Essex Marks The Spot For Selby and Williams
Mark’s Selby and Williams made ideal final preparations for the Masters at Wembley by progressing Groups One and Two of the Championship League at Crondon Park Golf Club.
Defending Masters Champion, Selby beat Shanghai Masters champion, Allister Carter in the play-off final after earlier finishing behind table toppers John Higgins and Williams.
World number one Higgins topped the group with five wins from his six matches with only Shaun Murphy managing to record a win against the Scot.
In the knock-out stage the newly crowned UK Champion, stormed into a 2-0 lead with breaks of 107 and 96 before Selby steadied the ship at 2-2 with a run of 60 to set up a decider. The match was soon over in the next as the Leicester man knocked in an 87 to claim victory.
On table two, Carter made a similar start with breaks of 74 and 117 but there was no steadying for the Welshman as Carter sealed a 3-0 win to move into the final.
Selby, who consistently produces his best form when his back is against the wall was again within one frame of defeat when he produced a classy break of 98 to level before moving into the Winner’s Group in a tense fifth frame.
Scottish duo, Stephen Maguire and Graeme Dott were relegated and replaced in Group Two by Ronnie O’Sullivan and Jamie Cope while Selby’s place was taken by world champion, Neil Robertson.
In the final, despite breaks of 115 and 132 from O’Sullivan, it was the Welshman who produced a 138 of his own to force a fifth frame decider and take victory to secure his Winner’s Group spot later in the year.
Williams had topped the group and beaten Shaun Murphy (4th) by three-frames-to-nil in the semi finals while The Rocket had finished second, and beaten Higgins by the same scoreline to reach the final.
The four days play at the Essex Golf Club, suggests that crowds a few miles down the road in Wembley will be in store for a real treat in the coming weeks as many of the ‘big names’ hit top form with O’Sullivan making a total of six century breaks and Williams five.
In Group Two, Cope finished bottom and will be relegated along with Robertson who could only manage one win from six matches.
