Players Championship snooker 2024: Sterling Mark Selby whitewashes Ronnie O’Sullivan to reach semi-finals

Mark Selby whitewashed Ronnie O’Sullivan 6-0 to move into the semi-finals of the Players Championship in Telford.

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.

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.