World No. 1 Judd Trump and former champion Neil Robertson headline Group Four of the Champion of Champions in Leicester on Tuesday, with the winner of the group joining Chris Wakelin in the semi-finals.

Robertson opens the day against Panchaya Channoi at 1pm at the Mattioli Arena, with Trump following against Jak Jones in the afternoon. The two winners meet in the group final at 7pm, played over the best of 11 frames, while the opening matches are best of seven.

Trump arrives in Leicester as the man to beat. The 2021 champion won the German Masters and the Shanghai Masters this season and was runner-up here last year, losing 10-5 to Mark Selby in the final. He returns looking to go one better in an event he has reached the final of six times.

Robertson, a two-time winner of the tournament, faces one of the stories of the week in Channoi, the Thai player who has earned his place among the 16 title-winners from the past year. Jones, the British Open champion, completes a group packed with pedigree.

Selby already out after Wakelin shock

The group winners will be playing for a semi-final place against Wakelin, who produced the shock of the tournament so far on Monday by knocking out defending champion Selby 6-2.

Selby, the defending champion and a Leicester favourite, had begun his title defence by beating Alfie Burden 4-3, while Wakelin saw off Barry Hawkins 4-1. But Wakelin, who also beat Selby in the group stage, proved too strong in the evening quarter-final and ended the champion’s run on the opening day.

Selby had claimed the crown for the first time last year on home soil, beating Trump in the final, but he will not get the chance to defend it this week.

O’Sullivan to come on Wednesday

The tournament continues on Wednesday, when Ronnie O’Sullivan returns to Leicester in search of a fifth Champion of Champions title. He faces Shaun Murphy in the afternoon, with the winner of that group tie also going through to the last four.

The 16-player invitational brings together the season’s tournament winners, and the best-of-19 final is played over two sessions on Sunday, 15 November. The winner takes home the top prize of £150,000.

Group Four’s winner will know by Tuesday night whether it is Trump, Robertson, Channoi or Jones who books the second semi-final place.

The two semi-finals take place on Friday and Saturday, before the final on Sunday. Whoever comes through Group Four will face Wakelin, who has already shown that reputations count for little in Leicester this week.