Pukka Marks a Return to Form
The first round of the Pukka Pies UK Championship in Telford has brought a re-mark-able turn around in fortunes for Mr Williams, Selby and King.
Mark Williams has started to show signs of getting back to somewhere near his best in the past twelve months, and continued a rise back up the ranking with a win over 2006 world champion, Graeme Dott.
The Welshman opened up a healthy 6-2 mid-session advantage, and when Dott withdrew prior to the second session due to ill-health, the two-time world champ took his place in round two.
Mark King managed to retain his coveted top-16 place at the Crucible last April, and justified his status with a convincing 9-2 win over Nottingham’s Anthony Hamilton.
It was Mark Selby though who had the biggest reason to smile after his five-frame winning streak pulled off another great fight back by the Leicester man.
Selby had yet to win a single match so far this season, a situation which had his own ranking position in jeopardy. Another first round exit would have meant another step closer to the dreaded qualifying stages next season.
Jamie Cope appeared to be cruising as he went 8-4 up, but the 15-minute interval came at just the right time.
The 2008 Masters Champion, returned to the arena, played with more aggression and reeled off five frames in a row, making two century breaks and amassing a staggering 526 points to Cope’s 22.
It appeared that Selby had found what he has been searching for since reaching a second successive Masters final last January, and he becomes a serious contender for the Pukka Title.
The clean-sweep of Mark’s was thwarted when Stephen Lee also rolled back the years and survived a spirited battle with Northern Ireland’s, Mark Allen.
The mid-session interval was taken early when the left-hander’s cue snapped and had to undergo emergency repairs.
He played the remainder of the match without a ferrule and took the match to deciding frame by winning a re-spotted black in the 16th frame.
The former world number three, wearing a pink waistcoat raising awareness of breast cancer, managed to clinch a hard-fought win with a crucial 30 break in the last and will now face either Allister Carter or Rory McLeod for a place in the last eight.
