Ronnie O’Sullivan reaches World Championship final after controversial Selby victory

Ronnie O’Sullivan is one match away from his sixth world title, coming from behind to beat an in-form Mark Selby 17-16 in a match that proved highly controversial for his opponent.

In the final session, O’Sullivan began well, winning the first two frames to level the scores at 13-13, the first time they had been equal since 4-4. Selby counter-attacked, with breaks of 56 and 63 putting him two from victory. O’Sullivan won the next, and then the 30^th frame produced some bizarre shot choices.

O’Sullivan was playing aggressive, and it was costing him about as much as it was winning – when he landed, it was superb, and when he missed, the errors looked basic. It was down to just two balls, the pink and the black, and the scores were 53-47 in Selby’s favour. He left O’Sullivan snookered – he missed the first attempt entirely, then opted simply to strike the cue ball as hard as he could on the second attempt. It didn’t work – Selby was one from victory.

The 19-time Triple Crown winner needed to respond to keep his hopes alive, and he did. He swiftly compiled a century break of 138 in under eight minutes, and then kept Selby in his chair in the next frame with a further 71. He’d levelled, and he made it look easy, especially in comparison to the player he’d been a few frames prior.

I felt it was a little bit disrespectful, the way he played

– Mark Selby

A tactical exchange ensued, and O’Sullivan won it to get the first chance, finding a red to begin a break of 65. He just needed a red to baulk corner, but he missed it – Selby came to the table, and the awkward reds were O’Sullivan’s only hope. He made 35 then, on the last red, Selby failed to gain position and chose to play safe, leaving the ball behind the brown. A safety battle ensued, and it looked to be advantage Selby after he got O’Sullivan behind the black – but on his escape, O’Sullivan accidentally snookered Selby behind the same ball. Selby didn’t leave it safe, and O’Sullivan was able to secure the victory.

After the match, O’Sullivan said: “Playing at the Crucible in big matches, you just want to find some solid shots. There were spells where I was mis-hitting and not timing the shots well. You can get frustrated but I just tried to keep it together and compete. Mark was keeping me at bay and I didn’t think I could compete with him. I don’t know where the last three frames came from. I found some sort of magic towards the end, maybe from inspiration or desperation.

“When I was a kid, I dreamed of playing at these tournaments, but as you get older you realise that it’s the game that fascinates you. I’d much rather be hitting good shots and striking the ball with authority – that’s where the enjoyment comes from. The by-product of that is that a bit of silverware comes your way. But every professional will tell you that if you are striking the ball well then you will have a chance to win tournaments.

“I am here to compete and even if I’m not striking it great and hitting some loose shots, I’ve got to stick in there and try to find bits of magic.”

Selby said: “I didn’t get much of a chance in the last three frames, apart from right at the end. I felt great – I felt like I was going to clear up. I just played a poor positional shot on the green. After that I played some good safety shots. Ronnie just kept getting out of snookers.

“During the match, I felt it was a little bit disrespectful, the way he played. Every time I put him in a snooker, he just got down and hit the balls at 100 miles an hour and they could have gone anywhere. I don’t know whether he was just in that frame of mind, but I felt it was a bit disrespectful to me at the table. In the last three frames he played great, I’ve got no complaints.

“Sometimes if you have no shot, you just hit them as hard as you can and hope to fluke one. Each time I had him in a snooker, he seemed to do it. Even if he had a chance to roll up to a ball, he would just come off the cushion. I just think it is disrespectful to the game and disrespectful to me in that particular match.”

In response to Selby’s comments, O’Sullivan said: “You want to hit it as hard as you can and hopefully get a fluke, otherwise I could give 40 points away. If I was as good as Mark Selby at getting out of snookers, I could maybe get the balls safe.”

O’Sullivan will face Kyren Wilson for the title – he beat Anthony McGill after a stunning semi-final of his one, which featured a final frame with tons of safety points. Wilson secured a hard-fought victory after fluking the green, something that clearly upset both men after a frame full of superb tactical battles.