'Delighted' Chris Wakelin beats Mark Selby to win Group 2 of Championship League at Morningside Arena
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Published 05/01/2024 at 21:26 GMT
Chris Wakelin joined Stuart Bingham in the Winners' Group of the Championship League after beating Mark Selby in the final of Group 2 at the Morningside Arena in Leicester on Friday evening. Selby will now shift his focus to the Masters which gets underway at the weekend. Stream top snooker action, including the Masters, live on discovery+, the Eurosport app and at Eurosport.com
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Chris Wakelin booked his place in the Winners’ Group of the Championship League with a 3-2 win over Mark Selby in the Group 2 final.
Selby played some sparkling snooker in Group 2, making seven centuries in total, but Wakelin pounced on errors in the final and combined those with excellent table craft to secure the win.
Kyren Wilson led the group after the first day, but he was toppled by Wakelin 3-1 in the semi-finals.
Selby required victory in his final game of the group - against Wakelin - to secure a place in the semis and he did that with a 3-1 success.
That win set up a clash with Ali Carter in the last four, and Selby played some superb snooker to claim a 3-1 win.
He opened the match with a break of 120, followed it up with a run of 63 and wrapped up a 3-1 win with a knock of 132.
Selby looked in good touch at the Morningside Arena as he kicked off the opening frame of the final with a break of 59.
He was in total control with Wakelin needing snookers, but the latter found the foul points he required and knocked in the final four colours to steal the opener.
Selby bounced back to take the second and again had a big chance in the third, but missed a tough red and Wakelin knocked in a break of 76 to edge back in front.
The fourth was a scrappy affair, but Selby produced some steely safety play to force a deciding frame.
Wakelin needed only one bite in the fifth, as he made a superb break of 110 to close out the match and join Stuart Bingham in the Winners’ Group.
“It was a tough match against Mark, and I'd only lost to him about an hour before in the group stage,” Wakelin said. “I am delighted with how I played in the end.
“When my chance came in the decider, I committed to three or four big pots and that’s what got me started.”
Wakein feels his form is heading in the right direction after a period of poor results.
“Compared to where I was 12 months ago, I would not have dreamt of even qualifying so to get through to the Winners’ Group is a prestigious event,” Wakelin said. “The winner of this gets through to the Champion of Champions.
"A lot of people will see this as a small event, but silverware is silverware and winning takes a lot.”
All is not lost for Selby, as he will return for Group 3 at the start of February. It looks a tough pool, with Selby, Kyren Wilson, Gary Wilson, Carter, Neil Robertson, Tom Ford and Barry Hawkins set to do battle.
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