Mark Selby vs Zhao Xintong | 2022 Championship League Snooker Invitational | Group 3

Everybody knows about this young man now. After that wonderful UK Championship victory over Luka Brasel. Completely different style of player to Mark Selby. He'll probably look to tie Shaoxing Tonga up as far as possible. Never easy to predict, Phil, is it, early on in January? Just the form of players and what you can expect to see from them. Because obviously a lot of the snooter clubs will have been closed. So players, I think, have a table at home, have a decided advantage. Yes, of course, Shaoxing Tonga is based right here in the UK. He will have been practising, no doubt, at the academy over the festivities. As for Mark Selby, well, he's based right here in Leicester. Don't know how much practice he's put in over the Christmas period, but I'll tell you what, being involved in a group or two or even three this week, we'll stand him in really good stead for the Masters next week. Yeah, good point there, Phil. It's a great chance for somebody like Mark Selby, Stewart being on that sort of player who's in the Masters, to hone their game and get some good match play in. Against some of the other games' top stars. Typical Mark Selby safety shot there, finds the bulk cushion. So good at doing that. Makes such a difference as well, when you're cueing tight off the bulk cushion. It's very hard to strike the cue ball cleanly. I saw that there with Shaoxing Tonga's safety. Cue ball coming out of bulk. No obvious harm done though, unless there's a plant somewhere. That safety shot's really opened the frame up, because the black is now available. Prepare to spread nicely, so a mistake here from Shaoxing Tonga could be costly. There is a mistake. Mark Selby. I think that cue ball will be replaced by a referee. Brendan Moore officiating here. It's been a while now since he won the UK Championship, but this is only his second match as UK Champion. He didn't qualify for the Scottish Open. And then he lost in the first round of the World Grand Prix to Martin Gould, 4-2. 4-2. What a performance though, to win the UK title. Especially towards the end of the event. Finally fulfilling the vast potential every player on the circuit knew that Shaoxing Tong had. Yes, just to go through the attributes that Shaoxing Tong has. He's got a great temperament. Fairly undemonstrative, doesn't give a lot away. He's got a great cue action, a very flat cue action. Strikes the ball beautifully and he keeps very still on the shot. Coupled with all that, of course, is the fact that he's got a terrific amount of ability. And a little tactical tussle here with Mark Selby will do him no harm whatsoever. In a week's time, actually a week today, he'll take on John Higgins. In the first round of the Masters. That will be a test, as of course will this. Yes, in fact, Shaoxing Tong defeated John Higgins in the UK Championships on route to victory. I think it was 5-3 down and 1-6-5 as well, because I was playing against Andy Hicks on a neighbouring table. Mark's tied the black up again. And the reds have become more bunched up as well. This is a typical Mark Selby frame, isn't it? But there is a chance here for Shaoxing Tong to try and get that key of Willing behind brown and yellow. That one's considerably thicker than intended. Mark Selby was just having a look there to see if the red that's nearest that right corner were cutting. Maybe it's just hidden by the blue. Ah, excellent cue ball, but as you can see that red that's near the right corner will certainly be interesting for Shaoxing Tong. The problem being, I can't see the likelihood of getting on a colour from it. Well, sometimes you just have to trust the luck. Doesn't matter whether you've won the World Championship or, in this case, the UK Championship. You need to pop the ball and then hope. Yeah, it worked out beautifully. He just cammoned one of the reds to the right of, or the left of the one that he potted. Half ball, which deflects the cue ball up towards blue and pink. So, all of a sudden now, first good chance in this frame has fallen to Shaoxing Tong. Black's still tied up, but he can somehow get that pink into play. I think if he pots the pink, it's spots occupied perhaps. So that would go on the black spot, which would help. Can he just jab this pink in? Is he straight enough on it to attempt it? But you can see the pink spot there now is clearly visible, so that will be an open play. If he can knock this in... Perfect. 14. Yeah, they're just discovering what all of the players involved in Group 1 and 2 discover the week before Christmas. These tables are reactive. As is the case with the Champion of Champions, the tables being used are Rasson, produced in China. There you can see. Now I thought conditions pre-Christmas were excellent. Reflected on the fact that in the first two groups, Dom, we had 30 century breaks in total. 21. Absolutely filled. Commentating on Group 1 and centuries flying in all over the place. The key thing for players, they can accustom themselves to the way the bedcloth is playing, the response out of the cloth, the bedcloth, and the speed of it. But the cushion rails, that's critical. If they're reliable and the players can trust the cushion to rebound at a set speed, a consistent speed, if they can judge well, then heavy scoring and good positional play is always much more possible for them. Sometimes you get bad bounces and it can put you completely out of position on occasions. I want to concentrate on the pink here predominantly because the black's out of commission. 34. This is a useful little contribution from Xiaojing Tong so far. Keep it going. Could just about make enough from this visit to use Mark Selby at the snoopers required stage. He's only beaten Selby on one previous occasion. In a Championship League last year, Group 1, 3-0-1. At another Championship League meeting, Selby prevailed 3-1. That was in Group 3, the same as this in last year's Invitational Championship League. As for meetings outside of this tournament, Selby's dominated. Five wins out of five. If you go back a few years, Xiaojing Tong was an even quicker player than he is these days. I noticed two or three seasons ago he'd just slowed his rhythm down ever so slightly. Walked around the table a little slower than he used to. Just took an extra bit of care on every shot that he played. And I just thought that might hindrance him a little bit and take away some of his natural flair. Because he can easily stifle that by changing the game too much. But it seems to work for him. 56. You're absolutely right, Dom. Players who radically slow down never improve. I think players who just take a little more time, such as him, they're the ones who benefit. And what a great shot that was. Now talk about making something from nothing here. Really good cannon to develop those three reds. Not a good kiss there, mind you, but he's in total control of the frame. Even though he's not going to win it in a single visit. No, an unlucky cannon that time. Now I'd be playing to stunning behind the yellow here and try and knock that round to the side cushion. And that's exactly what Xiaojing Tong's tried to do here. And that will make things doubly difficult for Mark Selby. Appreciative of that contribution there from Xiaojing Tong. It was a very good one. And it's put him to within a ball or so of winning this first frame. It's going to be a good start for the Chinese contingent in general because over on table 2, Xiaojing Tong is just about to take a 1-0 lead over Stuart Bingham. Well, Xiaojing Tong. Well, Selby missed those reds by a whisker. No. Might have been a bit nearer. Even Mark Selby would have to be an eternal optimist if he has any hope of winning this frame from the position of the balls. I don't know whether you heard that conversation between player and referee. Selby very sportingly saying no, the snooker was actually harder than where Brendan had replaced the cue ball initially. But I'll tell you what, Dom, we try and categorise players and say who's the best in a particular discipline. For me, when it comes to getting out of snookers and doing no damage, Selby is right at the top of the tree. Yes, I think all the great tactical players are in a situation like that. People like John Higgins, Mark Selby of course, even Ronnie O'Sullivan, a terrific tactical player. The problem is you play on these tables all the time with a new cloth and you just get to know them so well. I know this is a Rasson table, not the star table that we're more accustomed to, but there aren't that many differences really between them. It's the way the cloth is, it's brand new all the time and you can normally rely on the cushions, especially early on in a tournament where the cloth is absolutely brand new. Yes, normally with the Championship League we play the invitation event at least in four-day bursts. Now this is something unusual, six days of competition and it will be interesting to see how the tables are playing on Friday and Saturday. Much snooker under the bridge before then though. Ah, he's played a great shot there, Mark Selby. I don't think Schaus and Tom can see anything red below the green. It's an easy snooker to escape from though, that little shelf of three reds on the top cushion there to play into. Wide target area. Little unlucky there, he's left a potable red on for Mark Selby. I'm sure we'll look to pot as many of these loose reds as he can do with high value colours. Maybe leave that red that's near that right side cushion there to get the snoopers. What? Doesn't actually need any snoopers but... Chances are if he doesn't get on that red that's near the right side cushion he would snooper Schaus and Tom. Still enough on the table for him to win this first frame. And just... 56 points behind now, 59 remain. Yeah, that does make life slightly easier. Does give him the option of the occasional pink or even one blue. But let's just assume, and it's a big assumption, that he does pot all of the reds with high value colours. He's then still got the problem of the green and brown. Well, I think Mark just had an ideal angle there on the pink to play for the difficult red. Good plot for that, dig right down into the cue ball there. But he could do with taking the black now instead of the pink because he's running out of high value colours. Put on lots of pink, that's one less point available to him. As you can see he's still... Actually if he pots the pink he'll be 42 behind with 43 remaining so he would need two blacks. I don't think Mark will take anything on here even if the red does pop to the right corner. Mark's going to be 21. Decent contribution but he'll be very disappointed with that safety shot. Chance here for Schausen, trying to pop the frame ball red he needs. And then it goes. He looks sharp doesn't he? First impressions favourable. Now will Selby continue on? Of course. Chance maybe stunning behind the pink here but he'd have to be careful where the red goes. Yeah, that's why he played a stunning behind the green, a more difficult shot. But by stunning in behind the pink if he didn't manage it the red would have been near that green pocket. Where's this black? Oh my goodness me, you have to be so careful when you play Mark Selby. A mistake like that can end up costing him a frame because Mark Selby, as we all know, tactically... Well, he knows everything about the game. Borne out by this shot here, what a great shot he's played. Get the impression with Mark Selby, if he ever wanted to take a three cushion billiards, after a while he might be quite good. He's got that kind of mindset. And a slight miss from Schausen Tong a little earlier might come back to bite him. Now just one snooker needed. And of course with that ball where he nearly knocked the black in, he also freed up the green and to a lesser extent the brown. Yes, Warnock had a great angle to get down the table for the black there but has the key will travel far enough? Can he still snip this in? He could, it was important because one snooker is all that Mark Selby needs now to tie. He could have taken a pink there and the other colour if he needed an extra snooker. Incredible, I didn't give Mark Selby a hope of winning this game ten minutes ago. Mark Selby eight. I think the key to playing Selby is that when you get to a point where you have frame balled on, you should really say to yourself it's frame ball plus at least another two to give yourself a comfort zone. Yes, when you're playing Mark Selby in that sort of position you just want to pot enough so that you don't think he's going to return to the table basically. Mark's made a mistake here, he snooked himself on the green. Mark Selby two. I also think that with Selby now, his reputation for stealing frames is so stellar that players might be getting a little nervous, more nervous against him than against other players in this kind of situation Dom. Definitely, and of course if you can steal a frame in this sort of fashion, psychologically it gives you a huge boost and completely deflates your opponent. Mark Selby disappointed there, trying to get the cue ball in behind the black. Far too much stun on the ball and finally now Zhao Xingtong looks as though he will win this first frame. Mark Selby this time does concede and so that really well crafted 63 break from Zhao Xingtong means the UK champion leads the world champion 1-0. Yeah, yeah. Pro snooker in 2022 has begun and one of the stories 21 Zhao Xingtong has taken the opening frame against Mark Selby here on table one. Second frame. Mark Selby to break. Mark Selby over the years has produced some really good performances against Zhao Xingtong. They first met in 2015 at the Gibraltar Open and it seems that every time they play, he certainly plays nicely. In the last 64 of the European Masters in 2017, it was best of seven. How about this Dom? Selby won 4-1 with four centuries. Yes, I think if you can produce that sort of snooker you're not going to lose many matches are you? I think though Mark Selby may be a little more wary of his opponent now having seen him win the UK championships in such terrific fashion. They have played at the Crucible. First round in 2019 Selby won 10-7 on that occasion making three centuries. And it's things like that that can make such a difference as to who wins a snooker match in a sort of short format like this best of five. I mean Zhao's missed that red there but the red cannoned into the green and was left possible for Mark Selby on another occasion he could have got away with that. He's just about got the right side of the blue but no easy loose reds to play for here. I just wonder if that black's on into the right corner. He could get into the pack of reds here Mark Selby if he wished. Power shot off two cushions. He could play a delicate stunning to that trio of reds. Now there is a loose one that's on. He's played for the one behind the black as you can see. And that tells me that that black must pot into the same pocket. He wouldn't normally play that shot otherwise. One of the characteristics of this table pre-Christmas was that the balls across this top cushion were going in relatively easily. And that was beautiful not just the pot but the way he conceived a positional cannon. Yes played the right shot there even if that black was on into the right corner the cannon was the correct shot to play positionally. He's opened the black spot up area now and everything's on. Abundance of loose reds to play for. This is Mark Selby's best chance of the match for him so far. Mark Selby looking to equalize as Stuart Bingham has done on table 2 against Xiaoguidong a defy break of 55. 22. Just a bit of an observation. I would say early on these cushion rails are playing just a little slower than the players were expecting them to. 23. Definitely the bed cloth is playing beautifully. It's very lively. Very fast. Let's see on here. Is there anything on into this left corner? If not it could be under break. It's the one that just goes through the gap there. Must be tight. 31. Well as John Virgo always says there's always a gap. I think given the quality of the way he went into the reds cushion first I think he deserved to be on the red. But in the end you have to say that was a little fortunate. Now can he take advantage of it? 32. Don't think he will worry Mark Selby overly that the pink spot is occupied. He wants to go up in bulk onto the green spot. 33. He needs to be a little bit careful positionally because all the reds although they're free from one another they're sort of blocking each other. Yeah this time the cannon hasn't worked out too well for Mark. Still has a choice of reds into either centre pocket but both very miscible with hampered cueing. Red on into the green pocket so that he didn't have to cue over other reds. Chose wisely. And now I think Mark Selby will be disappointed not to level this match up at one frame or in a short space of time. 51. 52. It's a lovely little delicate cannon that Mark Selby played. He could say he's on a choice of four reds here. 58. All the hard work's done. Going to go on to make the first century of the day here on table one. Oh the commentator's curse. I must apologise Mr Selby. Just when he looks set to go on and level this match up Zhao Zingtong has given a lifeline. In the first frame Zhao couldn't win in a single visit. But when he left the table Selby was snookered and the balls were horribly placed. Now they're invitingly placed with the obvious exception of the green. One. As a player you always know that if you can win a frame like this and punish that mistake the opponent's just made it will really hurt them. How does Zhao Zingtong do that here? As you say Phil the green is the awkward ball. He could come to the saviour and be the saviour of Mark Selby here. Nine. Of course he might develop the green but what I have noticed certainly at the UK Championship and indeed before that Zhao is absolutely mustard when it comes to doubles. So if he can't develop the green that might be the fall back option. 17. Yeah good point Phil because if you get on to the yellow you'd be pretty much guaranteed to leave yourself a chance of a double. 20. Caught an awful lot of afar jawed in the black but at that pace pocket 25 accommodated. And again Phil he's just gone a little low on the black because the side cushion is just sliding a little. He will not come off quite a straight showered of light. But again no problem. 32. Now must leave a good angle on the black to get on to the remaining red. He's gone too low again here. And this is a problem. Not only is the black missable unless he can just drop it in and cannon the red into play. He'll have to go around the angles here and then out of bulk. Ah he's found the corner pocket. It was a good effort I have to say the pot was good. Just not quite enough backspin on the cue ball to avoid being off. 33. Well that was spraying ball. And now look at this. Taking like that. The only way he could have left the red was in exactly that manner. And again what a second opportunity for Zhao. But did you see how quickly the red just ran and ran and ran and left a pot of red on for Zhao Xintong. Like lightning this bedcloth. Now as you say Phil Zhao Xintong is very adept at doubling balls. Now he's got a perfect opportunity here just to stun the yellow in. And leave the cue ball somewhere near the yellow spot to double the green. And if the green goes in well the frame will be at his mercy. Now the way to play this I'll just be playing this at a controlled pace. Wow I would never have played it that way. Oh dear run of the ball again. That was unfavourable. He let me down there badly that was well wide. But for the second time Selby unable to deposit. Prime ball. Amazing Phil Zhao Xintong plays with a top spin because these cushions are so new. This cue ball could just die off the ball cushion and land nicely behind the pink. It has. Needs that green to slow down. I think that's a snooker. Terrific call Dom. Goodness me Phil how many times are you going to see players make a mistake and not get away with them. Again. Could have gone anywhere but he's left this simple green for Zhao Xintong and if he gets on to the brown 2-0 beckons. Now the way to play this I'll just be playing this at a controlled pace. Three. Seven. Here's Selby going to be handed a taste of his own medicine. He's stolen countless frames from unlikely positions. Now though Zhao just needs pink and black to steal the second from him. That's pause there tells me that he may be a little straighter on this pink than he wanted to be. May have to play a power stun screw back. So a little less backspin and a little more stun will widen the angle off the pink. And enable the cue ball to travel towards the pink spot rather than towards the black. But is that shot on? No it wasn't he was dead straight. Now where's the cue ball going to stop? That's not good. I don't think I'll be taking this on. A good safety shot here must be the order of the day. And all because of that lax positional shot from blue to pink. What a putt from Zhao Xintong. Dominic Dale and myself both thought he would play safe. But this boy is something special. That putt was something special. And he pinches the second frame from Mark Selby who twice missed frame ball. Zhao Xintong leads 2-0. It was a black ball frame. The overhead view just giving us some indication of how difficult it was with cue ball and object ball so close together. Even at this level. Judging the potting angle. Incredibly tough. But Zhao Xintong did it. He steals the second frame. Now he's breaking up in the third. Looking to start his day. Looking to start this group in ideal fashion. Yes and that missed black from Mark Selby to the right corner has ended up costing him that frame. He did have a chance himself to win it. Simple for him anyway. Frame ball green into its own pocket. He overcut it. It was a very good black from Zhao Xintong. I did suggest the safety shot because it was such an easy safety shot to play well and put his opponent in trouble. Immediate mistake here from Mark Selby. Well the black is tied up. But I don't think that will worry Zhao Xintong. There are quite a few loose reds in open play. He can soon cut a few of the reds that are occupying the black's bottom. Thereby get black ball position later on in the break. We've already seen how capable he is of making the break from seemingly nothing. An excellent 60-odd in the first frame. First thing to do if you can is to try and develop the pink spot area. Six. Seven. All this pimpy available. It certainly will be. That's why Zhao Xintong cleverly played the bottom red of the two together previously. Now the pink is available which is important to Zhao Xintong because the black at the time being is out of commission. I've watched a lot of Zhao Xintong over the years. It's remarkable to see how he's developed his game. He was capable of all kinds of mistakes a few years ago. But he takes a lot more care now and walks around the table with a much slower rhythm. Almost like a Sunday morning stroll. He seems to have helped his game enormously. 19. 20. Just a little more angle on the blue, I think, than he would have liked. He may consider going into that little pack of six reds now. Oh, he caught the pink first. Now, how lucky will he have been here? I think he'll be delighted with the way that's finished. He's got a choice of two reds. One into the left corner, one into the right corner, down this side cushion. The problem is, even left-handed, he can't reach it. Now he did the best he could. 26. I think now he will play a safety shot. He could play the green to the right-hand side cushion, get the cue ball in behind pink and yellow. 27. There's definitely been a maturing process. We wondered at some point whether it would ever happen, because he was quite reckless. Still very adventurous and attacking. But at just the right times, he's finding the right shots. Wow, what a mistake from Mark Selby that was. He's missed the pack of reds and he's left one on here for Xiaoxin Tong. Well, he struck the cue ball there, Mark. He was off the shot immediately. Beautifully played cannon from Xiaoxin Tong. The cannon there was almost more important than the pot in some regards, in terms of his mental thinking. He put more effort into the cannon. Oh, this BlackBerry Spotsman is available, and it is. I'm not sure Mark Selby will be coming back to the table in this match. He's the world number nine is Xiaoxin Tong. Due to those hefty UK Championship ranking points earned. And in that lofty position, I don't think he looks out of place. 60. 70. Now, he's got an angle here to maybe stun into the red that's above the black to leave himself on one into the left corner. I don't know if he can screw into the pack with the angle he has. Oh, had to play that shot, and he's played it well. Now, can he just deflect off that little group of four reds to be on the black again into the right corner here? You never know how they're going to work out. Again, he just put so much emphasis on the positional aspects of the shot. Almost took the pot for granted and missed it. Selby's pulled so many frames, so many matches out of the fire. Can he do it again? Well, the answer would appear to be no. The loss of the second frame, demoralizing. Can't tell you, by the way, that Stuart Bingham now leads Zhao Guodong 2-1. 1. Looked a little off balance there, did Zhao Xintong. Maybe that explains why he didn't get back on the correct side of the blue. But with the green being off its spot, had maneuverability. 6. Oh, this is the key shot for Zhao Xintong. Just red color, red required. 7. Oh, does he have any angle here to work with? He may, you know, just have a fraction. It's incredible how you can accentuate an angle when you've got very little to work with. 12. Frame 4. You know, during the first two groups, we had a very small amount of 3-0 results. One 3-0 in Group 1, four of them in Group 2. We're going to kick off the coverage in Group 3 with a 3-0. And it's the world champion who's on the receiving end. 28. 29. 36. His arm is a real challenge, isn't he? He really is. It's a pleasure to watch as well. He's a beautiful cuirass, got a lovely rhythm and a pace around the table these days. Probably deserves to be in the top ten in the world because he's so capable. 45. 47. 48. 49. 51. 53. 54. 55. 58.