Mark Selby was paired with his friend and practice partner Ben Woollaston in the first round of the World Championship. It turned into an attritional battle and Selby showed rare signs of emotion as the contest got extremely nervy on Thursday evening.
Mark Selby is not one to often show emotion at the table, and it came as a surprise when he flung the yellow ball up the table after conceding the 13th frame against Ben Woollaston at the World Championship.
The clash between two Leicester natives turned into a war of attrition, with the match entering its seventh hour on Thursday evening with the pair contesting the 13th frame.
One frame prior, Selby appeared to wrestle the initiative when winning the 12th after needing a snooker.
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That proved to be a false dawn, as Selby continued to struggle and Woollaston took control of the subsequent frame.
World No. 44 Woollaston got to the stage in the 13th frame where Selby needed snookers, but in light of the previous frame, he played on.
Woollaston kept him at arm’s length on this occasion and Selby made an error by chipping the yellow towards the green pocket.
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‘What a steal’ – Selby pinches frame from Woollaston after needing a snooker
With the yellow hanging over the bag, Selby picked it up and flung it across the table before storming off for the interval.
“Look at that reaction from Selby, he’s not happy,” said Dave Hendon in the TNT Sports commentary box. “You don’t see that often from the master of brinkmanship.”
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In the TNT Sports studio at the interval, Ronnie O’Sullivan felt Selby’s frustrations were down to him bedding in a new tip.
“We don’t know if he’s got a new tip on, but if he has then it can be a kind of excuse,” O’Sullivan said.
“We don’t know but I am assuming it is as there have been so many mistakes from him.
“When he left that yellow over the pocket it was a complete mis-hit, which he never, ever does.
“When your tip is not right, your confidence goes, you just start to lose confidence in your cue and tip, and it can just get worse and worse.”
Asked for his view on Selby throwing the yellow, O’Sullivan added: “He’s annoyed, he’s frustrated, he’s just angry.
“You never normally see that with Selby.”
Selby kept himself in the hunt, and produced his best break of the night – an 81 – to cut the gap to 9-8, but Woollaston kept his composure to secure the win and a meeting with Si Jiahui.
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