Northern Ireland Open 2024: Mark Selby crashes out as Louis Heathcote seals shock win, Shaun Murphy edges past Jiang Jun
Updated 21/10/2024 at 08:59 GMT+1
Four-time world champion Mark Selby was sent crashing out of the Northern Ireland Open by Louis Heathcote. Having won the British Open in his previous outing, Selby was way short of his best at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast on Sunday evening. Heathcote also struggled but took advantage of the many chances Selby presented him to claim a huge win in his career.
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Video credit: TNT Sports
The first major shock of the Northern Ireland Open took place on Sunday evening, as Louis Heathcote claimed a 4-3 win over Mark Selby.
Selby went into the event high on confidence following his win over John Higgins in the final of the British Open, but his form was way below that level and Heathcote took advantage to claim a notable scalp.
Heathcote is playing for his professional future, being outside the top 64 in the world, and this win hands him welcome ranking points and a meeting with either Xiao Guodong or Jimmy Robertson.
Heathcote had the first two chances of the contest, but made 21 and 10 from those promising visits.
When he missed a tough brown to left middle, he had a concerned look on his face and it was justified as Selby stroked in a break of 81 to take the opener.
After picking Heathcote’s pocket in the first, it came as a surprise when Selby did not double his advantage in the second.
Heathcote squandered a raft of chances, but Selby did not punish his lower-ranked opponent and missed frame-ball black.Â
At the fifth time of asking, world No. 71 Heathcote mopped up the final red and colours to draw level.Â
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Selby had to sit out the trip to China for the Wuhan Open, having failed to qualify, and he did not look match-sharp against Heathcote.
The third frame boiled down to a scrap on the final red, and it was Heathcote who emerged on the right side of a battle.
The pivotal shot saw him lay a snooker, which Selby failed to escape from, leaving his opponent with the chance to pot the red and knock in the balls required to edge in front.
Selby found a superb piece of cueing at the start of the fourth, but as good as that red was, the miss on another red that followed two shots later was the polar opposite.
The four-time world champion found himself in trouble after being warned following two misses of an attempted safety.
With his hand forced - Selby knew another miss would see him forfeit the frame - he took on a high-tariff red and it went into the heart of the pocket at pace and left him on the pink.
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Selby pots stunning red after being warned for two misses on a safety escape
Video credit: TNT Sports
It did not free up his cueing arm as he missed a pink to the left middle. Heathcote had the option to drag Selby into the weeds, but went for a tough red which he failed to pot and the world No. 4 cashed in to get the match back on level terms.Â
Heathcote edged his way back in front when taking the fifth thanks to two solid contributions, which came under intense pressure with his tour card on the line.
With the winning post in sight, the pressure only ramped up on Heathcote. He craved a chance and got one, as Selby broke down with a 50-point lead.
Heathcote picked off a string of good shots to claw his way back into the frame, but landed awkwardly on the final yellow and it failed to drop.
He went back to his chair and wiped his brow in frustration, and could only look on as Selby cleared to the pink to force a decider.
Selby has been a master of final-frame deciders this season, he won four in a row at the British Open, but the Houdini act proved beyond him on this occasion.
Heathcote built up a 48-point lead, but went for a reckless double to open the door for Selby.
Heathcote looked in bits in his chair, but he had a perfect view as Selby butchered a simple green and he rose from his seat to get to the snookers-required stage.
Selby played on in search of five snookers and caused a few flutters when getting one, but Heathcote kept his composure to secure one of the biggest wins of his career.
Murphy edges past Jiang
Elsewhere, Shaun Murphy claimed a late-night 4-2 victory over Jiang Jun, having trailed 2-0.
An in-form Jiang claimed the opener with a break of 78 and he'd soon notched a second frame.
The match turned on a topsy-turvy third frame however, as the 19-year-old Jiang missed a wild cross table pot of the yellow after a break of 60, presenting Murphy with a chance to build a score.
But The Magician squandered the opportunity, as poor positional play saw him miss a red into the middle pocket. As Jiang subsequentally missed a tough cut on the black, however, Murphy slotted some beautiful pots and ultimately halved the deficit.
The third frame saw Murphy swiftly claim a half-century break, and despite some potentially-costly misses on the red, soon level the scores at 2-2 after four frames.
Murphy then made it 3-2 in the fifth frame by tallying the first century of the match. The Englishman ended with a break of 118 and a showboat double on the black.
Jiang pushed for a decider in the final frame, only to miss an awful black off its spot and see Murphy seal a hard-fought victory and a place in the round of 32.
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Watch and stream the Northern Ireland Open live on Eurosport and discovery+
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