Mark Shelby started defending his World Cup title by retaining Wales qualifier Jamie Jones 10-7 at Sheffield. Leicester’s Selby is aiming for a fifth world crown and looked partly sloppy, but took three centuries and four breaks 50+ as he resisted Jones’ return. Next for Selby will be the Chinese Yan Bingtao or the qualifier Chris Wakelin. World number one Ronnie O’Sullivan recovered from 3-0 and was ahead of David Gilbert 6-3 after the first session. Rocket is aiming for a seventh world title with a record in his 30th appearance at the Crucible to equalize alongside Scottish legend Stephen Hendry. Qualifier Gilbert took the lead but O’Sullivan, 46, showed his class by responding with 122, 64, 104 and 66 for six frames in a row. They play until the finish on Sunday afternoon.
Jones lets Selby break free
Shelby admitted before the tournament that he thought about not defending his title due to his ongoing battle with mental illness. Instead of stepping up his preparations for the snooker event by spending time at the training table, the 38-year-old Shelby retired from two qualifying matches and went on holiday to Dubai with his family. There seemed to be some rust in the early exchanges, leaving Selby confused because he lacked the simple pots, but he soon stood his ground with great breaks 134 and 129, as well as further rows 71, 64 and 73 to reach 6-3 ahead. Jones had chances, but let Selby get away and the result seemed typical when the world number two took the first two frames of the evening session. But Jones made a decisive counterattack by taking four of the next five frames, which included Shelby scoring a stunning 137, and closing the game after Jones stepped off in the corner pocket. Selby said: “It was great. Emotional that I left today and had a great reception. It’s nice that I came back playing and I was not really sure if I would play in the World Cup. The result for me today was irrelevant. I am happy I won and I enjoyed it. ». Jones added: “I fought and I showed my heart. I never give up – that’s the only way I know how to play – and I made it difficult for Mark. I can be proud of myself and I could have gone 8-3, but stuck there with the world champion “.
Elsewhere …
United Kingdom champion Zhao Xintong signaled his intention by opening a 7-2 lead over Wales Jamie Clarke before the end of Sunday morning. The Chinese Zhao, 25, managed to overcome this year by winning two ranking matches and was in an excellent score, making two centuries as well as breaks of 98, 78 and 73. Englishman Shaun Murphy, the 2005 champion, faces a difficult task against the Scotsman Stephen Maguire, after losing the first period 6-3. 20-year-old Welshman Jackson Page impressed in his debut, leading 6-3 against former finalist Barry Hawkins. Page made 102 in the eighth frame, but Englishman Hawkins made the next frame in black to remain in contention. Subscribe to My Sport to watch snooker news on the BBC app.
