Selby Claims Glasgow Glory
Mark Selby defeated Jack Lisowski 9-6 to win the 19.com Scottish Open at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow.
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Victory for three-time World Champion Selby makes him the first ever player to win two Home Nations events in a single season. His other title came in October at the 19.com English Open, where he thrashed David Gilbert 9-1 in the final.
Selby’s victory sees him pocket a £70,000 top prize and take home the Stephen Hendry Trophy. It’s a 17th ranking title for the Jester from Leicester.
Selby, 36, has now won 14 of his last 15 ranking event finals, in a run which extends back to his maiden World Championship victory in 2014. The only loss in a final during that period came against Ding Junhui at the 2016 Shanghai Masters.
Lisowski leaves Glasgow disappointed not to have secured his maiden ranking event win. The 28-year-old fell short in his other two finals at the 2018 Riga Masters and the 2019 China Open, losing to Neil Robertson on both occasions. However, he has the consolation of a £30,000 runner-up prize.
The first session today saw Selby battle from 2-0 down to secure a 5-3 advantage heading into this evening’s finale.
Gloucester’s Lisowski came out firing with a stunning break of 119 to reduce his arrears and move within a frame at 5-4.
Selby moved another frame ahead, before a contribution of 80 saw Lisowski make it 6-5. There was then a crucial marathon frame prior to the mid-session.
With Selby leading 24-0, the pair became entrenched in a stalemate situation around the pack, which saw a period of 26 minutes without a ball being potted. Eventually the exchange moved back into open play and Selby clinched a 48-minute frame to move two clear at 7-5.
Selby made it 8-5 when they returned from the interval, but Lisowski kept his hopes alive by claiming the 14th frame.
In the end breaks of 38 and 32 were enough to get Selby over the line and see him through to a 9-6 victory.
Selby said: “It feels amazing. I had a disappointing performance at the UK Championship, I was telling myself I might not even play in this. I thought I should just get back on the bike and go again. Here I am now holding the trophy, unbelievable really.
“I knew I had to be on my game from the word go. Jack was never going to hold back from start to finish. Even right to the end he kept going for his shots. He didn’t shy away from anything. He is probably one of the best talents I’ve seen since Ronnie O’Sullivan. He hits the ball as well as anyone. It is only a matter of time before he wins something.
“Doing well in a UK event means my wife Vikki and daughter Sophia can come to finals like this. A lot of my wins have been in China which is difficult. To have them there means the world. Even if I had lost it would have been great to be with them. To be on the winning side it is fantastic.”
Lisowski said: “It is gutting to lose the final. You have to take the positives and this is a big step forward for me. I have built some momentum and I played some of the best snooker that I think I can play. That is a positive and my concentration is getting better.
“You have to think about it rationally or you can get depressed. I have qualifiers all next week. There are so many tournaments now that it is a numbers game and consistency rather than blowing hot and cold.
“It was amazing. The people were cheering me on and I don’t know if many people would have heard of me before today. I go for my shots and I think they appreciate that.”
