Mark Selby produced a superb performance to beat Ronnie O’Sullivan 6-0 to secure a place in the semi-finals of the Players Championship at Telford.
O’Sullivan has looked almost untouchable this season, having won four titles including the British Championship and the Masters. However, four-time world champion Selby ended O’Sullivan’s 16-game unbeaten streak with a high-quality performance that exceeded half a century in five games.
The match got off to a controversial start when referee Desislava Bozhilova saw the side of the red ball but failed to warn O’Sullivan after he missed his second try. She quickly realized her mistake, apologized to both players, and immediately informed the world No. 1 that if he didn’t hit the red card on the next shot, he would be disqualified.
O’Sullivan responded by slamming the red ball to open up the situation, and Selby finally sealed the victory with a break of 65.
Selby, who will face China’s Zhang Anda or John Higgins in Saturday’s semi-finals, quickly built momentum after shooting 91. After O’Sullivan failed to make the most of his opportunity in the third game, he further extended his advantage with a break of 81.
Jester, from Leicester City, once again hit a beautiful break of 105 points and entered the halftime break in complete control of the situation 4-0.
After the game resumed, O’Sullivan continued to make some wayward shots and got into the upper pocket after the red card. Selby won the fifth game with a clearance of 59. The Rockets eventually went on the attack with 58 in the next frame but ended up losing position and then saw an attempted safety shot back to the fringe of the green, leaving a red card.
After several tense exchanges, Selby quickly hit a long red ball into the lower left corner, then deftly hit the last red ball after O’Sullivan passed the ball over the pocket, and then cleared the color to 70-58 Win this game. Complete an unforgettable victory.
“Beating Ronnie in any competition is a great result and to beat him the way I did I’m very, very happy. It’s more or less perfect,” Selby said on ITV4. “This is a big game and if you can’t stand up and play in a game like this, you better put your clubs away.
“I’m confident that I can win because if you don’t, the score tends to be the other way around. The most important thing for me is that when I don’t win, I try to adjust a few things, but here I am Those two performances proved to me that what I’m doing now is what I need to continue to do, whether I win or lose.”
Northern Ireland’s Mark Allen beat Gary Wilson 6-4 after a marathon four-hour session at the International Center on Thursday afternoon. Allen, who was celebrating his 38th birthday, took an early 2-0 lead after two half-centuries and went into the break with a score of 75 and a 3-1 lead.
Wilson won the BetVictor Welsh Open on Sunday before breaking serve to level 3-3 with a break of 76. Allen, ranked third in the world, worked hard again and won the seventh and eighth games, but missed the opportunity in the next game and finally completed the task with a score of 69.
Allen, who defeated former world champion Mark Williams in the first round, will face Ali Carter on Friday night for a spot in Sunday’s final.
