Grove Leisure

Mark Selby is the 2026 Invitational CLS Champion

monique — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 08:09:16 +0000

Mark Selby has won the 2026 Championship League Snooker invitational yesterday evening. He beat Wu Yize in the Final. It’s the third consecutive year that Mark wins this event which is truly remarkable.

Congratulations Mark Selby!

Here is the report shared by WST:

Selby Retains League Title

Mark Selby won the BetVictor Championship League invitation event for the third consecutive year, beating Wu Yize 3-1 in the final in his home city of Leicester.

All Results

Selby has dominated this event in recent years, beating Joe O’Connor in the 2024 final and Kyren Wilson in the 2025 final before completing the hat-trick tonight.

And world number six Selby becomes the only player so far this season to win three titles, having captured the Champion of Champions and UK Championship before Christmas.

In the group phase across Tuesday and Wednesday, Elliot Slessor finished top of the table with five wins out six, with Selby second on four wins. China’s Wu finished fourth and then came from 2-1 down to beat Slessor 3-2 in the semi-finals with breaks of 80 and 101 in the last two frames. Selby saw off Si Jiahui 3-0 with runs of 94, 101 and 104.

In the final, Selby took the opening frame then added the second with a break of 128. Rising star Wu, who made the top break of the group with a 146 during the round robin stage, pulled one back only for Selby to seal victory with a run of 92 in frame four.

The 2025 Scottish Open

monique — Sun, 18 Jan 2026 08:35:00 +0000

The 2025 Scottish Open was played from 15 to 21 December 2025 In Edinburgh. This is the last event of the year and quite often players miss it or aren’t fully motivated. From the Grove, only Mark Selby and Wu Yize participated. Wu Yize lost to Matt Selt in the round of 16. Mark Sebly went out to Chang Bingyu in the QFs. Chang went on to reach the final where he was beaten by Chris Wakelin (9-2)

Mark Selby is the 2025 UK Champion

monique — Sat, 17 Jan 2026 11:01:56 +0000

Mark Selby beat Judd Trump in the Final in York to become the 2025 UK Champion.
Here is the report shared by WST

:

Mark Selby held off a fightback from defending champion Judd Trump to triumph in a nerve-shredding final 10-8 and win the Victorian Plumbing UK Championship for a third time.

Victory sees Selby reach the quarter-century mark in ranking silverware, with this being his 25th title.

The Jester from Leicester also captured UK crowns in 2012 and 2016, when he won respective finals against Shaun Murphy and Ronnie O’Sullivan.

Selby has ended a nine year wait to conquer York again and the signs were there in the lead up to the event. He won last month’s invitational Champion of Champions, where he defeated Trump 10-5 in the title match.

42-year-old Selby moves to ten Triple Crown titles in all, edging ahead of John Higgins (9) in the all-time list. Only Steve Davis (15), Stephen Hendry (18) and Ronnie O’Sullivan (23) have won more than Selby.

Defeat for world number one Trump means he ends 2025 without having added to his trophy collection. It is the first time the Bristolian has failed to win an event in a calendar year since 2013.

Selby claims the £250,000 winner’s cheque and as a result rises from 11th position to sixth in the Johnstone’s Paint World Rankings. Trump remains unmoved at the summit.
They came into tonight with Selby holding a commanding 6-2 lead. The opening frame went the way of the four-time World Champion, who crafted a run of 59 to extend his advantage to 7-2.

Trump seized the initiative in the next with a break of 63, but spurned a black off the spot. Selby couldn’t punish him and a safety battle ensued. Trump eventually trapped his opponent and won the exchange to make it 7-3.

A fragmented 11th saw both players miss balls unexpectedly, but after 38 minutes of play, it was 2019 Crucible king Trump who prevailed to go three behind at 7-4. The Juddernaut rode the wave of momentum into the interval, hammering in a century run of 105 to trail 7-5.

When play resumed, Selby produced a 91 break to move two away from the finishing line. However, the Ace in the Pack refused to fold and made a sublime 125 to pull within two at 8-6.

A nervy 15th saw Selby miss two routine blacks off the spot, allowing Trump to reduce his arrears further and crank up the heat, making it 8-7.

Despite the huge tension, Selby summoned the steel to make 77 and move to the verge of victory and lead 9-7.

The balls appeared to be at Selby’s mercy in the 17th, but a missed red to the top left allowed Trump back to the table and he clawed back to 9-8. In typical Selby fashion, he recomposed himself and made 69 to cap off a landmark win.

“I missed a dolly red when I was in win 10-7 and I was sitting in my chair thinking that if I lose 10-9 that will haunt me forever. It would have been worse than the Willie Thorne blue! To make the break in the last, it is probably one of the best breaks of my career. Under those circumstances, to hold myself together,” said an elated and relieved Selby.

“To win any tournament nowadays is so difficult. I put so much emphasis on these Triple Crown events. I always try that little bit harder and the pressure is greater. These are the events I judge my CV on. It is nice to get to double figures.

“It is incredible to go above John Higgins in Triple Crown wins. I’ve looked up to him for years. When I was a young lad, he was at the top of his game and he is still top of his game now. To know I’m in front of him by one is incredible. He is still capable of winning Triple Crown events himself and it wouldn’t surprise me if he did it this season. I get on with him really well, so I can have a bit of banter about that.”

Trump said: “I had a lot of chances this evening. It is my own fault and I missed too many easy balls. It isn’t easy to get over the line in these big events and I was in a similar situation last year. I hoped that I would find my best but it didn’t happen.

“Mark was much the better player and I was just trying to hang in. There was the odd frame when I was coming back and I was starting to pot a few. I will be trying to find that at the start of the game in the Masters. I will work hard between now and the Masters.”

All the detailed results are available on snooker.org.
Judd Trump had beaten Neil Robertson in the semi-finals and Ding in the quarter finals before facing Mark Selby in the final.
Previously, Neil Robertson had beaten Wu Yize in the round of 16.

The 2025 Riyadh Season Snooker Championship

monique — Sat, 17 Jan 2026 10:38:31 +0000

Neil Robertson was the only player from the Grove involved in the 2025 Riyadh Season Snooker Championship. He reached the final but came second to Zhao Xintong who beat him by 5-2.

Mark Selby is the 2025 Champion of Champions

monique — Sat, 17 Jan 2026 10:03:34 +0000

The 2025 Champion of Champions was played from 10th to 16th of November 2025, in Leicester, England. Grove was represented by Mark Selby and Neil Robertson. Mark Selby, of course, was the “local boy” in the draw and he played great all week.

Here is the report shared by WST:

Selby Beats Trump To Become Champion Of Champions For First Time
Mark Selby landed the Sportsbet.io Champion of Champions title for the first time, and ended a nine-month barren streak, as he pulled away from 5-5 to beat Judd Trump 10-5 in the final.

Four-time Crucible king Selby had never previously reached the final of this event but this time in Leicester he rose to the occasion in front of his home fans, knocking out Stephen Maguire, Mark Williams and Neil Robertson before dominating the second half of the final against world number one Trump, finishing in superb style with three consecutive century breaks.

It’s a first title for 42-year-old Selby since the Welsh Open in February and by far his highlight of the 2025/26 season so far as he had previously not reached a final. He will now go into the Victorian Plumbing UK Championship later this month with a massive confidence boost.

Trump, who remains without a title in 2025, held an early 3-1 lead with breaks of 111, 73 and 114, despite a 102 from his opponent in frame two. Selby then hit back with 70, 99, 65 and 64 to go 5-3 ahead, before Trump’s 71 gave him the last frame of the afternoon session.

Bristol’s Trump won the first of the evening session, then Selby took the 11th for 6-5, before crucially getting the better of a safety battle on the final pink in the 12th to extend his lead. A tremendous 138 total clearance, the highest break of the tournament, left Selby 8-5 up as they headed for the interval.

And Selby maintained his momentum when they returned as breaks of 101 and 132 allowed him to fly past the winning post.

“This event is only for the best players and it was a privilege to play Judd in the final,” said Selby, the tenth different winner in ten tournaments so far this season. “I played well from start to finish and I knew I had to because Judd is the man to beat. I have felt good about my game for the last few days, I have found something and I know I have to stick with it. It’s a while since I have felt like that so it was great to play to that standard in a big final.”

Trump, who lost 9-8 to Jack Lisowski in last month’s Northern Ireland Open final, appeared to suggest that he will ditch the cue he has used since the start of the current season. “I couldn’t win with that cue,” he said. “I gave it my all today, but I just can’t get used to it, I didn’t know where to aim. There are no excuses and congratulations to Mark because he was the best player all week and deserved to win. He scored very heavily, his safety was good and he showed why he is one of the all-time greats.”

Wonderful Wu Yize is the 2025 International Championship Champion

monique — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 19:04:34 +0000

Wu Yize won his first ranking title in Nanjing as he prevailed at the 2025 International Championship!
Here is the report shared by WST:

China’s Wu Yize blitzed to a 10-6 victory over Scotland’s four-time World Champion John Higgins to capture his maiden ranking title by winning the International Championship in Nanjing.

The supremely talented 22-year-old’s potential has been clear for many years. He became World Under-21 Champion back in 2018, aged just 14. Four years later, in 2022, he was named Rookie of the Year after his debut season on tour.

However, this has been Wu’s coming of age week. Having also beaten the likes of compatriots Zhang Anda and World Champion Zhao Xintong, it was against two of England’s finest where he displayed his blistering best.

From 4-0 down in his last 16 tie with world number one Judd Trump, Wu strung together 12 consecutive frames to win 6-4 and then whitewash Barry Hawkins 6-0. Each of those frames contained a break over 60. The question was could he carry that form into his final with experienced 50-year-old Higgins?

Today’s clash was the fourth biggest ever age gap in a ranking final, the biggest was 30 years between Ding Junhui and Steve Davis in the 2005 UK Championship final.

Wu’s previous two final appearances ended in defeat. He lost 9-7 to Neil Robertson in the 2024 English Open final and a few months later was beaten 9-5 by Lei Peifan in the 2024 Scottish Open final.

This win makes Wu the ninth ranking event winner from mainland China and he pockets a £175,000 top prize. That catapults Wu from 22nd to 13th in the Johnstone’s Paint World Rankings. He now qualifies automatically for the UK Championship, at Chris Wakelin’s expense.

It’s a disappointing end to a very strong week for 33-time ranking event winner Higgins. He will have to settle for the £75,000 runner-up cheque in his 59th ranking final. His run included a 9-2 win over close friend Stephen Maguire in the semis and a 6-2 defeat of Shaun Murphy in the quarters.

The afternoon session saw Wu dominate large chunks of the play, but Higgins showed his grit and experience to claim the last two frames leave the match in the balance at 5-4 to Wu.

When play got underway this evening, Wu immediately regained the initiative with a break of 87 to go two ahead.

A dramatic 11th frame proved to be a crucial juncture in the match. Higgins had the frame under control when he missed a tricky brown to the left hand baulk corner. After a brief exchange, Wu took on a double which led to a tremendous clearance of 43 to steal on the black and move 7-4 ahead.

Wu compounded that frame with a maximum attempt in the 12th. His run ended on 80, but it left him needing just two frames for glory at 8-4 as they went in for the mid-session.

After play resumed, the next two frames were traded, as Wu moved to the verge of victory at 9-5. Higgins crafted a defiant 53 to make it 9-6, but this evening was Wu’s moment. He went out with a bang, hammering home 108 to get over the line and become the International Champion.

“Honestly, it feels unbelievable. After beating Judd Trump, I started thinking about the whole journey and it was surreal,” said an elated Wu.

“I think one of the good things was that I started both sessions of the final really well. Having a lead helped me to relax. Everything went pretty much the way I wanted.

“It has been a long wait since reaching the final at the Scottish Open and the English Open last year. At times I honestly felt quite desperate, but deep down I always believed I had the ability to win a title. Every day I kept thinking about it. I had a strong will to lift a trophy. That belief carried me through this week.

“My parents are everything. My dad (Wu Jiepin) has been with me since I was a kid, always by my side. He’s helped me so much, especially during difficult times in the UK. I’m so grateful for what he has done for me.”

Higgins said: “I was nowhere near good enough all day. He was striking the ball beautifully. He was by far the better player. It reminded me so much of playing Paul Hunter. The way he gets through the ball and gets so much action on it. He is a brilliant player.

“There’s no point in getting too down. I’ll get home and have a couple of days off before the Champion of Champions. After that it is the Riyadh tournament and then building up to the UK. I’m disappointed with how I played today.

“I’m delighted his mum and dad are here. It brings back memories for me. It could open the floodgates. It goes to show the good hands snooker is in. I’m glad that I’ll probably be retiring in a couple of years with guys like that potting them off the lampshades. He is a total star.”

All the detailed results are on snooker.org

The 2025 Northern Ireland Open

monique — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 18:25:19 +0000

The 2025 Northern Ireland Open was played at the Waterfront in Belfast from 19 to 26 October 2025. The final featured two former Grove players, Judd Trump and Jack Lisowski. Jack beat Judd by 9-8 and it was a very popular result as well as a long overdue trophy for Jack.
But for the current Grove players it wasn’t a particularly successful event. Ding Junhui didn’t enter and Neil Robertson withdrew.
Luca Brecel lost in round one, Mark Selby and Wu Yize lost in round 2. Mark though was beaten by Jack Lisowski, the eventual champion.

The 2025 Xi’An Grand Prix

monique — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 17:20:23 +0000

The 2025 Xi’An Grand Prix was played in Xi’An, China from 7 to 13 of October 2025. Mark Williams won the event, beating Shaun Murphy in the final.

Ding Junhui was the most successful of the Grove players in this event: he reached the QFs, losing by 5-3 to Shaun Murphy, the eventual runner-up. It was also Shaun Murphy who had eliminated Wu Yize by 5-4 in the round of 32. NEil Robertson also lost at the last 32 stage, beaten 5-4 by He Guoqiang. Mark Selby lost in the last 64, going out at the hands of Mark Davis.
Luca Brecel had lost to Sunny Akani in the qualifiers. He had conceded the match after three frames

The 2025 British Open

monique — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 16:57:30 +0000

The 2025 British Open was played from 22 to 28 September 2025 in Cheltenham. Mark Selby was the defending champion.
The event was won by Shaun mUrphy who beat anthony McGill by 10-7 in the final. Sheun had beaten Mark Selby by 6-1 in the semi-finals. It was also Shaun who had eliminated Neil Robetson by 4-1 in the round of 32. Wu Yize had lost in the round of 64 to Ali Carter.

All the detailed results are available on snooker.org.

The 2025 English Open

monique — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 16:23:17 +0000

The 2025 English Open was played in Brentwood from 11 to 21 September 2025. Neil Robertson was the defending champion. The event was won by Mark Allen who defeated Zhou Yuelong by 9-8 in the final.
Neil’s title defence ended early: he was beaten 4-1 by Jackson Page in the round of 32.
All the detailed results are available on snooker.org
Both Ding Junhui and Wu Yize lost in the round of 16. Ding lost by 4-3 to the eventual champion, Mark Allen, whilst Wu went out by 4-2 to fellow Grove player Mark Selby, Mark reached the semi-finals, where he lost by 6-3 to Zhou Yuelong. Zhou had got the better of Luca Brecel in the quarter-finals (5-4).