Louis Heathcote suffers late agony in maiden maximum bid as David Gilbert and Lei Peifan win latest Championship League groups

Louis Heathcote almost produced the first 147 of his career and the first of the new snooker season in his home city of Leicester on Wednesday, but missed the final yellow within touching distance of the landmark moment. A 3-1 win over Paul Deaville saw Heathcote finish third in Group 12 with world No. 23 David Gilbert compiling three centuries in topping the section as Lei Peifan won Group 19.

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Louis Heathcote missed the final yellow as his bid for a first maximum came up agonisingly short at the Championship League in his home city of Leicester on Wednesday.

Heathcote watched opponent Paul Deaville produce an 82 in his final match in Group 12 before breaks 97 and 53 saw him move 2-1 ahead at Mattioli Arena.

The world No. 70, whose highest competitive break remains 137 since turning professional in 2019, reached 120 in the fourth and final frame of the contest, but faltered on the colours as he hit across the long yellow after failing to get an ideal position from the final black.

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It was to prove a consolation win with unbeaten former champion David Gilbert defeating Heathcote 3-1, hitting 105, 139 and 77, on his way to reeling off three straight victories to seal his spot in the last 32.

Gilbert was clearly a man in form as a break of 129 helped him sweep past Deaville 3-0 before a closing 82 saw him edge out Duane Jones 3-1 to top the section with maximum points.

Elsewhere, Scottish Open champion Lei Peifan topped Group 19 with wins over Mateusz Baranowski (3-0) and Ryan Davies (3-1) before breaks of 120 and 54 earned him a 2-2 draw with Long Zehuang, who finished three points behind in second spot.

The 2024 Crucible finalist, Jak Jones, Jimmy Robertson and Mark Davis are all in action on Thursday.

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The Championship League runs between June 30 and July 23, with 32 groups of four producing 32 winners, who are then split into eight groups of four.

Two final groups of four will determine who contests the final on July 23, with the winner earning £33,000 and a place in the Champion of Champions event in Leicester in November.

Championship League group winners

Group 15: Stephen Maguire (Sco)
Group 26: Yao Pengcheng (Chn)
Group 3: Alfie Burden (Eng)
Group 22: Matthew Selt (Eng)
Group 25: Matthew Stevens (Wal)
Group 18: Yuan Sijun (Chn)
Group 28: Ricky Walden (Eng)
Group 9: Wu Yize (Chn)
Group 2: Zhang Anda (Chn)
Group 32: Ng On Yee (HK)
Group 11: Stuart Bingham (Eng)
Group 17: Elliot Slessor (Eng)
Group 6: Liam Davies (Wal)
Group 7: Amir Sarkhosh (Irn)
Group 13: Jack Lisowski (Eng)
Group 14: Pang Junxu (Chn)
Group 12: David Gilbert (Eng)
Group 19: Lei Peifan (Chn)

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