The 2024 Players Championship – Day 5

Yesterday was a bit of a transition day in Telford as the last of the quarter-finals and the first of the semi-finals were played, leaving us with just three players still in the draw: Mark Selby, Zhang Anda and Mark Allen. Of those three, Mark Selby is the only one who is yet to lift a trophy this season. Indeed, his best result so far is the 2023 British Open final , an event played en September 2023. But, if he plays the way he did to beat Ronnie this could well change very soon. Anyway … here are WST report on yesterday matches:

Afternoon session: Zhang Anda 6-4 John Higgins

ZHANG HOLDS OFF HIGGINS FIGHTBACK

Zhang Anda edged through to the third ranking semi-final of his career, beating John Higgins 6-4 at the Johnstone’s Paint Players Championship in Telford.

It has been a stunning season thus far for 32-year-old Zhang, who captured his maiden ranking title earlier in the campaign at the International Championship in Tianjin. The Chinese cueman made a 147 in the final, where he defeated Tom Ford 10-6.

That result acted as a platform for Zhang to break into the world’s top 16 and compete at the Masters for the first time in a career which extends back to 2009. His exploits this season, which also include a trip to the English Open final, saw him seeded third for this week’s elite 16-player event.

A frustrating defeat for Higgins sees him miss out on qualification for the upcoming Riyadh Season World Masters of Snooker. However, he remains in a strong position to earn a place in the top 12 on the one-year list and secure a place in the Johnstone’s Paint Tour Championship.

The first frame lasted over an hour, including a delay in play after a member of the audience took ill. Eventually it was Higgins who took it on the pink.

From there the brilliant Zhang made a decisive burst. Breaks of 102, 79, 84, 104 and 95 saw him take five on the bounce and move a single frame from the win at 5-1.

Higgins typically dug deep to claw back into contention. He pulled within a single frame after taking three on the bounce to make it 5-4. The match had looked set to go to a decider. However, Higgins missed a black off the spot with the balls at his mercy and Zhang ruthlessly cleared with 56 to beat his childhood hero

That sets up a semi-final showdown with Mark Selby on Saturday night.

“I played pretty well, because I wanted to show what I can do in front of my hero. I was very dedicated to the job and I was able to concentrate on each shot. Even when he was coming back at me, I wasn’t feeling nervous and I was very much enjoying watching his performance.”

Zhang Anda

International Champion

Zhang added: “I think Mark Selby has always been the toughest opponent on professional circuit. He has the best all-round game and there’s no weakness in his game. It’s a style of playing that is more difficult to deal with, as he’s good at attacking and defending.

“I was playing better during the International Championship, but I don’t really assess my form like this because nobody can be on his top form everyday. I wasn’t playing great in recent tournaments, like Welsh Open and German Masters, but I have been improving in the first two matches here and I wish to bring my form back.”

It’s always a scary situation when you see John Higgins coming back at you, but Zhang handled it well. Also, I’m glad to see rather extensive quotes from him in the WST report. Only too often, when it’s about Chinese players, quotes are minimal at best and completely missing more often than not!

Evening session: Mark Allen 6-3 Ali Carter

ALLEN OUTLASTS CARTER IN TELFORD

Mark Allen prevailed 6-3 to gain revenge on Ali Carter for a recent defeat at the Masters and earn a place in the final of the Johnstone’s Paint Players Championship in Telford.

The pair have done battle four times already this season, with each player coming out on top twice. Carter won on his way to the Wuhan Open and Masters finals, while Allen was victorious en route to winning the Champion of Champions.

Allen progresses to the 19^th ranking final of his career where he will face either Mark Selby or Zhang Anda. The Pistol is aiming for the 11^th ranking title of his career and third event win of the season, following the Champion of Champions and the Shoot Out.

It’s a disappointing defeat for Carter, but this week’s run has put him in a strong position in the Race to Riyadh. Only Zhang winning the event can dislodge the Captain from the top eight in the world rankings ahead of the cut off at the end of this event.

With the score at 1-1, Allen composed a break of 108, before Carter replied with 106 to head into the mid-session level at 2-2. The next two frames were shared, then Allen crucially claimed the seventh to move 4-3 up.

A break of 65 gave Northern Ireland’s Allen control of the eighth, but Carter had a chance to steal before eagle eyed referee Desislava Bozhilova spotted he had fouled the green with his waistcoat. That proved to be crucial as Allen pounced to move 5-3 up. He then added the ninth to run out a 6-3 victor.

“I don’t want to come here and finish second, that would be disappointing. I’ve ticked a few boxes this week. I’ve tried something different, it wasn’t quite working today but I stuck with it.”

Mark Allen

World Number Three

Allen added: “I was fortunate to be 2-2. I worked on a few things in the practice room very quickly to get my striking back, using the Chris Henry ping pong balls and I feel like that helped. I improved a little. My safety was good and that is probably what got me through.

“From a completely selfish point of view, I’d rather play Zhang Anda. Just because that keeps Selby’s losing streak going a little longer. If he gets on a winning run he is hard to stop, as we’ve seen in the past. Looking at the Tour Championship, China and the World Championship, you want someone like Selby’s confidence to be as low as possible.”

I like it that Mark Allen says it as it is. His quotes about Mark Selby made me smile, although, I wonder how people would react if it was Ronnie saying this. A few would probably be up in arms on social media. As it is, this is actually praise in disguise because it shows how much Mark Allen rates Mark Selby when he’s on form!

We have only one match today: the semi-final between Mark Selby and Zhang Anda. It should be an interesting match. Zhang will not crumble mentally no matter what Mark throws at him … he has all the patience of the East¹ . But, of course, if Mark pots him off the table, there is not much he will be able to do from his seat.