I’ll have to be sharper in Masters last eight, says Selby

MARK Selby showed his trademark determination to battle through to the last eight of the 2022 Snooker Masters.

The Jester from Leicester saw off the challenge of Stephen Maguire 6-3 in a hard-fought contest on Tuesday evening.

Selby will face close friend Barry Hawkins in his 10th Masters quarterfinal tomorrow.

Selby opened in trademark fashion by battling to take a 50-minute opening frame but Maguire hit back with 87 as the first four frames were shared.

But the Leicester star took control with three in a row and although Maguire responded with 84, Selby progressed.

One of the moments of the match was Selby’s stunning fluke at the start of the third frame, despite a member of the crowd shouting “come on Stephen!” just moments before potting.

Selby then missed an easy red before Maguire made an uncharacteristic mistake as he reached 46, only to screw the white into a middle pocket, allowing Selby to take the frame and go 2-1 up.

Of his match-up with Hawkins in the last eight, Selby told the BBC: “We are good friends off the table, but on the table we want to bash each other’s heads in! I need to be a bit sharper and it showed in my performance.

“Happy to get the win. It wasn’t pretty but I played some good matches this year and got beaten. It is nice to not be at the top of my game and come through.

“It is great to have the crowd back. We have been playing behind closed doors for 12 months and it hasn’t been the same.”

The winner of this year’s tournament, at the Alexandra Palace, London, will take home £250,000 in prize money from a total prize pot of £725,000.