On May 1, 2022, Beijing time, the Snooker World Championship ended the 15th matchday competition, mark Williams came later, once took the lead to get the match point, but still lost 16-17. With Mark Williams out, another World Championship four-timer Selby suffered a double whammy, leaving him out early to miss out of the year-end world number one, and the season ended in disgrace.
After the world championship final four, not only the championship battle, but also the world number one battle, in addition to Mark Williams, Trump, Higgins, O'Sullivan all hope to compete for the world number one through the championship. In addition, although Selby was out early and had a chance to hold the world number one position, he needed Mark Williams to reach the final and win the championship.
As a result, Mark Williams rose to the chase after 5-11, once winning the match point 16-15, but unfortunately lost two consecutive sets in the last minute and lost 16-17, which also caused Mark Selby to suffer a double blow.
First of all, Selby, who played in the World Championship as the defending champion, only reached the round of 16, and was eliminated by Yan Bingtao in the second round and was out early.
Secondly, Mark Selby did not qualify as world number one, because it was Trump and O'Sullivan who reached the final of the World Championships, and whoever won the championship was the world number one. In other words, this final is particularly important, with O'Sullivan not only going to pound Hendry's record for seven world championships, but also to hit the world number one of the year. For Trump, he wants to fight for the second world championship of his career and the world number one of the year.
It's clear that this is not the normal level of Selby, who has been in a slump this season because he is in a bad state of mind and is being treated. However, Selby was able to return to the game, win in Crucible, and play with Yan Bingtao to the end, which is already very powerful. Selby also said that he slowly regained the feeling of enjoying the game, which is the most important thing.
As a four-time world champion, I believe Selby can return strongly next season. Also, after O'Sullivan defeated Higgins, he accidentally mentioned Selby, perhaps unintentionally, but also a little teasing Selby. O'Sullivan said it's not Higgins we're familiar with, his style of play isn't like that, he's playing like Selby, he's playing the ball messily, and that's something that a lot of people are curbing.
O'Sullivan's meaning is clear, and O'Sullivan also thinks higgins' defense is too conservative, maybe Higgins wants to beat O'Sullivan the way Selby did? In the past, O'Sullivan has reached the final of the World Championship seven times, and only lost once, that is, to Selby, which shows the power of Selby.
However, O'Sullivan has always looked down on Selby's style of play, and this time, he has spoken his opinion, saying: I have to keep the rhythm and fluency, play the snooker I think I must play to win the game, of course, I am no longer as fearless as before, but I will use my experience to try to become a more organized player. In this semi-final, O'Sullivan gave fans the feeling of being serious and cautious, and Trump also said that he had never seen O'Sullivan play so cautiously. Although he pays lip service not to care about winning or losing, these changes also show that O'Sullivan is eager to win a seventh World Championship title, in addition to fighting for the best result, O'Sullivan also played the most beautiful snooker, which is admirable!