Matthew Selt produced a timely display of powerful scoring to win Group 5 of Championship League Snooker on Tuesday in Leicester.
The 39 year-old won only three out of his six round-robin fixtures, but that proved to be enough to see him rank in the top four and reach the knockout stages.
In the group semi-finals, Selt came from a frame behind to beat Jak Jones 3-1 before completing a resounding success over Judd Trump in the final.
The Englishman compiled back-to-back century breaks of 102 before adding a run of 95 to dominate the world number one and reach the Winners’ Group.
Prize Money
Groups 1–7
Winner: £3,000
Runner-up: £2,000
Semi-final: £1,000
Frame-win (league stage): £100
Frame-win (play-offs): £300
Highest break: £500
Winners’ Group
Winner: £10,000
Runner-up: £5,000
Semi-final: £3,000
Frame-win (league stage): £200
Frame-win (play-offs): £300
Highest break: £1,000
Trump and Jones had topped Group 5 with a stellar record from the round-robin phase on five victories and just one defeat apiece.
Trump was involved in a notable match with last year’s runner-up Joe O’Connor – the pair combining to compile five century breaks between them in the five frames that they contested.
Jones, meanwhile, scored his 24th ton of this year’s Championship League – a new record for a single edition of a professional tournament.
The Welshman had reached the final of all four previous groups in the invitational competition but fell just short on this occasion.
Selt, who has come in for criticism lately on the back of a few high-profile incidents in which his sportsmanship has been questioned, moves forward in the event instead.
The former Indian Open champion joins Hossein Vafaei, Si Jiahui, Kyren Wilson, and Mark Selby in next month’s Winners’ Group.
There are just two more spots available with Group 6 set to take place on Wednesday and Thursday at the Mattioli Arena.
Trump, Jones, O’Connor, and Tom Ford all get another opportunity on the back of their displays in Group 5.
The quartet will be joined by newcomers to the fray Jack Lisowski, David Gilbert, and Noppon Saengkham.
Former world champions Neil Robertson and Stuart Bingham were eliminated after finishing at the bottom of Group 5.
The overall winner of Championship League Snooker will receive an invitation to compete at the Champion of Champions next season.
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Schedule
Group 1: January 3–4
Hossein Vafaei
Jak Jones
Pang Junxu
Ryan Day
Chris WakelinElliot Slessor
Gary Wilson
Group 2: January 6–7
Si Jiahui
Jak Jones
Ali Carter
Chris Wakelin
Robert MilkinsRyan Day
Pang Junxu
Group 3: January 8–9
Kyren Wilson
Jak Jones
Mark SelbyAli Carter
Chris Wakelin
Robert Milkins
Ronnie O’Sullivan
Group 4: January 10–11
Mark Selby
Jak Jones
Stuart Bingham
Joe O’Connor
Matthew SeltJimmy Robertson
Jackson Page
Group 5: January 20–21
Matthew Selt
Judd Trump
Jak Jones
Joe O’Connor
Tom FordStuart Bingham
Neil Robertson
Group 6: January 22–23
Judd Trump
Jak Jones
Joe O’Connor
Tom Ford
David Gilbert
Jack Lisowski
Noppon Saengkham
Group 7: January 24–25
Xiao Guodong
Zhou Yuelong
Ricky Walden
Winners’ Group: February 4-5
Featured photo credit: CLS
I’m baffled as to why Selt didn’t shake hands with Robertson.
The five centuries in succession between Trump and O’Connor is the fourth time five or more centuries have been made consecutively in a snooker match. The first instance was in the 2003 British Open final between Ronnie O’Sullivan and Stephen Hendry. Neil Robertson and Stephen Maguire replicated this feat in a 2009 Masters quarter-final. And then some years later, during a German Masters qualifier, Kyren Wilson and Anthony Hamilton conjured up six centuries in succession.