Selby reached the final of the World Championship for the sixth time in his career
In the semi-final of the World Championships, Selby withstood Allen's frantic counterattack to win 17-15, and he was just one victory away from becoming "the fourth player to conquer Cruzburg five times".
After Luca's epic comeback earlier in the day, another comeback seemed possible when Allen narrowed the score from 10-16 down to 15-16 in the match against Selby. But Selby's rare ability to withstand pressure at the World Championships was once again on display, as he won the 32nd innings and threw his fist into the air to celebrate when he scored the final goal at 12:45 a.m.
The 39-year-old, who won the trophy in 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2021, will face Luca in 35 rounds on Sunday and Monday. A fifth world title would put Selby ahead of Higgins and just behind Davis, Hendry and O'Sullivan.
The only final Selby lost was in 2007, when he was defeated by Higgins. Given his exceptional experience, determination and excellent all-round ability, he will have an absolute advantage against Luca. This is Luca's first World Championship final trip, and his primary goal is to win all three titles.
Hendry, Davis, Higgins and O'Sullivan have all reached eight World Championship finals. Jimmy White and Selby are 6 times.
World number two Mark Selby will play in his 33rd ranking final, and if he wins, he will claim his 23rd ranking title and his third title of the season, having already won the English Open and WST Classic.
This result ended Allen's hopes of becoming the number one in the world. If tonight's results go his way, he will take the spot away from O'Sullivan. It was the second time he had reached the semifinals of his career and the first since losing to Higgins in 2009. His ambition to win a world title has to wait another year, but he can look back on the best season of his career, which won three ranking titles and re-established himself as a title contender.
Selby took the first set late to take a 12-10 lead. Allen could have snatched the 23rd inning while trailing by 38 points, but he missed the penultimate red ball on the table, giving Selby the opportunity to extend his advantage. In the next three innings, the Joker scored consecutive singles of 64, 57 and 103 to win the early 16-10. At the same time, this break was also his 9th shot in this tournament.
Allen scored 43 and 39 points twice to win a set. In the 28th inning, he used the last red ball to make snooker and seized the opportunity to close the gap to 12-16. The counter-attack continued, with Allen scoring twice on the penultimate red ball to seal the 29th inning. In the 30th inning, Selby missed a mid-range coffee ball just four points away from promotion, and Allen seized the opportunity to chase the score to 14-16. In the tense 31st inning, both players missed multiple chances, Selby attacked the last red ball deflected, Allen added and won five consecutive games.
At the beginning of the 32nd inning, Allen accidentally cleared the car with a red ball, and Selby took the opportunity to grab a one-shot 64 and was interrupted by a poor positioning, but he quickly took over the table and added another 28 to win the victory. (Welcome to click to pay attention to Runwu AB reprint, please mark the source, thank you)