Championship League Snooker: Luca Brecel and Ricky Walden complete final eight lineup

Luca Brecel and Ricky Walden are the final two players in the last eight of the Championship League, with the epic tournament coming to a close on Friday.

The competition started all the way back on June 28 and a champion will finally be crowned on Friday (July 29) after two more groups contest and the winners meet in the final.

Brecel led his group on Thursday ahead of Daniel Wells, Chris Wakelin and Jamie Clarke. Meanwhile, Walden Shaun Murphy plummeted to the top of Group G, with Anthony Hamilton and Elliot Slessor behind the Magician.

Walden needed a win over Murphy in the last game of their group, and leading 2-1, it went to a deciding frame, with the Gladiator making a 135 break to secure his spot in Friday’s action.

You would have had astronomical odds picking the eight players still standing on the final day of the tournament, with some big names falling by the wayside.

The likes of Ronnie O’Sullivan, Judd Trump, Mark Selby, Mark Williams and Jack Lisowski have all come and gone, while a number of lesser-known names have a shot at winning the first ranking title of the season in Leicester on Friday.

In Group One, Walden will face Stuart Bingham, Lu Ning and Pang Junxu, with the two Chinese stars looking for their first ever ranking title.

Group two includes Zhao Xintong, Xiao Guodong, Lyu Haotian and Brecel, and Xiao and Lyu are also both looking for their first league titles but will struggle against the two men who took part in the UK Championship final last season .

It has been a very impressive tournament for Chinese players so far, with five making it to the last eight.

Ding Junhui won a very different version of this tournament in 2012, but this would be much more important for all the Chinese contingents still involved this year.

The winner will walk away with a total of £33,000, which will go up their world rankings and be the perfect start to the season.