2007 World Snooker Championship Final - John Higgins v Mark Selby
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by user Alex Holowczak
2007 World Snooker Championship
Final
John Higgins v Mark Selby
John Higgins and Mark Selby took part in the 2007 World Snooker Championship Final, as ever, the best of 35 frames.
The opening session took place at 3pm on Sunday, and the early exchanges were scrappy. Many pundits expected Higgins to start out the better player. He was the more experienced, and Selby only came through his Semi Final 17-16 at 11pm the previous evening. Higgins was poor early on though, but still led 2-0. The first frame was notable for a foul and a miss from Higgins which moved a lot of balls a long way, and it took 3 minutes for Welsh referee Eiran Williams to reset the balls. That was one of a few unforced errors in Higgins game. Selby however began to find his stride and after a scrappy frame 3 which he won, he made the highest break of the match, 67, to level the scores at 2-2. Selby would have been delighted to still be in touch at the mid-session interval.
After the first four frames, the standard of the match improved. Selby won his third frame in a row to lead 3-2, with a fantastic century break, his 11th of the tournament and the first of the Final. Yet this seemed to wake Higgins, who until then had looked tired and out of focus. Higgins retired with his highest break of the Final, 97, to level the match at 3-3. He made a two 30 breaks to take Frame 7, although he could have secured the frame earlier as he left Selby chances to catch up the three snookers he needed by virtue of an in-off. The final frame of the session was another good one for the Scot, as he won it without a major break once again. But he nevertheless had his third frame in a row, and would take a 5-3 lead into the evening session.
At 8pm, the second session began, with high hopes that the match could carry on from an encouraging end to the afternoon session. Higgins won the first of the evening, he seemed to have improved his play. A 75 break made it 6-3. A woeful break off from Selby followed by a break of 70 gave Higgins 5 frames in a row, and lead 7-3. Just as Higgins was starting to pull away, Selby began to struggle. Errors from Selby in Frames 11 and 12 left Higgins in to clinch them at a canter. Higgins made a century to go 8-3 up, but Selby was unlucky to lost the last. At the mid-session interval, Higgins had now won 7 frames in a row to lead 9-3.
The mid-session interval did little to help the struggling Selby. Higgins was 59 in front in Frame 13, but Selby faught back well to take it on the clearance. He reduced his deficit to 9-4. But then Higgins went back into the form he had shown earlier in the session. Selby had a chance to pinch the next frame, but couldn't pull it off as three 30 breaks from Higgins were enough to make it 10-4. A tight 15th Frame went to the wire. Selby potted a great pressure brown that looked like winning him the frame, but unluckily finished nearly touching the blue. Higgins won that frame to go 11-4 up. The final frame of the first day of the final was a must win for Selby, but alas, Higgins made a 106 break to the pink for his second century break of the final. It would be 12-4 overnight to John Higgins.
As far as overnight leads go, 12-4 is an almost unasailable one. The biggest deficit anybody has come from behind from after two sessions of the 35 Frame final is 10-6, the first time was Stephen Hendry against Jimmy White in 1992, the second was Shaun Murphy against Matthew Stevens in 2005. Either way, 12-4 was off the map. Steve Davis lead Jimmy White 12-4 in 1984, but White came back to level, before Davis reasserted himself to win 18-16. So, whilst the score looked tough for Selby to come back from, then you turn to his opponent. Higgins is regarded as one of the best front runners in the game of snooker. He rarely breaks down from big leads, and as such will be very hard to beat from 12-4 behind. Selby had odds to win of 100-1.
The second day of the final began as it had ended the day before. Higgins made a break of 36 but missed an easy red. The frame went scrappy, and from there, Selby won it to reduce his arrears to 12-5. Talk of a comeback began in ernest when Selby made a century break, his 12th of the tournament, to reduce his deficit to 12-6. Selby was hitting form, and Higgins was struggling. Higgins was making errors on his saftey that let Selby in. Breaks of 65 and 62 won Selby the next two frames, suddenly he had won four in a row to be only 12-8 behind. It seemed the game was still alive. Higgins was grateful for the break in play.
The mid-session interval saw a brief pause in the BBC broadcast. Clive Everton had broadcast on every single session of a World Championship match at The Crucible since play at the theatre began in 1977, but after the finish the night before, the ageing broadcaster and journalist slipped when he got out of the shower. Anxious to keep the streak going, the BBC contacted Everton by phone, and so he broadcasted live from Sheffield General Hospital, where he was awaiting a replacement hip operation.
After the mid-session interval, Higgins was again kept off the table. Selby made a 42 break to help secure the frame and make it 5 in a row, and 12-9. The 22nd Frame was a 45 minute thriller. Selby led 61-8, but Higgins faught his way back into the game, and he looked favourite to win it after potting a good brown. It left him on a difficult blue though, which he missed. Selby then came to the table and finally potted the blue. Higgins refused to give in, but eventually stuck the pink up when he needed a snooker to win the frame. Selby potted it and it was 12-10. Suddenly the match was close again, with either player capable of winning the match. The session then was called short by two frames, to allow an hour and a half between the end of the session and the 8pm start of the final session. The break would favour Higgins, who would have a chance to stop the Selby comeback.
The call short meant that a possible 13 frames could be played Sunday night, which made it extremely likely there would be a late finish to the match. As play resumed, Higgins won the first to stop the rot, and the score was 13-10. Higgins looked better now, but Selby was still inspired, and won the next frame on the black to be back within two at 13-11. The next two frames were shared, with a pressure pot from Selby to reduce his deficit to 14-12 at the mid-session interval. Selby was still in the match. In one frame when Higgins was snookered, a fairly simple escape led to Higgins falling two feet short of pace. It was a woeful shot from such an excellent player as Higgins.
The 27th Frame was a classic. The frame lasted over almost an hour, and there was excellent safety on the yellow for over twenty minutes. Eventually Selby prevailed, and he moved to within one frame at 14-13. From there though, Higgins refound his form. A scrappy 28th Frame was won by Higgins to go 15-13 up, and as midnight came and went, Higgins won a scrappy frame. Selby had good chances to win it, but Higgins eventually won it, to move to within two of victory at 16-13. Higgins' confidence was restored. He made the highest break of the final, his second century break, a 129 clearance, to move to within one frame of victory at 17-13. Selby had a chance in the 31st Frame, but again Higgins made another 60 plus break to take the match 18-13, by virtue of winning four frames in a row.
Higgins won the World Championship for the second time, his first since 1998. Selby has had a good tournament, and can reflect on giving a good account of himself. He lost the match really on the first day, where he trailed 12-4. He got back into it on the second day, but by then the damage had been done. If he won the frame that could have made the score 15-14, then maybe the match would have gone on a bit longer than it did, but after that Higgins went into overdrive - the mark of a true champion. Higgins is thoroughly deserving of this World crown. He has also established himself as World Number 1, for the third time, and the first time in eight years.
