Mark Williams beat Ricky Walden to win Group 5 of the Championship League Snooker, in the process booking his spot in March’s Winners’ Group at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry.

Welshman finished in third place behind Judd Trump and Ben Woollaston in the round-robin phase with four wins from his six league fixtures.

 
Williams subsequently accounted for Woollaston in the last four before a 3-1 victory over Walden, aided by a nice 136 break, saw the 42 year-old claim the £3,000 bonus for claiming the group triumph, in addition to the £3,100 he earned for all the frames he won over the course of the two days.

The Northern Ireland Open champion‘s wonderful 144 total clearance against Walden earlier in the competition, which stood as the highest break of the event, earned him an extra £500 while bigger rewards potentially await in the Winners’ Group.

The overall champion of Championship League Snooker will receive £10,000 but also a likely invitation to compete in the lucrative Champion of Champions later this year.

Williams joins Zhou Yuelong, Mark Selby, Kyren Wilson, and Ali Carter in the Winners’ Group, with only two more spots up for grabs.

Walden, Trump, Woollaston, and fifth-placed Martin Gould advance to Group 6 where they will have another opportunity to qualify.

However, David Gilbert and Joe Perry have been eliminated from the tournament and are set to be replaced by Graeme Dott, Michael White, and Li Hang for the upcoming group, which starts on Thursday.

Live coverage of Championship League Snooker is provided by selected betting websites.