SELBY DELIGHTS HOMETOWN FANS
THE JESTER SEES OFF MURPHY IN FIRST ROUND OF BRITISH OPEN
MARK Selby delighted his home crowd by winning his 2021 World Championship final rematch with Shaun Murphy, writes Paul Mason.
Leicester hero Selby beat Murphy 3-2 in their first round match in the Matchroom.live British Open at the city’s Morningside Arena.
The four-time world champion was making his first televised appearance since winning at The Crucible in Sheffield in May.
Selby made sure his return was a winning one by seeing off 2005 world champion Murphy, whom he defeated 18-15 in the world final, after the open draw had paired them together in the first round.
The Jester from Leicester also remains on course to become world number one again, with the current top place Judd Trump needing to make the quarter-finals to stay No.1
After an exchange of small breaks, Murphy took the opening frame of the match with a break of 48, but Selby quickly equalised, pouncing on a missed green early in the second frame and compiling 78 to level.
The pair handed the initiative to the other in frame three, before Selby made a 37 break to lead the match.
Selby broke down on 54 when looking well set to clinch the match, and Murphy got within a point of him before missing the final yellow.
But he returned after a safety battle with a crunching pot on the blue to take the contest to the wire.
Both had openings in the decider, but Murphy inexplicably missed a black to the middle pocket after getting himself in prime position. Selby took a 20-point lead, and then knocked in a superb long red, cannoning the pink to nudge himself over the winning line, and into a second round clash against Ali Carter.
“I enjoyed it out there, ” Selby told ITV Sport.
“I didn’t know what to expect, I’ve had about three days practice since the World Championship ended.
“In patches, I felt okay, but then also I felt like I could miss anything.
“It was fantastic to see a full crowd. It’s the first ranking event in my home town, and it was a special feeling going out there.
“It would be fantastic to be world number one again.
“It’s definitely one of my aims this season. I’m still in this competition, and in with a chance of doing that.”
Along with Murphy’s exit, the first round saw no fewer than nine top 16 ranked players out of the tournament, with Ronnie O’Sullivan, Neil Robertson and Ding Junhui declining to take part, and Murphy, Kyren Wilson, Barry Hawkins, Jack Lisowski, Yan Bingtao and Anthony McGill all crashing out early.
Stuart Bingham was the last member of the elite top 16 in action in yesterday’s afternoon session, and the Basildon man booked his place in round two with a 3-1 win over Robert Milkins.
Seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry also got through after a scrappy 3-2 win against Rugby’s Chris Wakelin.
Hendry returned to the tour last season after accepting an invitational Tour Card. The Scot, who has also won this event four times, had a high break of 47 and missed a brown with the rest that could have clinched a 3-1 win, before Wakelin cleared from brown to black to force the decider.
Both men had their chances in the final frame, but it was Hendry who eventually got over the line to set up a meeting with Gary Wilson, who whitewashed the 1999 British Open champion Fergal O’Brien.
Hendry said: “I’m very pleased to win the match. That’s the aim for every player here, just get the ‘W,’ especially in front of a crowd. My scoring has to be better, but there’s enough there for me to be encouraged by going forward.”
Barry Pinches caused an upset, as the evergreen Norwich native claimed a 3-2 win over world number 14 Jack Lisowski, and Barry Hawkins was squeezed out by Belgium’s Luca Brecel on the final black of the match with both players making 118 breaks.
Germany’s Lukas Kleckers knocked out reigning Masters champion Yan Bingtao, also in a last frame shootout, but there were no such dramas for recent Championship League champion Dave Gilbert, who breezed 3-0 past former World Championship runner-up Matthew Stevens.
There is further Leicester interest in the second round, as well as Selby’s meeting with Carter.
Louis Heathcote takes on Kleckers, while Joe O’Connor will attempt to reach the 32 by defeating the former world champion Ken Doherty.