MARK Selby continued his return to form by beating fellow Englishman Mark Davis 4-0 in the final of the Paul Hunter Classic in Furth, Germany.
The world number three came into the event having won last month’s Wuxi Classic, but he has since had a disappointing run in the World Cup with England, and then lost to Ken Doherty in the third round of the Australian Goldfields Open.
He came into the final having beaten Andrew Higginson and Stephen Lee earlier in the day, before winning a final-frame decider against his arch rival Ronnie O’Sullivan in the semi-finals.
Selby began the match as he meant to go on by potting a superb long red, and with 31 points on the board, he successfully cut a fine pink into the middle, but he broke down on 47 when he missed a straightforward red to the right hand corner pocket.
Davis, who beat Fergal O’Brien and Neil Robertson en route to the final, potted his first red but then missed the pink with the rest, and Selby returned to add 22 more points to take the opening frame.
Early in frame two, Davis found himself facing a long red with the cue ball tightly against the baulk cushion, but he succeeded and the white landed on a good angle on the blue. However, he was unable to capitalise on his opportunity as the resulting cannon on the pink failed to split the pack. With no reds available, Davis was forced into playing a safety, and his effort was poor.
A lengthy exchange of safety shots was ended when Davis successfully cut a thin red before tucking the cue ball between the yellow and the baulk cushion. Selby had four unsuccessful attempts at hitting a red, after which Davis elected to take on a pot. The world number 18 put 32 points on the board before missing an easy red.
Selby returned to the table and missed a long red, and Davis returned and cut a tight pink into the corner, but was then forced into playing a safety.
With a 70-0 lead and a possible 84 on the table, Davis went for a plant, leaving a red on for his opponent, who made a 73 clearance to steal the frame. This turned out to be a pivotal point in the match, and a major psychological blow from which Davis would struggle to recover.
The ‘Jester from Leicester’ put five points on the board early in frame three, before both players missed balls that forced them into a safety exchange. Selby then missed an awkward attempt at hitting the pack, and Davis potted the yellow to begin a break of 15 which ended when he missed a red to the centre.
Selby returned to the table and made a controlled, authoritative break of 99 before he unfortunately missed a long blue to the corner pocket. However, he had already done more than enough to extend his lead to 3-0.
Needing just one of the remaining four frames for victory, Selby had a stroke of luck in the early stages of frame four when his safety shot resulted in the cue ball landing behind the brown, blocking his opponent’s path to the red over the opposite corner pocket. Davis wasn’t as fortunate with his own forced safety shot, and Selby potted a long red to begin a break of 37 which ended when his concentration was broken when a loud bang in the arena broke his concentration just as he was about to play his shot.
Davis only managed eight points before he missed an easy red with the rest, and when Selby returned to the table, he completed his victory with a break of 60, earning him the trophy with an imprinted image of the late Paul Hunter, along with €10,000 prize money.
LAST 16
Passakorn Suwannwat 4-2 Jamie Jones, Mark Joyce 2-4 Neil Robertson, Mark Davis 4-2 Matthew Selt, Michael White 2-4 Fergal O’Brien, Mark Selby 4-0 Andrew Higginson, Joe Jogia 1-4 Stephen Lee, Yu Delu 4-2 Jimmy Robertson, Ronnie O’Sullivan 4-2 Li Yan
QUARTER-FINALS
Neil Robertson 4-1 Passakorn Suwannawat, Mark Davis 4-0 Fergal O’Brien, Mark Selby 4-1 Stephen Lee, Ronnie O’Sullivan 4-3 Yu Delu
SEMI-FINALS
Mark Davis 4-2 Neil Robertson, Mark Selby 4-3 Ronnie O’Sullivan
FINAL
Mark Davis 0-4 Mark Selby
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