O’Sullivan celebrates Christmas Day with win over Ding as Selby, Higgins make 147s

ByEurosport

Published 26/12/2023 at 14:07 GMT

The festive season proved to be a time for giving for Mark Selby at a lucrative exhibition event in Macau as he entertained fans with a brilliant 147 maximum break after fellow four-time world champion John Higgins produced his own. Selby won the event as he followed up a 6-3 win over Higgins in the semi-finals by defeating Ali Carter by the same scoreline in the final.‘Disbelieving headshaking in the crowd’ – O’Sullivan’s Top 5 shots from 2023

Selby produced his maximum effort in the third frame against Higgins with the Scotsman failing to slot the final black in the fifth frame of their semi-final after making a maximum in the group stage against Barry Hawkins.

World No. 5 Selby claimed £50,000 for victory at the tournament plus appearance money worth over £35,000 with a 6-3 win over Ali Carter, who defeated world champion Luca Brecel in the other semi-final.

Hawkins and Thepchaiya Un-Nooh were eliminated in the group stage, with Higgins taking third spot with a 6-4 win over Brecel.

There are two unrelated Macau Masters invitational events being staged over the traditional festive period with world No. 1 Ronnie O’Sullivan chasing a £150,000 winner’s prize by reaching the final of the second tournament on Friday.

O’Sullivan made two centuries in a 6-2 win over Ding on Christmas Day after defeating his fellow former Masters winner 10-7 in the UK Championship final earlier this month.

He next takes on Marco Fu in the eight-player tournament at the Wynn Palace on Wednesday morning after Jack Lisowski meets Kyren Wilson earlier in the day.

Judd Trump and Ding are also in action on Boxing Day as they bid for a spot in the semi-finals on Thursday, with Mark Williams facing World Championship semi-finalist Si Jiahui.

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