Comeback king Xiao Guodong beats Mark Selby in epic group final to book semi-final spot
Not content with his spectacular comeback win over Ronnie O’Sullivan on Thursday afternoon, Xiao Guodong repeated the feat in a dramatic encounter with Mark Selby to progress to the semi-finals at the Champion of Champions in Bolton.
The Chinese player was 4-1 behind and looked set to succumb to an in-form Selby, but he fought back again to continue his astounding run.
Xiao Guodong edged out Mark Selby 6-5 in an epic group final at the Champion of Champions in Bolton, setting up a semi-final with Mark Allen.
In a game that ebbed and flowed, with both players enjoying spells of dominance, it was Xiao who prevailed on a night of top-class snooker at the Toughsheet Stadium.
Xiao was understandably confident heading into the second match of the day, having beaten the great Ronnie O’Sullivan earlier on. He also benefitted from a longer break than his opponent, who had only ended his match with Shaun Murphy less than an hour before.
of a man still in full flow, Selby carefully removed each ball to round off an impressive first-frame win with a 91 clearance.
Selby showed few signs of letting off in the second frame, though he did get some good fortune with a fluked red. The Leicester native racked up a break of 59 before he was forced into a safety.
Xiao, in response, missed a red, his early confidence perhaps beginning to waver. That allowed the imperious Selby to return and wrap up the second frame with a 63 clearance to lead 2-0.
It was an excellent start for Selby and an alarming one for Xiao, though there was no need to panic given he had earlier come from 3-0 behind to beat O’Sullivan. And he would have to do the same again here; he left a yellow over a baulk pocket and allowed Selby to make hay once again.
The latter produced a stunning 120 clearance to go three clear in emphatic style.
This was a real test of Xiao’s mettle, and he kicked into gear. A superb 118 clearance in the fourth frame got him off the mark in the contest and gave Selby something to think about with the score at 3-1.
But Selby was unfazed by the minor setback, immediately getting back on track in the fifth frame. Xiao could have been forgiven for feeling increasingly demoralised, and he was unable to put anything together as both players traded safety shots.
Selby potted a brilliant red and was soon rattling along again, this time making a 64 break to secure another frame and go two within victory.
Xiao clearly had no intention of letting the match slip away, though, bouncing back and keeping himself in contention with a couple of excellent safety shots followed by a well-constructed 80 break to bring the score back to 4-2.
Selby, having looked so indomitable for so long, started to make some uncharacteristic errors in the next frame, apparently unnerved by Xiao’s attempted resurgence. The Englishman found himself 39-0 down and snookered, though he expertly navigated that particular situation.
But his aim was off and Xiao grasped his chance, taking the frame with a 59 to move within one of his opponent, whose once seemingly unassailable lead was in danger of being wiped out.
The momentum of the game had shifted and Xiao was now hunting a third successive frame. It was no surprise when he got it, again putting together an intricately crafted break to make the score 4-4 and leave Selby wondering what had gone wrong. Having led 4-1, the Brit had now gone three frames without potting a ball.
Finally, Selby regained his composure, nicely potting a green and a blue and constructing a break for what felt the first time in a long time. Though it was not as convincing as his early frames, Selby eventually forced Xiao to concede and regained the lead, stemming the tide after a difficult period.
At 5-4, the contest felt in the balance. Both players played high-quality safety shots at the start of a potentially decisive 10th frame. Xiao potted a red with impressive control, then a brown, taking the initiative in a cagey, tense frame.
Neither could get a foothold until Xiao eked out an 18 break to level the scores again, 5-5, and the match went on deeper into the night, into a final frame.
Midnight was approaching and the tension was palpable, compounded by a re-rack with the frame going nowhere. Selby benefitted from the restart, potting two blues and managing a break of 39 before a remarkable red miss to the middle pocket.
That gave Xiao an opportunity, and he produced a break of 58, potting the black and then a tricky red, before settling for safety. Selby needed all six colours to win as both players probed and stayed patient three-and-a-half hours into a gruelling contest.
Tiredness seemed to be affecting Xiao, who missed twice and potted the cue ball for three consecutive fouls. Selby was feeling the pressure too, though, and missed a yellow, which Xiao then potted with a hugely fortuitous fluke shot. The green followed, then brown and blue, before Xiao secured victory by potting the pink, bringing to an end a memorable battle in Bolton.