World Snooker Championship 2023: Mark Selby opens up lead over Gary Wilson at the Crucible

Mark Selby put distance between himself and Gary Wilson after winning the second session 5-3 to secure a 10-6 advantage in their last-16 clash at the World Championship.

Wilson was arguably the better player before the interval on Sunday, but Selby showed his class after the break to win all four frames and pull clear in the race to 13.

As on Saturday evening, the snooker was not sprinkled with stardust – but it was compelling all the same as the two battled it out for a place in the quarter-finals at the Crucible.

Selby produced his best snooker of a dour Saturday evening towards the end of it, and he found a superb red to open the second session and suggest his form was trending in the right direction.

His cue-ball control was not perfect, but he picked off a couple of excellent recovery pots before a split of the pack left him with only a safety shot.

The 41-point lead did not look big from the moment Wilson got in and he showed excellent temperament and technique to pick off a break of 84 – his highest of the match.

The 10th boiled down to a battle on the colours, and it turned Wilson’s way when Selby went in-off when attempting to escape from a snooker on the green.

Had the white not dropped into the pocket, Wilson would have been left with an easy pot. Instead, he had a dilemma of taking a long-range pot from the D or play safe.

He went for the bold choice of the pot and was rewarded as it found the heart of the bottom right, with the cue ball screwing back perfectly for the brown, and he knocked in the colours to level.

Wilson was 58 points ahead and two pots from the frame, but missed a pink. He was still a heavy favourite with the brown and black safe, but Selby got them in the open over a protracted exchange and forced a mistake from Wilson.

After draining a log red, Selby picked off the remaining reds and colours to pinch the frame by a point and move back in front.

Wilson looked hot under the collar after letting the 11th slip through his grasp, so it was to his credit that he picked off a couple of solid contributions to take the 12th and level the match at 6-6.

In such tight contests, fine margins make a big difference. It was a minor Wilson error, he ran out of position when on a break of 33, in the 13th and he paid a price as Selby got in and picked off a run of 91 to edge back in front at 7-6.

The previous evening, Selby produced his best snooker after the interval. He followed up the 91 in the 13th by dominating the 14th to stretch his lead to four frames.

Selby was well set to take the 15th but a split of the pack on a break of 27 went wrong. The pack hurt Wilson a short while later as he did not drop on a colour when looking to split the cluster. He attempted a tough pink but it did not drop and Selby made a break of 64 to stretch his lead to three frames for the first time in the match.

Selby has honed his Crucible nous through years of experience. The knowledge of the importance of the final frame of the session was evidenced by the way he crunched in a long red to start the 16th.

He was unfortunate to foul when potting a blue on a break of 24, but Wilson failed to capitalise and Selby got in again. A break of 41 was enough to secure a four-frame lead ahead of Monday’s final session.

Lisowski was staring at a two-session defeat when trailing 10-2, but won three on the spin. He had a chance to make it four and possibly put doubt into McGill’s mind, but the Scot picked off the 16th frame to secure an 11-5 lead.

Selby secures lead after scrappy first session

Selby eked out a 5-3 lead over Gary Wilson after a dour first session of their second-round clash at the World Championship.

Wise heads had predicted a tactical affair, and so it proved with a series of long frames – including the fifth of over 54 minutes.

Selby trailed 3-2 after losing a fifth he looked set to win, but produced his best snooker of the evening to win the final three frames to secure a lead heading into the second session on Sunday afternoon.

Wilson got in first in the opening frame but ran out of position by fractions and had to run for cover after a break of 26. A safety error from Selby handed Wilson a second bite, but the red did not drop and he left Selby with an excellent chance to get his hand on the table.

Selby scored well in his win over Matthew Selt in round one, and he showed the same sharpness by picking off a break of 54. It did not wrap up the frame, but the strong position enabled him to control the exchange and he closed out a tense opening frame. It set the tone for what was to follow.

Wilson crafted a chance in the second and made 52, but broke down again when running out of position. Selby countered with 51 but broke down when missing a yellow with the rest and Wilson hoovered up the colours to level the match.

The third followed a similar pattern to the opening two frames, with both passing up good chances. Selby missed a red to left middle he never looked comfortable over, while Wilson missed a positional shot onto the final two reds by a large margin.

A safety battle followed, which Selby won when Wilson went to chip one red onto another to shift the second away from the pocket. It was a high-tariff shot, there appeared to be far easier options, and the hammering of the ground with the butt of his cue when it went wrong told a story. Four-time champion Selby cashed in to edge back in front.

Wilson made his big breakthrough when winning the Scottish Open earlier in the season, and getting over the line in Edinburgh showed his fellow professionals he had the temperament to complement the talent. A break of 71, the highest of the opening four frames, was enough for Wilson to take the fourth and level the contest at the first interval.

The pattern of play continued in the fifth, but there was a collector’s item as Selby blinked during a safety exchange and paid a heavy price.

With a 48-point lead, Selby ran out of position so he put the yellow safe.

Red balls began to congregate in the baulk area and what followed was a game of chicken as with two reds remaining on the table and the pink over the green pocket, the players sent the reds closer and closer to the pink.

What followed was a sustained period of tippy-tappy snooker which prompted referee Leo Scullion to warn that he would call a re-rack in six shots’ time if the players did not end the stalemate.

On his final shot, rather than play towards the pink, Selby went for an audacious double and it did not come off. Wilson stepped in to clear and pinch a 54-minute frame as the safety master made a major blunder.

After a fifth frame that seemed to last for hours, the sixth was sprightly in comparison as Selby drew level at 3-3 when taking it in 19 minutes.

After what must have been a shock of losing the fifth from such a position of strength, Selby followed up his fine 74 in the sixth with contributions of 64 and 47 to secure a 5-3 advantage.

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