Snooker news - Mark Selby critical of 'rubbish' display while Mark Allen and John Higgins win
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ByEurosport
Updated 09/12/2019 at 22:51 GMT
Mark Selby says he feels “unmotivated and flat” after battling through his first-round match at the Scottish Open at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow on Monday.
Mark Selby
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Selby, who suffered a surprise fourth-round defeat to Matthew Stevens at the UK Championship last week, struggled for rhythm against Mark Joyce before eventually winning 4-2.
Speaking to Eurosport, he described his performance as "rubbish" and gave a frank assessment of his form.
"I have been struggling for a little while. It’s frustrating. Some matches I real flat and unmotivated out there, it’s a strange situation.
"I am still practicing and enjoying that side but sometimes when it comes to competing I am not enjoying the challenge, which is strange. A few years that is all I used to play snooker for.
"I am playing well in practice and then going into the match and not taking it out there, which is the hardest thing to understand. Whether I’m not focused enough out there and watching too much what’s going and not concentrating on my own game, I don’t know.
"I’m sure it will come back, just got to keep practicing and ride the wave I suppose."
Defending champion Mark Allen fought back from two frames down to beat Andy Hicks 4-2.
Allen, 33, reeled off runs of 88, 55 and 64 to set up a second-round tie with Louis Heathcote, who beat Anthony Hamilton 4-1.
Hicks, the world number 123, was the beneficiary of a bizarre turn of events during the second frame, when the Pistol, hampered by the jaws of the middle pocket, cued the white ball twice as he attempted to roll the blue to the opposite middle pocket.
Neither Allen nor match referee Leo Scullion noticed his transgression until the marker Marcel Eckhart intervened. Scullion then re-watched the incident on television cameras within the arena before awarding Hicks five penalty points, in scenes reminiscent of a VAR intervention.
Hicks, who returned to the professional circuit this year, went on to claim the frame courtesy of two visits but was unable to press home his advantage in what would turn out to be a crucial third frame.
Having sealed that fraught frame, Allen reeled off the next three with relative comfort to seal his spot in the next round.
Elsewhere, Barry Hawkins, a two-time Home Nations finalist, was dispatched by John Astley. Astley, ranked 78 in the world, put together runs of 77, 66 and 54 to set up a second-round clash with either Chen Feilong or Zhang Jiankang.
John Higgins reached the second round with a 4-1 win over Jamie Clarke, while Thepchaiya Un-Nooh saw off Liang Wenbo by the same scoreline.
SCOTTISH OPEN FIRST ROUND RESULTS
- Joe Perry 4 - 1 Michael Collumb
- David Grace 4 - 3 Adam Stefanow
- John Higgins 4 - 1 Jamie O'Neill
- Mike Dunn 4 - 1 Jamie Clarke
- Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 4 - 1 Liang Wenbo
- Mark Allen 4 - 2 Andy Hicks
- John Astley 4 - 0 Barry Hawkins
- Lu Ning 4 - 3 Riley Parsons
- Robert Milkins 4 – 1 Nigel Bond
- Si Jiahui 4 – 1 Brandon Sargeant
- Andrew Higginson 4 – 1 Lü Haotian
- Alexander Ursenbacher 4 – 0 Michael Holt
- Gary Wilson 4 - 0 Rod Lawler
- Scott Donaldson 4 – 2 Lei Peifan
- Peter Lines 4 – 2 Simon Lichtenberg
- Elliot Slessor 4 - 2 Gerard Greene
- Chris Wakelin 4 - 3 Robbie Williams
- Billy Joe Castle 4 – 2 Ashley Carty
- Andy Lee 4 – 2 Fergal O'Brien
- Louis Heathcote 4 – 1 Anthony Hamilton
- Anthony McGill 4 – 2 Hammad Miah
- Luca Brecel 1-4 Martin Gould
- Sam Craigie 0-4 Marco Fu
- Graeme Dott 4-0 Igor Figueiredo
- Jak Jones 1-4 Mark King
- Mark Selby 4-2 Mark Joyce
- Ryan Day 4-2 Thor Chuan Leong
- Ian Burns 4-3 Craig Steadman
- Kacper Filipiak 4-3 Michael Georgiou
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