Mark Selby put in a vintage performance to beat Ronnie O’Sullivan 6-0 and book a place in the semi-finals of the Players Championship in Telford.
O’Sullivan has already won four major ranking titles this season and has looked almost untouchable. But it was Selby, the four-time world champion, who put in a quality performance with more than a half-century break in five frames that ended O’Sullivan’s 16-match unbeaten run.
The start of the match was controversial in the opening frame. Referee Digislava Bozilova did not warn O’Sullivan after the second failure, in which one side of the red was visible. She quickly realized her mistake, apologized to both of her players, and immediately told the world No. 1 player that if she didn’t hit a single red on her next shot, she would be stripped of the frame. Ta.
O’Sullivan’s response was to swipe at the red team and open the table, allowing Selby to eventually clinch the frame with a break of 65.
Selby, who will face China’s Zhang Anda or John Higgins in the semi-finals, immediately gained momentum from the start with a clear 91 points. O’Sullivan broke again after failing to capitalize on his third chance. He further extended his advantage with a score of 81.
It was turning into a vintage rendition of the clown from Leicester. He made another impressive break of 105 and went into the middle of the session at 4-0 in complete control.
After the restart, O’Sullivan continued his wayward shot, going into the top pocket from the red and Selby winning the fifth frame with a clear 59.
Rocket finally got into gear in the next frame with a break of 58, but lost position and attempted a safety shot that returned to the table edge of the green, leaving him with a red.
After some tense exchanges, Selby sinks a long red into the bottom left corner at a fast pace, leaving it just above the pocket for O’Sullivan before dropping a deft final red before clearing the collar and hitting the frame. They won 70-58. , achieved a memorable victory.
“It’s a great scoreline to beat Ronnie in any tournament. I’m very, very happy to beat him the way I did. It was more or less perfect,” Selby told ITV4. . “This is a big match, and if you can’t get up for a match like that, you might as well put your cue away.”
“I was confident that we could win, because if you don’t, the scoreline is often the other way around.”The biggest thing for me is when I don’t win, I try to adjust, but here’s what I did. Both performances proved to me that what I’m doing now is something I have to keep doing, win or not. lose. ”
In Thursday afternoon’s session at the International Center, Northern Ireland’s Mark Allen won the four-hour marathon, defeating Gary Wilson 6-4. Allen, celebrating his 38th birthday, took an early 2-0 lead after two half-centuries and went into the interval with a 75-run lead leading 3-1. .
Wilson, who won the BetVictor Wales Open on Sunday, showed recovery by fighting back with a break of 76 to level the score at 3-3. However, world number three Allen dug in again to take frames seven and eight and missed the chance of a match ball in the next frame, but in the end he finished the job with his break of 69. .
Allen, who defeated former world champion Mark Williams in the first round, will face Ali Carter on Friday for a spot in Sunday’s final.
