Mark Selby Vs John Higgins:
John Higgins had the first chance of this match thanks to a
confident long opener. He’d gotten to 58 before going into the reds, but he
failed to land on one and was forced to play safe. A horrible safety mistake
from Mark Selby though hitting the black and leaving the cue ball right in
amongst the reds ultimately cost him the frame as John was able to do enough to
take the opening frame. Mark’s first chance came in the second frame after John
left him in around the reds, but he was only able to make 16 before missing a
straightforward enough black. Higgins replied with only 10 before missing a red
that again was simple enough but did come with awkward bridging, so Selby was
almost back at the table immediately. Selby added another 42 to leave Higgins
needing a snooker with 3 reds left on the table but he couldn’t get close and
the match was levelled at 1-1. Higgins came very close to knocking in a superb
long red in frame three, but having come so close he left Mark a great chance
at the business end of the table. Mark accumulated 26 before missing a testing
red at mid-range. The next good opportunity fell to Selby, after a Higgins hit
and hope left him an easy chance and a very nice contribution from Selby gave
him a 2-1 advantage in this match. After misses from both players at the start
of frame four, Mark potted a skilful red along the bottom cushion and soon had
the balls open with a great opening to go into the interval a couple of frames
in front. An incredibly well played 98 made sure he did that as they went into
the break with the score at 3-1 to Selby.
Mark decided to try and roll up to a red near the pocket for
safety at the start of frame five, but the ball turned off and left the red on
for Higgins. He was unlucky not to get a kinder split on 27 and he risked
playing a tight red, but he hit the other red first and left the chance for
Mark. Selby played a poor shot himself though to leave the wrong angle on the
brown and then screw in-off in the middle. After a lot of misses from both
players, Higgins was able to grab the next scoring opportunity and an
additional 43 was enough for the Scotsman to pull a frame back at 2-3. The
beginning of the sixth frame was scrappy with both players having chances but
being unable to make the most of them until Higgins got in around the black
spot. A run of 69 from there for John was enough for him to level the match up
again at 3-3. John knocked in an excellent long red up to the top corner
providing him the first scoring opportunity of frame seven. On 15 he went
crashing into the pack for the blue, spreading the reds brilliantly but the
black and pink went safe, and he couldn’t get on the blue nicely, missing a thinner
cut on it cutting the break short on 21. A misjudged snooker escape from
Higgins then gave Selby a chance to accumulate some points, with an outside
chance of winning the frame at this visit. The last three reds were all safe on
side and top cushions though so Selby had to play safe on 56 with a 36 point
lead. Higgins got the next chance after potting a red, playing a snooker which
Selby left another red on from. John didn’t get position on the final red, but
laid another good snooker instead, now only trailing by 23. Higgins eventually
won the safety battle on the final red building a 7 point lead on the black,
but he had no position on it leading to a black ball battle, as Selby had the
chance to force a re-spot. It was Selby that made the mistake on the final
black, squandering any hopes of a re-spot as Higgins made it three frames on
the trot to lead for the first time since the first frame at 4-3. Both players
had chances early on but couldn’t really get comfortable position. John had the
best opportunity early in the frame once the reds had been opened up and he
made 42 from it before landing awkwardly on the brown, and choosing to play
safe. Mark had a chance to reduce his arrears in the frame at least but the
last couple of reds were in tricky positions. He potted the first of the two
which was near the cushion but failed to bring the final red out from that red
and then missed the blue when trying to send the cue ball round the angles to
knock it away from the black. Higgins was able to play a good snooker behind
the black on the final red, already with a 21 point advantage, but it was a
later that a snooker behind the brown that won Higgins the frame as he won 8
foul points and a further 8 points from a free ball leaving Selby needing a
snooker on the final red now, and he didn’t get it so that was a fourth frame
in a row for Higgins after the earlier three in a row from Selby to make it 5-3
to John and just one from a semi-final berth.
Knowing he had to win all of the remaining three frames,
Selby needed to start knocking in long balls and making breaks, and he started
frame nine in this manner with a good red from range to get in down the
business end of the table. Selby made 48 with reds and blacks to build a 56
point lead before missing a tricky red to the middle leaving the Scot a chance
to counter , though he was looking for more than 13 before missing a tough red
of his own. This gave Selby another good chance and you felt he needed to kill
this frame off now and he delivered to reduce his deficit to one at 4-5. A
confident long pot gave Higgins the first chance in frame ten, with him looking
to finish this match without needing a final frame. 37 wasn’t anywhere near
enough though but at least playing safe gave Higgins hope of having the next scoring
visit. A clever snooker from Mark though provided him with a chance and a
beautiful shot to pot the blue into the corner and screw back into the pack of
reds, made it into an excellent opening. In the end it all came down to the
last red with Mark leading by 5. John potted the last red from range but only
had a roll up behind the green left so the gap was 4 with 27 remaining. John
potted a brilliant yellow and had the only colours he needed on their spots to
win the match, until a huge kick on the green handed the golden chance back to
Selby who missed the green himself. John made the green, but seemed to have
another bad contact in missing the brown. Three brilliant pots from were needed
though on brown, blue and pink for Mark to steal the frame and force a decider
at 5-5.
The first chance in the decider fell to Higgins, who had
already had plenty of chances to win this match, however the nerves were
showing very early on as he under hit position on 22 and had to send the cue
ball back to baulk. A horrible swerve followed for Mark as he clipped the green
and clattered into the reds, giving John a golden chance to the win the match
at this visit with all of the reds he needed now open. A bad kick ruined John’s
break, but Mark couldn’t make the most of what was left and Higgins had a 51
point advantage with 75 left as a safety battle ensued. Mark then played a
fantastic snooker behind the green gaining him the advantage as John was in all
sorts of trouble. After giving away 14 in fouls, Higgins eventually made
contact with a red but left them on for Selby. Mark was within 19 points with 3
reds left, though he lost position and had no choice but to play safe. Higgins
made a huge error to let Selby back in straight away but he was unable to knock
the last two reds from the bottom cushion trailing by 5 with 43 on. The next
error came from Selby who fouled and left John a free ball which extended his
lead to 19 with the 2 reds left on, until he jawed the penultimate red along
the cushion. Higgins still led by 16 on the final red, but you thought whoever
won the battle on it would have the best chance of winning the match, as no
colours were really safe. It was Selby who played the last red from range from
a ball in hand, landing on the yellow, but having to go back around the angles
to get back on the yellow again, which he couldn’t manage too successfully. He
still knocked it in, yet the cue ball ran away from hi and position wasn’t
retained for the green. The gap was now 7 in Higgins favour but he was the one
who left the green on and Selby potted it to get nicely on the brown but the
blue was now on the side cushion, so with the scores level Selby had to choose
between the safety and the cross double, choosing and nailing the cross double
needing only the pink to win the match which he dropped into the middle
followed by a fist pump from the Jester who had won all of the last three
frames to complete a 6-5 victory over John Higgins.
He always manages to find a way to do it does Mark Selby, another brilliant fight back when he looked dead and buried on more than one occasion. What match will be able to top that and take 9th place on the list? Come back tomorrow to find out.
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