Mark Selby believes that Ronnie O’Sullivan’s demolition will put an end to a bad habit.
Mark Selby believes his 6-0 thrashing of Ronnie O’Sullivan will put an end to the tinkering and tweaking he has been doing with his game recently, showing to himself that he is doing things correctly.
On Thursday night, the Jester from Leicester put on an incredible performance, with breaks of 65, 91, 81, 105, and 59 before coming from behind in the final frame to win on the black.
O’Sullivan may not have been at his best, but he had little chance to be, with Selby dominating the table with a masterclass in scoring.
The 40-year-old was disappointed in an early setback in the Welsh Open last week and then started his first round game against Barry Hawkins poorly.
‘Beating Ronnie in any competition, no matter the scoreline, is a tremendous victory,’ Selby said ITV4. ‘Beating him in the style I did, the way I scored, the safety, and the lengthy game were all positives.
‘I’m quite thrilled. I felt more confident towards the end of the game against Hawkins. I was striking the ball better, seeing the shots better, and feeling a little more positive. I just managed to carry that over to today’s game.
The match began in an unusual manner, with O’Sullivan missing three reds in the first frame while being able to see all other reds.
That should have resulted in a frame loss, but the referee was supposed to warn the player after two misses, which Desislava Bozhilova forgot.
Without a strong safety shot to play, O’Sullivan hit a cluster of reds and hoped for the best, which did not come.
From there on out, it was all Selby, with a succession of massive breaks until a closer last frame, with Selby crossing the line in record time on the final black. The contest lasted about one hour and forty minutes in total.
Selby’s next match is a semi-final against either John Higgins or Zhang Anda, who will play in the quarter-finals on Friday.
The other semi-final is already set between Ali Carter and Mark Allen, as the Captain defeated Judd Trump on Wednesday night and the Pistol defeated Gary Wilson on Thursday.
Prior to the severe setback at the hands of Selby, O’Sullivan had only lost three games all season, winning the Shanghai Masters, UK Championship, Masters, and World Grand Prix.
Selby joins Zhang Anda and Lyu Haotian as the only players to improve the Rocket this season, with Zhang doing it twice.
O’Sullivan was whitewashed 5-0 by Tian Pengfei in last year’s Welsh Open, which is surprising given his recent success.
MORE: Mark Selby is hyped up for Ronnie O’Sullivan confrontation at Players Championship
MORE: Stephen Hendry believes Ronnie O’Sullivan receives much too much respect from opponents.
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