World champion Mark Selby was ecstatic having booked a spot in the last-16 at the European Masters in Belgium with a narrow success over Chinese teenager Lyu Haotian. The Jester was forced to dig into his reserves as he trailed three times in the match before coming through 4-3. The opening frames were traded, Lyu drawing first blood with a break of 88 before Selby hit back with 89. The free flowing pace continued as Lyu ran up 84 to retake the initiative.
Frame four proved a decisive one as the Chinese player struck first with a break of 62 to stand on the verge of a 3-1 lead only for the world number one to hit back with a 68 to level matters in typically tenacious style, making light of an awkward table with a stunning clearance. To his credit, Lyu responded in kind again with a 74 that moved him within touching distance of a famous win but Selby would not be deterred and he hammered home a 111 to set up the decider.
The decisive frame went against the grain of the match and turned into a tense safety battle, from which Selby emerged victorious to set up a last-16 match with Jack Lisowski. Having made four centuries as he blew away Zhao Xintong 4-1 in the previous round, Selby is going to be hard to topple in Lommel and he is 11/4 to win the tournament. “It was one of those games where there didn’t deserve to be a loser. Every time he got a chance he punished me. He showed great battle and was wandering round the table as if he was playing at his local club,” he said of the win over Lyu. “You can always have a game where you go mental for a few frames, but [here] I was asked a question and I still stood up and produced which was nice.” Selby is 9/4 to beat Lisowski 4-1 in their last-16 clash. Fresh from a 4-2 win over Joe Perry, world number 57 Lisowski is 7/2 to win the match.
European Masters odds available at Dafabet.