In an absorbing final, Mark Selby fought his way back from a 5 frame deficit to beat defending champion, Ronnie O'Sullivan 18-14. Early on, O'Sullivan seemed likely to run away with the crown for a third successive year as a weary looking Selby proved unable to construct any meaningful breaks. Somehow, Selby did cling on and even won the last 2 frames of the first day to trail by only 7-10 overnight.
On day 2, Selby was a different man and it was O'Sullivan who appeared on the edge. Selby won the first 4 frames of the day for a run of 6 altogether and a lead of 11-10. Although O'Sullivan drew level again, some uncharacteristic misses allowed Selby to pull away again as he grew in authority with every passing frame. In the end, it was almost a comfortable victory.
Selby is a worthy champion and also regained the top spot in the world rankings. Now all he has to do is to retain the title next year, something which no one has ever done at the Crucible following their first win there. I wouldn't bet against him.
No comments:
Post a Comment