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| Mike Dunn. Image: World Snooker |
Mike Dunn’s incredible week got even better as he secured his
first ever ranking event semi-final place by beating Mark Selby, in what is his
greatest ever professional victory. This is his 23rd year as a
professional and before this week, looked like it would be his last but this
incredible run to the last four in Beijing fires him up into the top 50 on the
money list to guarantee a tour place for 2014/15.
The Cleveland man trailed 2-1 here but snatched the fourth to
go in level at 2-2. He then nicked the fifth on the final black to go 3-2 up
although Selby nicked the sixth to level. A run of 63 put Dunn ahead again and
Selby was in but he continued to struggle and broke down on 22, allowing Dunn
to go on and make a frame winning contribution.
It doesn’t get any easier for Dunn as he faces world number
three Ding Junhui in the second of Saturday’s semi-finals after he beat Mark
King 5-2. Runs of 53, 67 and 69 put Ding 3-1 up although King took the next two
to close to 3-2. But Ding finished the stronger and rounded off the win with
the next two frames.
An illness-ridden Neil Robertson is also in the last four as
he sniffled over the line to beat Graeme Dott 5-3. Despite losing the opener
Robbo won the next three on the bounce to go within a frame of victory. Dott stopped
the rot win a 64 in the sixth and then won another to make it 4-3 but Robertson
dominated the eight to secure the win.
The semi-final line-up is completed by Ali Carter who reaches
the last four of a major event for the first time since February 2013 at the
German Masters, a tournament he won. He beat Ricky Walden 5-3 with top runs of
61, 71 and 55. An intriguing moment in this match came in the final frame when
the referee Shi Jialong called foul and a miss on Ricky Walden. The confusion arose
as he was trailing by 48 with 51 on but would’ve required a snooker with the
four point penalty. The two players left the arena to consult with senior
referee Jan Verhass who confirmed the match referee’s error but it turned out
elementary anyway as Carter went onto win the frame anyway.
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