in Leicester.
The Chinese pair follow Stephen Maguire and Joe O'Connor into the third and final phase on Wednesday, with four more players to join them. The champion of the first ranking event of the 2025/26 season will be crowned on Wednesday night.
Pang battled through a tight Group C which came down to the last frame of the day. After beating Alfie Burden 3-1 with breaks of 109 and 132, Pang then lost 3-0 to Robbie Williams. His last fixture was against Lei Peifan and a win for either player was worth top spot, while a 2-2 draw would have handed Burden the group. After sharing the first two frames, Pang took the next two for a 3-1 victory.
Xu was the dominant player in Group D as he opened with a 3-0 win over David Lilley, highlighted by a break of 97 in the opening frame. He then saw off Artemijs Zizins 3-0 with top runs of 90 and 102, and secured top spot with a 2-2 draw against Jack Lisowski.
The action resumes on Monday with Chris Wakelin the highest ranked player Group E, while former World Champion Stuart Bingham is among the quartet in Group F.
