Beijing time on November 2 news, the 2021 Snooker England Open kicked off. In a postponed qualifying match, this year's World Champion Mark Selby blasted a hundred (113 points) and two 50+ (90 points, 73 points), defeating Lin Shanfeng 4-2 and advancing to the championship.
As the player who won the most world championships (4 crowns) by post-80s players, Selby's real-time world rankings once again surpassed Judd Trump to the first place. He was the No. 2 seed of this tournament and one of the biggest favourites to win the championship. In the postponed qualifying round, his opponent was Lin Shanfeng, who played with a wild card.
In the past, Selby and Lin Shanfeng have met a total of 3 times, with a record of 3 wins and 3 wins. The last time the two met was also at the English Open. That match took place in the first round of the 2018 English Open, when Selby swept Lin Shanfeng 4-0. Three years later, the two met again in the English Open qualifiers, and this time, Selby gave his opponent four consecutive defeats.
In the first round of the game, as soon as the 4-time World Championship champion Selby came up, Lin Shanfeng saw the domineering spirit of the World Championship champion, he played a single shot of 90 points, won the first set 98-12, and started strongly 1-0. In the second set, Selby took the lead in scoring at the beginning, after the break, Lin Shanfeng was not able to score, Selby once again started to blast a single shot of 113 points, 135-0 clean sheet Lin Shanfeng, 2-0 lead.
In the third set, Lin Shanfeng still could not find the offensive feel, Selby continued to exert force, he played a single 73 points, 81-8 to win another set, the score advantage expanded to 3-0, and easily won the match point of the game. In the fourth set, Lin Shanfeng, who had no way back, stubbornly counterattacked, and he saved a match point 63-20 through several starts, and the score was 1-3.
In the fifth set, Lin Shanfeng continued to fight back tenaciously, and he saved the second match point 63-20 through several starts, and the score was 2-4. In the sixth set, although Lin Shanfeng still played tenaciously, Selby withstood the pressure and locked up the victory 56-22, and the aggregate score was 4-2 strong.