The final of the 2024 Players Championship will be played today in Telford and will oppose Mark Allen and Zhang Anda. Both have won tournament(s) earlier this season. Here is the report by WST:
ZHANG STUNS SELBY IN TELFORD THRILLER
Zhang Anda scored a nerve shredding 6-5 win over four-time World Champion Mark Selby to reach the final of the Johnstone’s Paint Players Championship in Telford.
The Chinese cueman thrilled a capacity crowd in the opening four frames, as he blitzed in front with breaks of 129, 80, 69 and 84 to lead 4-0 at the mid-session interval. However, the tide would then turn sharply in the other direction.
When play resumed Zhang had the chance to move just a single frame from victory, but a missed black on 56 allowed Selby into the tie. The Leicester cueman had only scored five points at this stage, but typically he summoned a steely 62 to win on the black and make it 4-1.
A run of 85 in the sixth saw Selby reduce his arrears to 4-2, before he made it three on the bounce to pull within a frame.
Zhang then moved 5-3 ahead and had a chance to win in the ninth, but missed a straightforward red to the top right. Selby punished that with a century contribution of 113. Zhang spurned other opportunities in a thrilling tenth, eventually missing the final blue to ensure the decider.
A break of 50 put Zhang in control of the final frame, but Selby had his chance to counter. He missed a tricky brown to the middle and a relieved Zhang got himself over the line.
Victory means Zhang becomes the first Chinese player to make three ranking finals in a single season since Ding Junhui back in 13/14.
The 32-year-old reached his first ever ranking event final at the English Open earlier in the campaign, losing out to Judd Trump. However, he went on to claim a maiden ranking crown at the International Championship in Tianjin, where he made a 147 during a 10-6 final win over Tom Ford.
Tomorrow Zhang will face Mark Allen over the best of 19 frames, with a top prize of £125,000 on the line and the opportunity to add a second ranking title to his record.
“I’m very happy. I played well during the first half of the match and was in great form. I missed a black in the fifth frame and let him back in,” said world number 13 Zhang.
“He’s a top player and I needed to bring my best to win, which I did before the mid-session. I was chased all the way. We both knew the brown in the last frame was a pressure shot. He could have won by potting it, but it wasn’t easy.
“Mark Allen is a consistent player now. You never get an easy game competing against him. He has an all round game and doesn’t give many chances away. I hope I have a good performance, without worrying about the result.”
ZHANG WINS EPIC SEMI-FINAL
As often, there were all sorts of polls running on social media before the semi-finals and the majority of fans were going for Selby after his brilliant performance against Ronnie. Very few were giving Zhang a chance, which I found weird given the way he had beaten John Higgins. Worse even, as soon as Zhang missed that black in the fifth frame, there were people on X writing that he had already lost the match, there and then! This is daft but unfortunately not uncommon. There is a huge difference being a fan of snooker and being a fanboy/girl of a specific player. No matter how good they are all these players are human, they make mistakes and have lesser days, and all those who have won a big ranking title, as Zhang did this season, can play to a very high standard.
One thought on “The 2024 Players Championship – Day 6”
Yes the change in narrative throughout yesterday’s match was extraordinary.
Many voices (online) had assumed the final would be between Allen and Selby. To their credit, ITV gave equal coverage of Selby and Zhang in their pre-match build up. Not so long ago, it would have been all about Selby.
But when Zhang was 4-0 and 56-0 ahead, it looked like Zhang was coasting, but then when he missed, many immediately forecast a Selby victory. People far too quickly call ‘choke’ or ‘bottle’. Ultimately it was a tense finish and an absorbing match.
If a young player misses balls unexpectedly, they cite ‘lack of composure’. But when someone like Zhang comes along and plays smoothly and consistently, they say ‘boring’. That’s just the negativity of social media. It’s possible that many aren’t so interested in snooker per se, they are interested in heroes and villains, which is of course a self-indulgence.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 
Yes the change in narrative throughout yesterday’s match was extraordinary.
Many voices (online) had assumed the final would be between Allen and Selby. To their credit, ITV gave equal coverage of Selby and Zhang in their pre-match build up. Not so long ago, it would have been all about Selby.
But when Zhang was 4-0 and 56-0 ahead, it looked like Zhang was coasting, but then when he missed, many immediately forecast a Selby victory. People far too quickly call ‘choke’ or ‘bottle’. Ultimately it was a tense finish and an absorbing match.
If a young player misses balls unexpectedly, they cite ‘lack of composure’. But when someone like Zhang comes along and plays smoothly and consistently, they say ‘boring’. That’s just the negativity of social media. It’s possible that many aren’t so interested in snooker per se, they are interested in heroes and villains, which is of course a self-indulgence.