Champion of Champions Day 1

Image: Monique Limbos

Mark Selby became the first man through to the semi-finals of the inaugural Champion of Champions event in Coventry, after he defeated Stephen Maguire to win Group 4.

The reigning UK and Masters champion began his tournament off with a 4-2 win over wildcard entry Shaun Murphy in the first round. Murphy made it into the tournament as the highest ranked player not to have won a tournament during the 2012/13 or sstart of this season and he won the first frame with a well-constructed break of 69. Selby hit back to win the next three, including runs of 55 and 58 although Murphy kept the match alive by taking the fifth. But Leicester’s Selby secured the match with a run of 66 in frame six.

Maguire secured his quarter-final spot by defeating an uncharacteristically forgiving John Higgins. The two Scots had shared the first four frames, with Maguire making the highest breaks of 125 and 92. Last year’s International Championship winner Higgins then won the fifth with a 99 break and looked set to take the next but missed a red to middle, allowing Maguire to clear up the frame with a 52 break. A run of 66 in the decider was then enough to secure Maguire’s progress into the evening’s match against Selby.

The pair traded blows in the early encounters, with the pair going in at 2-2 at the interval, with Selby making the highest break of 113 in the third. Welsh Open champion Maguire then went onto take the seventh to go 3-2 up but Selby responded in style, winning the next four on the bounce, including breaks of 103, 77 and 113.