Champion of Champions: Mark Selby crashes out as Luca Brecel reaches semi-finals

Snooker

Thu November 09, 2017 · 7y ago

World number one Mark Selby crashed out of the Champion of Champions after being shocked by Luca Brecel on Wednesday night.

Champion of Champions: Wednesday results & round-up

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World number one and tournament favourite Mark Selby is out of the lucrative Champion of Champions event in Coventry after being stunned 6-4 by Belgium's Luca Brecel in the Group Three Final.

The world champion had earlier held his nerve to see off Liang Wenbo 4-3 in the semi-finals thanks to runs of 112 and 50 although he knew he'd be in for another tough assignment after Brecel fired in breaks of 105, 103 and 87 in a 4-0 demolition of Judd Trump.

Selby opened the final with a superb break of 125 but Brecel stormed into a 3-1 lead following runs of 70 and 57 before two more half centuries saw him extend his advantage to 5-2.

Needing four successive frames to progress, the Leicester cueman pulled two back but Brecel edged a tight 10th 65-62 to book his place in the tournament semi-finals.

Group Three semi-finals

Mark Selby 4-3 Liang Wenbo
Judd Trump 0-4 Luca Brecel

Group Three final

Mark Selby 4-6 Luca Brecel

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Champion of Champions: Tuesday results & round-up

Shaun Murphy progressed to the Champion of Champions semi-finals for the first time, winning Group Two with victories over Mark King and Michael White at Coventry’s Ricoh Arena.

'The Magician' had never before won a match at this tournament in four years, but he broke his hoodoo with a gritty win over King in the group semi-final to set up the clash with White.

Paul Hunter Classic winner White had taken the opening frame of the Group Two final but a run of three consecutive centuries from Murphy saw the Gibraltar Open champion take a 3-1 lead at the interval.

The Welshman was unfazed by his opponent’s fluid and rapid move to a 3-1 lead and hit back immediately after the mid-session with back-to-back frames to level the match. The pair shared the following two frames before a 93 break put Murphy on the brink and he closed out the win in the following frame.

Earlier in the day White had defeated Scottish Open champion Marco Fu 4-3 with a 102 in the deciding frame. The Welshman had taken a two frame lead but Fu pegged him back to 2-2 and then 3-3 before his first century of the tournament came at just the right time to take White through to the group final.

Group Two semi-finals

Marco Fu 3-4 Michael White
Shaun Murphy 4-2 Mark King

Group Two final

Michael White 4-6 Shaun Murphy

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Champion of Champions: Monday results & round-up

Anthony Hamilton became the first man through to the semi-finals of the Champion of Champions, beating Ryan Day 6-4 in the Group One final at Coventry’s Ricoh Arena.

Hamilton, who qualified for the lucrative event when he won the first ranking title of his 26-year career at the German Masters in February, trailed 2-0 in the early stages of the group final but drew level at 2-2 by the mid-session interval.

Day soon regained his two-frame advantage in the best of 11 clash with the help of a 133 break in the fifth, but Hamilton again fought back to tie the match at 4-4, before pulling ahead and taking what became the final frame 62-56 to secure his place in the last four.

Earlier in the day Hamilton had beaten Ding Junhui 4-2 in the day’s first group semi-final. The match was locked at 2-2 with three to play, but Hamilton managed to pull clear in a scrappy encounter, sealing the victory with a 75 clearance.

Day booked his place in the evening’s final with a 4-2 success over Barry Hawkins. Both players scored centuries as that match too reached 2-2, but breaks of 79 in the fifth frame and then 71 in the sixth saw the Welshman to the final.

Group One semi-finals