Players Championship snooker 2024: Sterling Mark Selby whitewashes Ronnie O'Sullivan to reach semi-finals
/dnl.eurosport.com/sd/img/placeholder/eurosport_logo_1x1.png){kind=logo}
ByOli Gent
Updated 22/02/2024 at 23:45 GMT
Mark Selby did the unthinkable and whitewashed two-time champion Ronnie O'Sullivan 6-0 in the quarter-finals of the Players Championship in Telford. Selby, the 10th seed, came into the match with 21 losses against 'The Rocket', but 'The Jester' found his spectacular form to see off O'Sullivan, who was returning to the table after he withdrew from the Welsh Open citing "stage fright and anxiety".
'Don't write him off' - O'Sullivan likens Selby to himself and says 'it can just click'
Mark Selby whitewashed Ronnie O’Sullivan 6-0 to move into the semi-finals of the Players Championship in Telford.
O’Sullivan, returning to the World Snooker Tour for the first time since withdrawing from the Welsh Open due to “anxiety”, could not match Selby, who played remarkably and accurately to record a superb win.
Early misses from both men followed O’Sullivan smashing the pack after being warned one shot too late for the miss rule at the start of the first frame, but it was Selby who found his rhythm first, tidying up to seize first blood.
A run of 69 propelled him to double his lead, and with O’Sullivan not able to pot a ball, it was down to Selby, the 10th seed, to hammer home his advantage, and a 91 took him halfway to a famous victory.
A faster start from O'Sullivan, who was 21-11 in the pair’s head-to-head, had him up in the fourth frame, but Selby began to turn it on its head with a lovely blue, helping him on his way to another excellent break - this time 105 - to send him in at the interval four to the good.
A poor safety from O’Sullivan and a Selby sitter opened proceedings in the fifth, but more sumptuous play from Selby had him up 72-11 by the end of the frame.
/origin-imgresizer.eurosport.com/2024/02/14/3886487-78962673-2560-1440.jpg)
O’Sullivan says Brecel ‘will come good’ but jokes world champion ‘probably buying too many cars’
O’Sullivan, a two-time winner of this competition in 2018 and 2019, began to find his range with an excellent starter, followed by some decent pots to put himself 58-5 up in the sixth. But he ran out of position on the black, before playing to baulk and hitting the green, with the red still there, giving Selby a chance to wrap up the game.
A brilliant long Selby red, followed - eventually - by the final red and a blue brought 'The Jester' right back into contention for the whitewash, which he duly served up with the final colours, to set up a final-four showdown with either John Higgins or Zhang Anda.
"To beat Ronnie in any tournament is a great scoreline, to beat him in the way I did, I am very, very pleased. It was more or less faultless," Selby told ITV afterwards.
"It is a huge game and if you can't get up for matches like that, you might as well put your cue away.
"I felt confident I could win, because if you don't then more often than not the scoreline will be the other way.
"The biggest thing for me is that when I am not winning I try to tweak things, but the two performances I have put in here have proved to me that what I am doing now is what I need to carry on doing, whether I win or lose."
“[It’s the best I’ve played all year], for sure," Selby told the World Snooker.
"I felt like I got a bit of confidence off the back of the [Barry] Hawkins game. Before the interval, I didn’t play great and I was sort of lucky to get out 2-2 against Barry.
"After that, it felt like something clicked; I felt more confident in my technique and I was striking the ball a lot better.
"The way I finished off against Barry was the key to today’s win. If you can’t get up for playing Ronnie with a full crowd, which he always brings, then you’re in the wrong game because that’s where you want to test yourself. In the last two days, my game seems to be in a good place."
- - -
Stream top snooker action live on discovery+, the Eurosport app and at eurosport.com.
Scan me
Related Topics
Share this article
Advertisement
Advertisement