'I’d be worried if I was that flying thing' - Mark Selby dive-bombed by insect in semi-final clash against Zhou Yuelong at English Open

During the early stages of his semi-final clash with Zhou Yuelong at the English Open, Mark Selby found himself being buzzed by an insect. The intruder had a couple of swoops in the direction of the four-time world champion, but he kept his composure. "He’s now giving it the eye," said David Hendon on TNT Sports commentary, alarmed for the insect's potential fate at the Brentwood Centre

‘Fending off an attack from something’ - Selby wrestles with insect

Video credit: TNT Sports

As well as having to contend with his semi-final opponent Zhou Yuelong at the English Open, Mark Selby had to fend off the attention of an insect.

Selby saw Zhou win a 38-minute opening frame and he was sitting in his chair contemplating the prospect of losing the second as his opponent was at the table and looking good.

Zhou was stopped in his tracks when he missed a brown to the yellow pocket, which came as a surprise to the commentary team.

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"Oh dear," Neal Foulds said on TNT Sports commentary. "After such a good red.

"He put an awful lot into the positional side of it and forgot the pot."

David Hendon, alongside Foulds in the commentary box, added: "A classic case of thinking ahead. Just not giving the pot the concentration it needed."

The opening frame was a war of attrition, with the brown proving tough for both players to sink, and Hendon added: "That brown has been a problematic ball so far in this match."

Selby emerged from his chair to find he had been left a red to the left corner, but just as he was about to get down on the shot he was buzzed by an intruder at the Brentwood Centre in Essex.

Setting the scene in the commentary box for TNT Sports, Hendon said: "Selby just fending off an attack from something there.

"He’s now giving it the eye. I’d be worried if I was that flying thing."

After getting down on the shot for a third time, Selby got up again and flicked at the insect with his arm - to the delight of those watching on in the crowd.

"I don't fancy its chances if Selby gets hold of it," Hendon said. "A net or something is required."

To his credit, Selby got down and knocked in a red, to which Foulds added: "It was worth the wait."

Selby went on to make a break of 40, but did not kill off the frame and Zhou countered with a run of 89 to take the second frame of the match - without any further interruptions from the flying insect.

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Video credit: TNT Sports

It is not the first issue Selby has encountered in Essex this week. Following his battling win over Jackson Page in the quarter-finals on Friday, Selby spoke about the conditions - suggesting a swimming pool inside the Brentwood Centre was leading to dampness in the arena.

"I think with having a swimming pool at the venue, you can just feel the moisture," Selby said. "As soon as you walk out of the arena to go to the corridor where the toilets are, you can just feel the damp from the pool.

"I think everywhere we’ve played… it was the same in Barnsley, Ponds Forge. It’s difficult, you know."

Following the conclusion of Selby’s clash with Zhou, Jak Jones and Mark Allen will do battle in the second semi-final on Saturday evening - with the action live on TNT Sports and discovery+ from 19:00 UK time.

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