English Open LIVE
Murphy 2-1 Clarke (34-38)
We’ve slipped into another slow safety battle. They’re chasing the final red and Jamie goes close with a double attempt at the foot of the table but he narrowly misses. Jamie’s next shot is a superb one, as he tucks the white up behind the green and brown right on the top rail and Muphy doesn’t know where to go.
He misses his first attempt but makes contact with the second and doesn’t leave Jamie with much on. A great response from The Magician.
Murphy 2-1 Clarke (31-38)
Great stuff from Jamie who takes the lead in the frame, sinks a brilliant double and then follows it up with a nice pot on the black. He’s in pole position to take the frame and level the match here.
Murphy 2-1 Clarke (31-14)
Another frustrating miss for Shaun. It wasn’t easy and he needed to get the angle right, but he leaves a red hanging right over the bottom right pocket and Jamie has a great chance to put something substantial together.
The table isn’t ideal, with five reds all bunched down the rail along the bottom right of the table.
Murphy 2-1 Clarke (19-2)
It’s become a very cagey frame. Shaun finally sees an opportunity and fires the white down the table and crashes an easy red into the bottom left but he can’t follow it up with the blue, which rattles the jaws of the top left pocket.
Murphy 2-1 Clarke (18-0)
Shaun splits the pack but runs out of room on another shot when he leaves the cue ball to the left of the baulk. Some safety play from the pair follows as they look for the next opening.
Murphy 2-1 Clarke (5-0)
Jamie looks in postition to build a considerable run but he misses a really easy red to the bottom right pocket, and that’s really frustrating for the Welshman off the back of a brilliant frame.
Now Murphy is back at the table and if he can put together something significant, he could well move to within a frame of victory.
Murphy 2-1 Clarke
Brilliant stuff from Jamie who puts together a powerful break of 120 to get on the board and respond excellently to going two frames behind.
Murphy 2-0 Clarke (0-65)
Clarke has made a good start as he looks to halve the deficit. He seems to have shrugged off that earlier miss on the black and has fired in a 65 break and counting. It’s a pretty tricky table, but he has options and sinks a nice black.
‘Would you believe it!’ – Clarke jaws black off spot to gift Murphy opener
Around the tables
Here are some current scores and earlier results from tonight’s action in Brentwood.
Joe O’Connor 4-0 Artemijs ZizinsSi Jiahui 4-1 Andrew PagettJak Jones 3-4 Ishpreet Singh ChadhaKyren Wilson 4-1 David GraceChris Wakelin 1-1 Joe PerryPang Junxu 2-0 Thepchaiya Un-NoohRobert Milkins 1-0 Oliver LinesMurphy 2-0 Clarke
The Magician leads 2-0 and does it in style. He delivers his 671st century in pro competition for 115 points.
He’s halfway to a spot in the last 32.
Murphy 1-0 Clarke (81-0)
Shaun is controlling the second frame and has worked up a break of 72 as he closes in on a two-frame lead.
Murphy 1-0 Clarke
Would you believe it? It’s so unfortunate for Jamie who clears up to the black but leaves it hanging over the lip!
Murphy returns to the table and puts it away for the lead!
Murphy 0-0 Clarke (72-35)
Shaun is in a tricky spot but he brilliantly finds the red over the top right pocket from the bottom rail. But he follows it up with a mistake as he moves the two remaining reds into very pottable positions and the frame is now out of his hands. Jamie revisits returns to the table and looks to make up the 37-point difference.
Murphy 0-0 Clarke (72-35)
It’s a sensible visit for Jamie who builds his tally to 35 before opting for a safety. Shaun doesn’t know where to go and there is nothing on. Jamie continues to play safe and patiently waits for Shaun to slip up.
Murphy 0-0 Clarke (72-23)
Jamie is on the board and then plays a terrific safety shot to snooker Shaun. He fouls in his first attempt at finding one of the four reds up the top end of the table and he’ll go again. This time he finds contact but he’s left Jamie in a great position to clear up.
Murphy 0-0 Clarke (72-0)
An electric start for Murphy. He knocks in a brilliant break of 72 but leaves 75 on the table after missing a red to the bottom left pocket with the rest. He looks annoyed with himself after that, it was such a strong start.
Murphy 0-0 Clarke (0-0)
Here we go then, Jamie gets the contest underway as he seeks his first win over the in-form Murphy.
Result – Wilson 4-1 Grace
After a 33-minute final frame, it’s job done for the World Champion!
He hasn’t been at his sparkling best tonight, but Kyren eases into the next round with a relatively comfortable victory.
He’ll play Anthony McGill or Xiao Guodong for a place in the last 16. Up next, we have Shaun Murphy up against Jamie Clarke.
Wilson edges towards victory over Grace with century in fourth frame
Wilson 3-1 Grace (66-31)
The sooner this frame is over the better. David puts away the final red and closes the gap on Kyren, but now the pair are chasing the green around the table. Wilson finally does so, then follows up with the brown but gives David a great chance on the blue. But he misses it and that could be that.
Wilson 3-1 Grace (64-31)
This has turned into an intriguing safety battle, Wilson needs one pot to all but book his spot in the next round and this could be it as he lines up a huge red to bottom right. He certainly goes for it, but misses by a fair margin. David plays an excellent shot to find the red up the table and we go again.
Wilson 3-1 Grace (49-31)
Kyren is ticking along nicely and taking control of the frame. He’s run out of room and opted for a safety with three reds on the table, but he’s closing in on a spot in the last 32.
Check out this unbelievable fluke earlier in the match which helped him to level the score.
‘Surely not’ – Wilson levels with Grace after ‘outrageous’ fluke on red
Wilson 3-1 Grace (14-31)
Oh dear. David goes for an audacious long red, rattled the jaws and watches on as the cue ball drops into the pocket. He has also cannoned into the reds, setting up a match-winning chance for Kyren.
Wilson 3-1 Grace (14-31)
It’s all a bit tight on the table and David doesn’t have much room to manoeuvre as he looks to find a way back into the match.
He fires in red to bottom left to get the cue ball up the table, with the black well protected. He sends down the blue but once again, he’s landed nowhere and finds himself right in the bunch. There’s nothing on and his break frustratingly ends at 27.
Wilson 3-1 Grace (109-0)
And just like that Kyren goes two frames clear with a terrific century break worth 108 points.
The Warrior sent down a brilliant long yellow to sustain his century bid before passing the mark a powerful blue to the middled left pocket.
That’s his 11th century of the season!
Wilson 2-1 Grace
A very forgettable third frame, but the World Champion leads in Brentwood!
Wilson 1-1 Grace (35-37)
Grace is ticking along nicely and he clears up to the final red, but rattles the jaws off the bottom right pocket with the rest. Kyren is back in and should wrap up what has been a poor-quality frame.
Wilson 1-1 Grace (35-25)
Apologies for the lack of updates, we’ve had some technical issues on our end. Grace took the lead with a 70 break in the opening frame, but Wilson quickly pulled level. We’re coming to the final stages of the third frame and Wilson has just missed the black of its spot. Grace is in pole position to restore his lead here.
Wilson 0-0 Grace (49-15)
David gets in and out, but before he can feel the disappointment, Kyren leaves one over the pocket and, given where the balls are, he’ll feel a frame he’s dominated is in jeopardy.
Wilson 0-0 Grace (49-4)
Another glorious long red, this time to left corner, sets Kyren away again, but when he breaks the pack it doesn’t yield much, so it’s a tricky one with the rest. There aren’t many, if any, better at these kinds of pot, but it misses by plenty so David remains alive in frame one.
Wilson 0-0 Grace (11-0)
A lovely diagonal red to right corner gets Kyrizzle away, burt he soon runs out of position and plays safe.
Our boyz baize
Evening all!
And welcome back. For you tonight we have:
19:00 Joe O’Connor v Artemijs Zizins, Si Jiahui v Andrew Pagett, Jak Jones v Ishpreet Singh Chadha, Kyren Wilson v David Grace.
20:00 Chris Wakelin v Joe Perry, Pang Junxu v Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, Shaun Murphy v Jamie Clarke.
And of course we’ll be focusing on the matches in bold.
JOIN US AGAIN FROM 18:45 BST
That’s it from Monday’s heavily extended afternoon action, but we’ll be back for the night session when reigning World champion Kyren Wilson and Shaun Murphy headline the stars taking to the baulk.
RESULT! – TRUMP 4-3 LIU
The four reds are freed from the shackles of the bottom cushion and it leaves Trump with the biggest shot of the match.
Nothing is easy but all four reds are open if he misses.
He sizes up a long red to the left corner and produces a stonking pot to seize command of the frame – and the match.
A brown along baulk to the yellow pocket sets him on the path to victory and even a foul that sees the cue ball drop to middle left proves academic, as he’s already over that finish line… finally!
TRUMP 3-3 LIU (58-4)
A lengthy impasse ends when Trump takes advantage of an unfortunate mid-table ricochet from Liu to glide a red to the left corner.
The pack is scattered low to the left of the table, but Judd plays off the reds still closer to the pink spot to secure a decent lead from which to build from.
He screws back off a blue to middle left to take on a mid-range red to the corner. It’s not routine, but he makes it look that way.
The black has pretty much been out commission at this stage but the World No.1 preys upon the pink to keep ticking off the reds and edge ever closer to a finish line he probably feels he should have crossed a while back.
The key moment arrives when he has to encounter the four reds pretty much safe, tight to the cushion and to the left of the black on a run of 57.
It doesn’t go his way from a positional perspective and he has to play safe leading by 54 with 59 still available.
TRUMP 3-3 LIU (1-4)
Oof! Liu looks to be in charge but a red jiggles with the jaws on the left corner pocket and somehow stays out!
His run ends on four and Judd duly pops down the red that had refused to fall.
The defending champion then plays safe off the green to baulk.
TRUMP 3-3 LIU
Hongyu takes advantage and shows he is playing with far more composure now as he produces a superb recovery shot with the rest to sink a red up to the yellow pocket.
Again, he is careless on position, ending up with the cue ball tight to a red as he attempted to line up the out-of-position pink to the left corner.
He eventually makes it work but then needs to cut another red down to the right corner to wrestle the position back his way.
The Chinese gets a number of favourable nicks with the cue ball off colours to keep his run ticking past the half century mark and move within range of levelling the match.
It’s been a bit up and down in terms of rhythm and fluency but he’s making the most of some slices of fortune along the way to sink frame ball via a red to the corner right bag.
A blue to middle left pretty much ensures Trump won’t return as the Chinese starlet produces a magical double off a red to earn a deserved smattering of applause.
He’s some way off a clearance when the run does end but a total of 76 is still an impressive haul and sends him into a one-frame shoot-out with the World No.1 and defending champion!
TRUMP 3-2 LIU (0-6)
Trump looks a bit stunned as he takes a seat with a bad miss that leaves the door ajar for Liu.
The World No.1 eventually shakes his head and closes his eyes in irritation. His pursuit of that 147 at 3-1 up has made life so difficult all of a sudden.
TRUMP 3-2 LIU (6-11)
Judd is fortunate when the cue ball dances with the jaws of the right corner pocket and just about stays out after he’d missed a shot for nothing from distance.
The balls are not well placed and the two players end up playing ‘nudge-ball’ near the bottom cushion.
After a couple of plays Liu catches Trump’s eye and they agree on a re-rack.
TRUMP 3-2 LIU (6-11)
Liu knocks in a red and then a blue to middle right but despite a beauty of a pot on a red to the left corner, he’s miles off in terms of position and needs to play safe from the left cushion off the pink.
TRUMP 3-2 LIU (6-4)
Judd produces another scorcher of a pot from distance to open his account, but his attempted split of the pack via a pot on the blue goes awry when a red makes a beeline for the left corner pocket.
It’s a foul but the World No.1 breathes a sigh of relief as he doesn’t appear to have left anything on.
TRUMP 3-2 LIU
Liu almost looks a bit sheepish taking over at the table, but he slowly eats into Trump’s lead and then produces a cracking pot on the pink to middle left, engineering enough power to follow on and nick the red safe on the right cushion free.
The Chinese star hammers down the penultimate red to the left corner and works his way across to the final red up to middle right.
The yellow and green are routine but he needs good position from the brown to get a good angle on the blue.
He’s straight on down to the left corner, but he lacks a touch of pace for the pink to the opposite pocket to be easy.
He makes short work of it with the rest and then completes the steal and the clearance to stay in the match!
TRUMP 3-1 LIU (65-0)
Judd looks like a man keen to get the job done right here, right now.
The reigning champion sizzles a long-range red to the right corner to open and then gets a delicious flick off the black to tee it up for a simple pot to the left corner.
He follows with a pot that provides a favourable split and he looks to be in business with five reds despatched alongside five blacks.
Trump may well be considering the maximum here as he takes on a long red with the rest when there was a more routine one to the middle. It means he can stay on the black and well within the hunt.
A powerful strike on the black allows him to come off the left cushion and roll neatly in line for the highest red down to the right corner.
The frame isn’t quite in the bag, but Trump has got 147 on his mind. He opts for a thin cut on a red to middle right and lines up nicely for another cut on the black.
He’s got the angle, but the pace isn’t there and his bid comes up short with the frame also not secure.
TRUMP 3-1 LIU
Liu sizes up a long red to the left corner but he misses by some margin and the cue ball crashes into the remainder of the pack to leave the frame on a plate for Trump.
The World No.1 takes advantage to develop a strong lead on the board and he makes intelligent use of the blue, pink and black to take care of the remaining reds up to the final one glued to the bottom rail.
The defending champion plays his positioning well to glide it along the cushion to the right corner bag. He tries to blast the black down to get up the table for the yellow, but can’t convince it to hit the pocket and his run of 51 ends with the frame won.
Trump is now one away from the next round having yet to get out of second gear for much of this match.
TRUMP 2-1 LIU (19-16)
Trump nails another super, long pot but it goes pear-shaped from a positional point of view.
He’s pretty much snookered with reds surrounding the cue ball, but he completes the escape up to brown at the second attempt after an initial foul.
It’s been a strange-old match so far.
TRUMP 2-1 LIU (18-12)
Liu gets in on the ‘plant-action’ as he nicks a red into another one to sink it into the right corner bag.
He follows with the black but then misses a routine red to the left corner by some distance.
TRUMP 2-1 LIU (18-4)
It’s Trump who takes the frame by the scruff of the neck, popping away another tidy plant to the right corner, but it goes awry on a run of 18 when he misses the pink to middle left.
TRUMP 2-1 LIU (1-4)
That is simply sensational.
Trump lines up a long red from mid-baulk and close to the cushion, but it seems to matter very little as he rasps a long red to the left corner with aplomb.
A delightful safety tucked in-behind the yellow also earns some applause with both players refusing to give anything cheap away as of yet.
‘Look how the reds have opened up’ – Trump splits pack wide open with audacious plant
TRUMP 2-1 LIU (0-4)
Trump misjudges an attempt to tuck into pack ever so delicately from baulk and fouls.
The World No.1 makes it count on the second and it remains a cagey opening to Frame 3.
TRUMP 2-1 LIU
It’s Judd who lands the first blow with a ‘just about’ sort of red before a blue to middle is followed by a supreme plant that splits the pack and puts him firmly in the driving seat.
It’s a bit congested in that central lower-middle section of the table, but he plots his pathway methodically, using black and pink to free up space and keep the break developing nicely.
He teases down a black to the right corner and navigates the cue ball between two reds to develop the breathing space for the black to pot to both corner pockets.
It’s routine red-black combos to put him within sight of the frame and he screws back off a red to the left to take care of the black to the same bag and leave Liu needing snookers.
The final two reds are close to the left cushion and his cheeky attempt at a plant down the rail means he ends up on 98 and is a whisker away from century No.998.
TRUMP 1-1 LIU (50-34)
It is Liu that takes care of the final red to make him firm favourite to complete the turnaround, despite the unconventional lay of the colours.
He knocks in a brown and then takes on a green to middle left, but he overruns the cue ball and the brown is a tough shot up to green.
He rescues the situation with a splendid pot via the rest and then sinks the blue to middle left.
He just needs the pink and bullets it to the right corner to get on the board and hopefully settle the butterflies.
‘Great pot!’ – Trump powers long red into corner in trademark fashion
TRUMP 1-0 LIU (50-34)
Trump’s patchy display continues as he leaves the final red on to the green pocket. Liu can’t nick it in from long range but the World No.1 contrives to miss the red playing the safety off the baulk cushion.
He gets it spot on second time around using his right hand, but the initiative in this frame is with the underdog at present despite the score on the board.
‘Don’t want to give away my crown’ – Trump gunning for English Open title after Saudi triumph
TRUMP 1-0 LIU (50-30)
Liu knocks in that second to last red to the middle but can’t get the ricochet off the lower right cushion to move the final red clear of the black. There’s no pot on but the Chinese is still in contention to steal.
TRUMP 1-0 LIU (50-24)
Trump absolutely smashes a red down to the left corner and appears to sigh in relief when a green lands in its own bag.
However, the penultimate red up to the green pocket misses by some distance and the scrappy nature of this frame continues!
TRUMP 1-0 LIU (39-24)
Trump makes a solid 19 before a pot on the blue down the middle right splits two reds from the pink.
It’s lovely work, but he undoes it all when he misses one of the reds up to middle left. The Juddernaut is still not quite firing here.
Selby pleased with performance after easing past Hill at English Open
TRUMP 1-0 LIU (15-24)
The good news for Liu is that Judd isn’t near top gear yet.
The World No.1 makes another short break that ends when he loses the run of the cue ball and then catches the near jaw on a tricky pot on a red up to middle right.
However, the Chinese prodigy isn’t hitting any heights either and a big miss on a red to the right corner opens the door for Trump once more.
TRUMP 1-0 LIU (5-24)
Liu steps in after a short, early run from Judd, but a steady break of 24 ends when awkward cuing on a black to the right corner sees him fluff his lines. It all came about when he was unlucky with a ricochet after a pot on a red to the left had split some of the pack.
TRUMP 1-0 LIU
Judd plays another belting safety tight to baulk and just behind the brown. There’s very little Liu can do with the cue ball and he leaves a simple red on for the reigning champion to finish the job this time around.
Another red and a black to the right corner means Hongyu will stay rooted to his seat, but he doesn’t have to endure a clearance as Trump ends on 36 after failing to nudge a difficult final red into the bag from down the left rail with the rest.
TRUMP 0-0 LIU (49-1)
Trump takes aim on a long red to the left corner but can’t land on an easy colour. He spies the yellow up near its own pocket and produces a lovely cut to glance it down and end up on a red south of the pack.
It took a bit of work with the cue ball, but he finds some more routine pots to the corner to the left of the pack and jabs in a black to the same pocket via the rest.
Again, he needs something special to keep himself ticking along and beautiful pace on a blue down to middle right ends with a glance off a red near the pink that opens things up nicely.
It’s efficient potting off the black on its spot to give him the vibe of a frame-winning situation, but nothing comes to fruition.
He lands short on the free remaining reds in the pack and doesn’t have a plant on.
There are still two reds tight to the left cushion and one two on the bottom rail, so he has no alternative but to play safe off a run of 48.
The World No.1 is back in again soon after, lashing down another excellent long red, but it’s just another notch as he again plays back up to baulk.
TRUMP 0-0 LIU (0-1)
The Eurosport Comms team talk up the talents of the young Liu and he delivers immediately with deep screw on a mid-range pot on a red via the rest.
It’s followed by a shocker of a miss as he fails to sink a more routine black to the right corner.
The Chinese starlet is fortunate that he somehow doesn’t leave anything on and Judd is forced to play safe.
NEXT UP – JUDD TRUMP TAKES THE SPOTLIGHT
The defending champion faces Liu Hongyu of China.
Judd Trump.
Image credit: Getty Images
RESULT – SELBY 4-2 HILL
Selby scorches the final red up a long way up to the green pocket.
The ripple of applause are followed by a roar of delight as he plays a super trick shot of the left rail to pot the brown to the right corner.
He misses the blue, but it doesn’t matter. He’s through to the next round after Hill had briefly threatened a remarkable fight back.
SELBY 3-2 HILL (65-25)
Hill blinks first in the safety exchange and looks to the sky in dismay.
Selby digs out the rest to nudge in a close-range red to the green pocket.
Aaron now needs two snookers…
SELBY 3-2 HILL (64-25)
Mark lays a lovely trap up in baulk and Hill can’t find one of the two reds. It’s a free ball and Selby sizzles down a long pink to the left corner.
It could and should be curtains, but a nick off the red in mid-table means Mark has immediately lost position. It’s the safety first approach and he retreats to baulk.
Hill keeps match alive with sublime double on final black
SELBY 3-2 HILL (59-25)
Mark quickly drills a red to bottom left and then uses the rest to clip in the blue to the middle.
It navigates him neatly into position to exploit open reds, moving back up to the blue to maintain the most risk-free situations.
The black is hindered by a red close to its spot, so it’s intelligent snooker off the pink and blue that keeps his run moving along nicely.
It comes down to the final two reds; one is close to the lft cushion and the other remains near to the black.
He pots the pink and nudges into the red on the left rail, but can’t get enough of a bounce to line it up over the middle left.
Indeed, given the way Hill has started to play, Selby opts to be cautious and halts his run at 59 with the finish line still not quite within his grasp.
SELBY 3-2 HILL (0-25)
It’s all about Aaron Hill right now.
The Irishman thunders a mid-table red to the corner left from baulk to further demonstrate his growing confidence.
The black follows and an aggressive pot on the next red allows him to split the majority of the pack.
All is going rather swimmingly until he loses the run of the cue ball and ends up tight to the blue He attempts the finest of cuts to middle right but it lacks the pace and comes up shy.
The cue ball does not roll safe and Selby has a chance to turn the tide back his way.
SELBY 3-2 HILL
There’s a change in the air and it’s not just the shift that has seen Hill find some of his Mojo.
The Irishman seizes the early initiative to develop a decent run, but the loud clattering in the background must surely be distracting.
The Eurosport Comms team reliably inform us that it’s a pigeon in the arena causing the disruption … Only in snooker, of course!
Meanwhile, Hill passes the 30-mark, preying off stray reds and the black off its spot.
It’s an assured level of snooker that has previously been conspicuous by its absence and Selby must be concerned by what he is witnessing.
The Irishman puts the frame beyond doubt, making continual use of the black as well as a few blues and a pink to produce his best frame of the match.
A 131 clearance up to the black seals the deal and moves him within a frame of parity when he had seemed set to bow out with a whimper
AROUND THE TABLES
Zhang Anda 2-2 Mark Davis
RESULT! – Dale 4-0 Davies
Xiao 3-1 Mann
SELBY 3-1 HILL
A near nine-minute face-off on green ends when Mark surprisingly leaves a long attempt on from baulk.
Hill slams it down to the left corner and then follows with the brown and blue.
He sends the pink to the right corner, but needs a special double on a black tight to the right cushion to the middle left pocket. It’s a pressure moment, but he delivers with aplomb to sink it plum in the pocket and win the frame!
SELBY 3-0 HILL (61-44)
Well, that sums up Hill’s day.
The safety exchange on the green takes an abrupt turn when Aaron cannons into the blue and sends it into the middle right bag.
Fortunately for him the green is still safe as a result and it hasn’t quite ended his hopes just yet.
SELBY 3-0 HILL (56-44)
Hill blinks first and Selby guns down a long yellow from high to the left in baulk down to the right corner.
The green isn’t quite on for the four-time World Champion and he again deploys the safety having strengthened his hand a touch further.
SELBY 3-0 HILL (54-44)
It’s a face-off on the yellow as both players chase it around the table, keeping it safe and trying to lay traps at the same time.
Selby has the upper hand at present, but Aaron is still in there fighting…
SELBY 3-0 HILL (54-44)
Ouch. Hill feels he has no choice but to take on a long diagonal red from left to right, but it jiggles with the jaws and jumps out.
Selby leaps out of his chair to nick a red up to middle left and suddenly the Jester from Leicester has the door ajar to get this done via a whitewash.
There’s one red close to the bottom cushion that could yet be a hurdle, but Mark opts to leave that until the end.
The four-time World champion eats into Hill’s lead and moves ahead on the board when he cuts a pink up to middle right, to land on the red along the bottom rail.
It’s a risky shot, but he pots it in the knowledge that his run will end on 54.
Mark sticks the black safe to the right cushion with the yellow tucked behind the brown in baulk to make life difficult for Aaron.
SELBY 3-0 HILL (0-44)
Hill can’t quite seem to pull away but Mark’s travails trying to clip a red from tight to the green in baulk sees him foul. When he does clip it, he catches it too firmly and the cue ball remains mid-table.
This time, Aaron does make more of an impact. He drills a red down the right rail to the corner bag and screws back for the yellow to it its home pocket. It paves the way for him to come down on the far left for a red to the right corner.
It’s arguably his best snooker of the match but he is slightly distracted when two random bits of paper fall from the ceiling on to the table.
It doesn’t halt his run, however, as he makes intelligent use of the rest to screw back off a red for the pink to the same corner right pocket.
It’s there for the Irishman to romp clear and get on the board, but he bizarrely loses position on a break of 34 near the bottom cushion with reds galore and the black all in good positions.
Selby makes ‘great start’ with century against Hill
SELBY 3-0 HILL (0-5)
It’s now or never for Aaron to make an impact in this match and he’s first to show, but he can only manage a meagre four.
Mark misses a half chance with a long red down the left and then Hill gets an almighty fluke with a bullet red down the right rail that pops out of the pocket and makes a beeline directly for the left middle bag!
Again, he can’t make the most of it, and he fluffs a brown down to the same middle pocket from baulk to leave Selby still firmly in the hunt.
AROUND THE TABLES
Zhang Anda 1-1 Mark Davis
Dale 2-0 Davies
Xiao 1-0 Mann
SELBY 3-0 HILL
It’s an excellent safety up to baulk and Aaron fouls and misses trying to clip one of the three reds without leaving anything on.
His second attempt brings one well clear of the cushion and leaves it over the middle left pocket.
Selby steps in and knocks it home, following with the blue and getting a bit of fortune with the run of the cue ball.
Selby initially hung his head but when he looked up he was on a red to middle right.
The break continues and a sharp pot with the rest on the final red down to the left corner leaves Aaron needing snookers.
Mark puts it beyond doubt with the black and the yellow before mopping up the rest to secure a 47 clearance and move within a frame of victory.
‘Good grief!’ – Selby stuns with amazingly thin cut to keep break going
SELBY 2-0 HILL (43-33)
It’s an inviting table but Aaron will be relieved that there are three reds close to the lower left cushion.
Selby ruthlessly takes care of business with the open reds to nudge ahead on the board, but the hard work is just around the corner.
He takes on a tricky pink up to middle right but can’t quite land on the lowest red to the left corner and opts for safety after chalking up a tidy 43.
SELBY 2-0 HILL (0-33)
But wait. It’s Aaron who seizes the initiative once again as he scorches a tough, long red from mid-table to the bottom right.
This time he does get the opportunity to build some rhythm, but just when he looks like developing a run to win the frame, it goes pear-shaped.
He overruns off a colour and lands too close to the pack. He tries to engineer a slow-paced, fine cut to the left corner, but it catches the far jaw. Worse still, he had opened up the reds in anticipation of continuing his break.
It ends on 32 and Selby has a chance for the steal.
SELBY 2-0 HILL (0-1)
Aaron has done a lot of sitting and a fair bit of watching so far, but he gets in first in a crucial frame in terms of his hopes in this match with a delicious, slow cut on a red to bottom left.
It doesn’t provide the kick-start he would have wanted and he’s soon engaged in a safety face-off that Mark often ends up enjoying more than his opponent!
SELBY 2-0 HILL
Mark despatches another long red and nicks in the green but he gets his angle on a red down to the bottom right slightly wrong as it clips the far jaw and pops out.
There’s a half chance for Hill, but he makes a real meal of it, leaving the cue ball mid-table for Selby to clip a red to middle right.
This time the Jester makes him pay, although he does get a slice of fortune when a red ricochets out of the pack and lands for him to cut it down to middle right. His attempt to split the pack doesn’t pay immediate dividends, but he expertly uses the rest to guide a tough red to the right corner to maintain his stay at the table.
A blue to middle ensures Hill won’t be returning and Selby plays off the pink to help him take care of the remainder of the pack. There’s one stray red up to the right of baulk and with the frame in the bag, Selby produces an exquisite, fine cut to hammer it into the green pocket and keep his century bid on track.
Indeed, it’s a key shot in terms of the ton as the four-time World champion completes a majestic 119 clearance to leave Aaron needing something special in a best of seven encounter.
SELBY 1-0 HILL (1-0)
Mark earns a smattering of applause for a trick shot pot off the top cushion down to knock one of two reds close to the left corner into the bag.
Sadly for him, there’s no position for him to attempt a colour and he retreats to baulk having avoided leaving anything on for his opponent.
SELBY 1-0 HILL
Selby glances off the cushion close to the right corner bag to clip a long-range red home and land sweetly on the black. He cuts that to the same pocket and then sinks a red up to middle left to make the first significant scoring of the match.
The Jester preys upon a series of loose reds, mopping up routine blacks before knocking in a blue to middle left to keep his run going with a red to the left corner.
Some super pace on a black to the right corner allows him to judge the angle on a red furthest left of the pack and another black moves him beyond the half century.
It’s looking like a frame-winning break but a red to the corner left refuses the invitation to go down and the break ends on 68.
Hill cuts in the same red but then misses on the black and decides to concede the frame with snookers pretty much required.
SELBY 0-0 HILL (0-1)
It’s a scrappy start. Hill gets the first opportunity but can only clip in a red.
Mark takes on a long red to the bottom left, but can’t angle it beyond the far jaw.
First up…
Two-time English Open champion Mark Selby takes on Ireland’s Aaron Hill.
This is their fourth meeting with Selby leading the match-up 2-1.
Good afternoon
Hello and welcome to our LIVE updates from Monday’s afternoon session at the 2024 English Open.
The likes of Mark Selby are up first from 13:00 BST with defending champion Judd Trump headlining the matches from 15:00 BST.
Today’s schedule
Yuan Sijun 0-1 Bulcsu Revesz
Ricky Walden 2-0 Mink Nutcharut
David Gilbert 1-1 Michael Holt
Dominic Dale v Liam Davies
Xiao Guodong v Mitchell Mann
Noppon Saengkham v Zak Surety
Fan makes first 147 of career to complete English Open qualifying victory over Pullen
Joe O’Connor v Artemijs Zizins
Si Jiahui v Andrew Pagett
Jak Jones v Ishpreet Singh Chadha
Kyren Wilson v David Grace
Chris Wakelin v Joe Perry
Pang Junxu v Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
Shaun Murphy v Jamie Clarke
Stream the English Open and many more top snooker events live and on-demand on discovery+
