Snooker: 76-minute marathon frame grants Selby British Open final spot

Having already tasted victory at the China Open this season, Mark Selby continued his strong start to the season in his British Open semi-final. His opponent Liam Highfield is only ranked 69th in the world, and this was his debut semi-final in a ranking tournament.

Peaking at 39th in the rankings, Highfield has been one of the bright spots of the tournament. The 35-year old has previously reached the quarter-finals of a ranking tournament once, but now he was battling it out for a ranking final against the four-time world champion.

Highfield didn't come all this way to go out without a fight, and he battled hard to earn himself a 0-1 lead. The next frame however was a different story, with Selby showing what it takes to make it at this stage of a tournament. One sloppy mistake from Liam on an easy yellow to start a break, one visit to the table from Mark and the game was 1-1.

The third frame was a scrappy one, with Highfield ending out on top and Selby needing snookers. "The Jester from Leicester" managed to create a few, but eventually conceded and the lead went back to Highfield.

If the last frame was a scrap, the fourth frame was a whole junkyard. It took 25 minutes for the first red to be potted, and eventually Highfield managed to claw himself a 52-0 lead. However, this is Mark Selby we're talking about, and he always prefers a marathon to a sprint.

A marathon was indeed on the menu for his comeback, with eventually a guilt-edged mistake from Highfield bringing his 76-minute and 19-second suffering to an end. The whole tournament's schedule was in danger with the players going out for a break at 2-2.

It seemed as Highfield's high spirits were slightly dampened in losing the marathon frame, and after the break it was almost solely a Selby-show. Highfield did get his chances, but each time out Selby got the better of him in the safety battles, eventually earning himself a spot in the British Open final 6-3.

His final opponent is decided in the second semi-final between Judd Trump and Welshman Jak Jones, which is currently ongoing and began at 7pm British time.

Below you can find all the results from the British Open so far.













Lähde: TNT Sports