Defending champion Denkha secures his knockout berth
filed Saturday, September 5, 2026. 9:59pm PT/USA
After the second day's play in the 2026 United States National Snooker Championship, Renat Denkha has advanced from his group into the knockout stage as he pursues a third successive title.
The number one seed has won Group A with five straight victories and will now be back in Round 2 action Monday at 9am. Paul Richardson has also booked his place in Round 1 as the group runner-up, with the third place being settled once the group is played to a conclusion Sunday at 9am.
The 2023 Champion Daren Taylor must win his final Group B match 2-0 against Arafat Amat if he is to guarantee his passage into the knockout stage, as in today's play the number two seed from Arizona lost 2-1 to Cheang Ciing Yoo though defeated Vijay Sundaram 2-0 to keep his hopes alive. Peter Du continued his excellent form today as the recent winner of 2026 The Champion USSA Open National Tour event won both of his group matches to preserve his 100% match win record.
The number three seed and two-time champion Ajeya Prabhakar won both of his matches 2-0 to win Group C with one match still left to play. New York state's Alfred Tinger can claim the runner-up spot in the group should he defeat Ryan Irons in their final group match, though Irons and Kevin Kuei also have the prospect of advancing in their own hands .
In Group D, Andy McCloskey completed his group matches with victories over Ahmad Shekib Nawabi, Kyrie Chan and Pravin Patel, however the number four seed will have to wait for the outcome of Romil Azemat's tie with Nawabi as should he take the victory the 2006 runner-up from Arizona will top the group.
Ahmed Aly Elsayed is in command of Group E after forging victories at the PABSA Academy against Sam McGrath and Mohammad Rahim, and now the unseeded six-times former champion just needs to defeat Dave Daly at California Snooker in their final group tie to win the group. The number five seed Tom Limor has guaranteed his advancement to the knockout stage after securing wins over Daly and Raymond McCarthy.
Sargon Isaac has dominated Group F as the number six seed extended his winning streak to four matches without losing single frame by defeating Bahador Rahimi 2-0 and Omar Balsara 2-0 at California Snooker. The three-times former champion has secured top spot no matter what happens in his final group match against Yi Dai at the PABSA Academy, with Yi chasing the other qualification spots alongside Ernst Bezemer and Balsara.
Steven Wong is the fourth seeded player to have already won his group and book their berth in Round 2, as the 2022 Champion completed his five matches without the loss of any frames by defeating Sanaullah Ansari, Mark Wilson and Prithu Durisety 2-0 respectively. Both Ansari and Arif Mahmood have also secured their passage into Round 1, with the the players battling it out Sunday at the PABSA Academy for the second and third places.
Hasanain Alsultani has guaranteed his advancement into the knockout stage with 2-0 wins at the PABSA Academy against Sanjay Poudel and Tommy Kollins respectively, however the number eight seed looks set to finish in the runner-up spot as Daniel Holoyda continued his winning run after 2-0 victories against Zia Sheik and Nitin Mehta respectively. Sheik and Mehta still have the hope of picking up that third place.
Day three of the Championship will see the completion of the group stage, with Round 1 of the knockout stage scheduled to get underway from 4pm.
