Mark Selby holds off fightback from Murphy to claim fourth world title
The 37-year-old secured a 18-15 victory to join John Higgins as a four-time champion. By Press Association Monday 3 May 2021, 10:44 PM 4 hours ago 12,026 Views 26 Comments
Image: PA
Image: PA
MARK SELBY CLAMBERED back to the snooker summit by sinking Shaun Murphy 18-15 to win his fourth world title at a raucous Crucible.
Selby held off a stirring fightback from his opponent in the final session to join John Higgins as a four-time champion, punching the air after sinking the final black under immense pressure.
The 37-year-old had endured a torrid time after winning his previous crown in 2017, crashing out in the first round as defending champion and surrendering his status as world number one after going over two and a half years without a British-based
Ultimately it was Murphy who will have headed back to his dressing room more disappointed, having blown his chance of narrowing the deficit to a single frame following a sloppy break-off shot in the final frame of the afternoon.
Resuming 10-7 behind, Murphy had drawn first blood with a promising break of 77 and looked odds-on to make it 10-9 when he got the snooker he required, only to leave the black dangling over the middle pocket.
Selby duly potted it to re-establish his three-frame lead, but failed to punish Murphy for a poor safety in the next, a missed black of his own giving the 2005 champion the chance to clear the colours and pull back the deficit again.
Selby will be kicking himself for causing the delay after compiling what looked set to be a match-winning break of 44 in the 31st frame, only to run out of position and let in Bingham for a nerveless 85 clearance which forced overtime.
Selby had resumed trailing 13-11 but dominated the session, a break of 125 hauling him level at 13-13 then, after Bingham responded with a century of his own, three frames in a row put the Leicester man firmly in control.
But although there was no repeat of the warning Selby received from referee Ben Williams on Friday for slow play, the gruelling nature of many of the frames ensured extra time would be required to determine a winner.
“We are in the entertainment business. Everybody’s been locked up and isolated for the past year and they want to see a show, and it’s our job to put on a show and entertain them.
“There is more to winning major snooker events in front of live audiences than just hitting the cue ball in a straight line. There’s a lot more that goes into it than on-the-table theatrics, and maybe that’s a stone Kyren hasn’t looked under yet.”
Murphy, playing some of his best snooker at the venue since he sailed to the title as an unfancied qualifier in 2005, had staged a series of mini-comebacks, including winning the final two frames on Friday to finish 10-6 behind overnight, then potting a brilliant long-black to close the gap to 11-9.