Pistol Ends Jester’s Run

Mark Allen has reached the semi-finals of the inaugural Evergrande China Championship in Guangzhou after an epic tussle with world number one Mark Selby.

Selby had looked to be in unbeatable form after clinching last week’s International Championship in Daqing with a stunning 10-1 defeat of Ding Junhui in the final. Allen was looking to reach the last four of an event for the first time since his victory at the Players Championship in March.

With the scores at 1-1, the Northern Irishman went into overdrive. He made three century contributions of 114,100 and 131 before winning the seventh frame to form a commanding 5-2 lead.

The resolute Selby typically provided strong resistance and attempted to mount an unlikely comeback charge. Runs of 99 and 127 helped him to force a decider for this intriguing encounter.

With Allen leading by 61-0 in the final frame, Selby made 35 and looked in position to snatch the tie before breaking down on the final yellow. Allen got back in and forced himself over the line for a massive win.

Shaun Murphy produced a dominant display to defeat world number 13 Marco Fu. The Magician blasted his way to a 5-0 lead showcasing his break building power with runs of 129, 69, 66, 101, 64 and 63.

Fu claimed consecutive frames to tread the tightrope and remain in the tie at 5-2. However, his resistance went no further than that as Murphy ran out a 6-2 winner.

“Marco is a very classy player and person. I knew that I would have to play something like my best to win today,” said the 2005 World Champion. “I would have loved to win 6-0 but never really got a chance to win in the sixth frame and he played well in the next. I just had to keep calm and get over the line.”

Stuart Bingham overcame Michael Holt 6-5 in a marathon encounter.  It took just under four hours to split the pair, but it was the 2015 World Champion who eventually emerged as the victor.

On his way to the win he made contributions of 56, 52, 66 118 and 57. Bingham will face Murphy in tomorrow’s semi-finals.

Bingham said: “I’ve had some good matches with Shaun. We faced in the world final in 2015 and the World Grand Prix in Llandudno. I’ve dodged a bullet today and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

John Higgins defeated World Open Champion Ali Carter to reach the last four.  The four-time World Champion made a key burst from 3-2 up with back-to-back runs of 78 and 77 to move into a 5-2 lead. He quashed any hopes of a comeback from Carter by taking the next frame on the black to secure a 6-2 victory.