Chris Wakelin
Chris Wakelin reached the semi-finals of the Champion of Champions snooker tournament for the first time with a 6-2 victory over defending champion Mark Selby.
Wakelin had appeared in this tournament just once before, in 2023 when he lost in the opening round. But this time in Leicester the Scottish Open champion conceded just three frames as he saw off Barry Hawkins 4-1 before a convincing display against four-time World Champion Selby, who was competing in his home city.
Wakelin said: “Mark and I practised together for a good seven or eight years, he helped me with my own game. He’s one of the best scorers that has ever been and to the purists he is one of the greatest players ever. So I’m delighted to get the win.
“I didn’t play my best and was certainly quite lucky. I changed to my old cue this week, and I’m trying to adjust to that so I’m guessing a lot in my safety shots. Mark gave me so much advice earlier in my career and I’m grateful for that.”
A break of 54 helped Wakelin take the opening frame of the group final before Selby levelled in a scrappy second. The next came down to the colours and Selby went in-off when potting the blue, handing his opponent the chance to drill the blue into a top corner and add the pink for 2-1.
Frame four was also resolved on the last few balls and another error from Selby, a weak safety on the pink, allowed Wakelin to pot pink and black to extend his lead. After the interval, a run of 46 put Wakelin 4-1 ahead, before Selby pulled one back with a break of 70.
Wakelin dominated the seventh for 5-2 and made a break of 56 in the next, then Selby had a chance to clear only to miss the final pink. World number 12 Wakelin potted it to secure a place in the last four, and he’ll return on Friday evening.
Earlier in the day, Selby edged out Shoot Out champion Alfie Burden 4-3, compiling a run of 95 in the decider, while Wakelin’s defeat of Hawkins was highlighted by a break of 117.
