World No 1 Trump progresses at Snooker Championship League

LONDON -- World No 1 Judd Trump started the new snooker season with two wins and one draw on Sunday, progressing to the second stage of the Championship League from Group One.

Trump, 31, opened his play in Milton Keynes, England with a 3-1 victory over Chinese teenager Fan Zhengyi before defeating David Lilley 3-0. He then settled for a 2-2 draw with Alan McManus in his last match and won the group without challenge.

"A few of the players gave me the games and I didn't have to work that hard to get over the line," Trump told the World Snooker Tour website.

The ace claimed six ranking titles last season but failed to defend his world championship title in the season-ending tournament.

The 19-year-old Fan finished second after one win, one draw and one loss. Last month, Fan defeated Michael White 4-2 in the final round of a Q School event, regaining his place on the tour.

Ryan Day also advanced on Sunday after finishing his three group matches with two victories and one draw. He even scored a maximum break in his 3-1 win over Rod Lawler.

The Championship League has been expanded to a full World Snooker Tour ranking event this season, featuring 128 players, in three stages over 21 days.

Stage One involves 32 groups of four players, with the player who tops each group progressing to Stage Two.

Stage One will be played across two blocks of eight days: September 13-20 and September 28-October 5.