Welsh Open 2023: Mark Selby avoids upset by claiming decider against Si Jiahui in late-night showdown

Mark Selby avoided an upset as he overcame Si Jiahui on a decider to advance to the third round of the Welsh Open following a late-night showdown in Llandudno.

In the end, ‘The Jester’ got over the line with four breaks over 50, including a century, and he will now meet the in-form Robert Milkins on Wednesday night.

The contest didn’t get under way until after 10pm, so it was no surprise that both players, at times, struggled for consistency and showed signs of tiredness, particularly early on.

Si, when leading by 47 points in the first frame, missed a simple blue to the middle pocket, a moment which Neal Foulds said handed the frame to Selby on a plate, and indeed, he took full advantage, making a clearance of 56 to take the opener.

The 20-year-old bounced back immediately, even if he did make hard work of it by missing a pink when leading by 23 points. A safety exchange followed but, despite Selby’s best efforts, Si came out on top to edge a scrappy frame that exceeded 45 minutes.

Initially, the setback didn’t look like fazing Selby as he embarked on what looked to be an excellent break. But rather uncharacteristically – and just like Si in the first frame – he failed to convert what seemed an easy blue. As the clock struck midnight, Si moved in front by two frames to one.

A sloppy foul on an attempted snooker behind the yellow was the catalyst for Si losing the fourth frame as Selby levelled with a sublime break of 91 as the 2022 English Open champion threatened to get into his stride at a crucial stage in the match.

With the momentum now seemingly behind him, Selby went on the attack to get his nose in front and move to within a frame of victory with an impressive 124 break.

But just when it looked like Selby would take control and see off his opponent as he got in amongst the balls, he contrived to miss a yellow. It was an unexpected chance for Si and he responded with his biggest break of the night – 105 – to set up a decider.

By this stage, there were few spectators around but those who stayed were now being treated to some high quality snooker as Selby finished with a flourish, claiming a nail-biting match with 85.

Elsewhere, Kyren Wilson crashed out following a 4-2 loss to Pang Junxu, while Julien Leclercq got the better of surprise 2021 winner Jordan Brown by the same scoreline. The 2023 Shootout winner Chris Wakelin is also out after a 4-2 defeat to David Gilbert.

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