British Open 2024: Mark Selby wins fourth deciding frame of week to knock out David Gilbert, John Higgins also through

Mark Selby saw David Gilbert win three frames on the spin, but the four-time world champion held his nerve to get over the line with a 5-4 win to reach the semi-finals of the British Open at the Centaur at Cheltenham racecourse. John Higgins powered into the semi-finals on Friday afternoon with a resounding 5-1 win over Elliot Slessor.

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Video credit: TNT Sports

Mark Selby won a deciding frame for the fourth time this week as he edged out David Gilbert 5-4 to reach the semi-finals of the British Open.

Pang Junxu, Yuan Sijun and Thepchaiya Un-Nooh were forced to bend to Selby’s iron will at the Centaur in Cheltenham, and it was the same for Gilbert who rallied from 4-1 down only to succumb in the decider.

Selby spoke on Thursday evening about how his confidence had been building through the tournament, and he looked razor sharp in the early exchanges.

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He followed up a dominant opening frame with a century in the second, with Gilbert a mere spectator without a point to his name.

Gilbert had his first chance of note in the third frame, but broke down when in the balls, and could only watch on in frustration as Selby picked his pocket to move three frames to the good.

Having left the arena looking deeply frustrated, Gilbert returned to punch in a break of 73 to get a foothold heading into the interval.

Selby restored a three-frame cushion via a break of 66 in the fifth, but he slapped the table in frustration when failing to close it out, and he had to win a safety battle to get over the line.

It was the first sign of fragility from Selby, and whether Gilbert sensed a chance, it was not clear, but he fought his way back into the match with breaks of 93 and 66.

Selby had been involved in deciding frames three times already in Cheltenham, and a fourth was added to his list when Gilbert won a scrappy eighth frame – albeit after twice giving his opponent a sniff when fouling on the colours with Selby needing snookers.

Selby wriggled the brown in the bottom left and it went across the table to allow Gilbert to close out the eighth and force a decider.

The pair went to a decider in the same event 12 months ago, with Selby taking a 4-3 win in the last 16 – and the result was the same again in 2024.

An 11-minute safety exchange at the start of the ninth was broken when Gilbert knocked in a brilliant red to the right middle. He immediately ran out of position but found another superb red – this time to the left middle.

It looked like an inviting table, but Gilbert was stopped in his tracks when he went to power in the black to force an angle only to see it jump off the table.

With reds in the open, Selby crafted a break of 50 to leave Gilbert needing snookers. He had one look, before offering his hand to his great friend and practice partner.

higgins downs slessor to reach semis

John Higgins knocked in two centuries in a dominant 5-1 win over Elliot Slessor.

The veteran Scot is looking to return to the world's top 16 after tumbling out for the first time in 29 years on Monday.

Higgins made an early statement when he made a century of 132 in the opener. He has been shaky on occasions in recent seasons and a surprising miss allowed Slessor to take the second.

But from there it was virtually one-way traffic as Slessor accumulated only 26 points in the final four frames.

In contrast, Higgins rolled in breaks of 63 and 102 to book his ticket to the semi-finals of a tournament he has won on four occasions – the first being in 1995.

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