Snooker: Stephen Maguire wins 2025 Championship League

Stephen Maguire has won the first ranking event of the season, beating Joe O’Connor 3-1 in the final of the 2025 Championship League in Leicester.

It is the 44-year-old Scot’s seventh career ranking title from 15 finals and his first since winning the 2020 Tour Championship.

The tournament, which takes place over three stages and began at Leicester Arena on 30 June, reached its finale on Wednesday, with just eight of the 128-strong field remaining.

Maguire booked his spot in the final after topping Group 2 in a best-of-four frame round-robin. The 15th seed beat Matthew Selt (3-0) and Ben Mertens (3-0) before losing to China’s Pang Junxu (3-1).

Leicester-born O’Connor, seeded 16th, only dropped two frames to finish first in Group 1, beating Ricky Walden (3-1), Xu Si (3-1), and Tom Ford (3-0).

In the best-of-five frame final, Maguire took a 2-0 lead before O’Connor pulled one frame back with a 99-point break. However, Maguire produced a match-winning 89 to secure the title with a frame to spare.