Luo And Zhou Through
China’s world number 64 Luo Honghao won six from seven matches to top Group L and reach the second phase of the WST Pro Series.
Luo, 20, turned professional in 2018 after winning the WSF Championship to earn a place on the World Snooker Tour. However, he endured a difficult first two seasons, narrowly retaining his professional status at the end of last year’s Betfred World Championship.
He showed his talent today, securing wins in all of his first five matches to all but book a place in phase two. Luo recorded 2-1 deciding frame wins over Mitchell Mann, Leo Fernandez and Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, as well as defeating Anthony Hamilton and compatriot Zhou Yuelong 2-0.
There was then a 2-0 loss to fellow WSF Championship winner Ashley Hugill, but Luo followed that up with a 2-0 defeat of Lei Peifan to end the day on 18 points.
World number 21 Zhou, who reached the semi-finals of the Betway UK Championship earlier this season, took second spot to ensure progression.
Zhou went into his final match needing to win to ensure a place in the top two. He did just that, beating Thai number one Un-Nooh 2-0 with breaks of 85 and 134. That left Zhou on 15 points, with five wins from his seven matches.
Both Zhou and Luo will return in March for the second phase of the £420,500 ranking event
Week one concludes on Monday with Jack Lisowski and Graeme Dott among those in action in Group N. Fans can watch it all live on the Matchroom Live website.
For live scores click here and for the group tables click here.