No.1 Mark Selby defends International Championship title

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Defending champion Mark Selby beat Northern Irish Mark Allen on Sunday night with a tough 10-7 victory in Daqing, a city in northeast China, crowning his second World Snooker International Championship (WSIC) title.

Mark Selby/ WPBSA Photo

This rivals faced each other 15 times before the game, with Allen winning 8 of those - a slight advantage over Selby.

The 34-year-old Selby blew a 3-1 lead at the first session with a run of 67, 50 and 61 breaks, but then clawed back against Allen in the fifth frame by shooting a 98 break.

In the next three frames, world No. 1 Selby gave a powerful performance with two breaks of 60 and 61 points and also seized a turnover against his opponent, changing the score to 6-2.

By the ninth frame, the pace slowed and the rivals were on the defensive, then “The Pistol” Allen broke the deadlock and shot a 137 break, clawing back to 3-6. Defending champion Mark Selby took a clear advantage into the second session.

Mark Allen / Sohu Photo

In the coming two frames, Selby performed well, shooting a 62 break and seizing Allen's turnovers, extending the score to 8-3.

Persevering, Allen escaped from the deadlock of the twelfth frame and a 78 break in the thirteenth frame helped him pull back to three again at the last interval.

In the fourteenth frame, Selby shot the highest break of the contest - a timely 90, taking him to game point.

Despite a couple of frames by Allen which saved game point twice, the three-time world champion Selby eventually sealed the deal, and the Englishman captured the 13th ranking event trophy of his career.

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