Mark Selby of England celebrates victory after the final with John Higgins of Scotland at the World Snooker Championship 2017 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, Britain on May. 1, 2017. Mark Selby won 18-15. (Xinhua/Han Yan)
SHEFFIELD, England, May 1 -- Defending champion Mark Selby came back from 10-4 down to beat four-time winner John Higgins 18-15 to take the title of the World Snooker Championship at the Crucible here on Monday.
The 33-year-old Selby, who lifted the trophy in 2017 and 2016, became the fourth player after Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O'Sullivan to win back-to-back titles since 1977.
Scotland's Higgins, 41, surrendered the early lead and trailed 13-11 after Monday afternoon's third session. Selby extended his lead to 16-12 before Higgins made an impressive late rally to narrow the gap to 16-15. But in the end he was no match for his unflappable and determined opponent.
Selby also pocketed the biggest prize in snooker history of 375,000 pounds and smashed Hendry's long-standing record of 740,000 pounds for the most prize money earned in a single season. Selby has won 932,000 this season.
"It's a fantastic feeling," said Selby. "I was confident coming here because of the season I'd had. I was just taking one frame at a time. When I was 10-4 down yesterday I thought there's no way in the world I was going to come back from that, I was trying to make it respectable. At one stage I was thinking I could lose with a session to spare."
"To get out 10-7, it felt like I was leading. I don't know how I managed to win those three frames, because before that I was shattered. My game was all over the place, missing ball after ball, making it easy for John. The harder I was trying the worse it got. I managed to nick those three frames and that gave me confidence. I think John went to bed that night thinking he'd let one go," Selby said.
"It is such a hard tournament to win physically and mentally. Snooker is one of the toughest sports in the world. There's only four players that have ever defended it and you look at the greats who have played the game," he added.
Higgins won a runner-up prize of 160,000 pounds and moved up to number two in world rankings.
"I think Mark will add to that, whether it's one, two, three or four," said Higgins. "He looks as though he could be the challenger to Stephen Hendry's seven world titles. He's just granite and really tough to play against, so I take my hat off to him. It's up to the likes of Robertson, Trump and Ding to challenge him. They'll be watching that tonight and it will make them desperate to get back on the practice table," Higgens predicted.
"I'm delighted to have got to the final. It's just a pity I couldn't go one better, but I'm proud of myself," he concluded.
人民币中间价报价或加“逆周期因子”
国内英语资讯:Political advisors discuss home market regulation
国内英语资讯:Xi urges BRICS countries to champion multilateralism
体坛英语资讯:China, Singapore claim wins in world university dragon boat invitational race
国内英语资讯:Nepal, China sign MoU on tourism promotion
体坛英语资讯:Spain s Supreme Court confirms Messi fraud sentence: judicial source
体坛英语资讯:New Zealand Rugby Team wins Princess of Asturias Award for Sport
游戏界高调宣战AI,星际争霸选手下战书了
国内英语资讯:Chinese premier stresses steady economic development, peoples livelihood
布鲁塞尔发生抗议北约和川普活动
国内英语资讯:Economic Watch: Chinas growth outlook positive despite uncertainties
暑假计划 Summer Vacation Plan
国际英语资讯:Spotlight: Egyptian forces hit terror camps in Libya in response to Minya shooting attack
体坛英语资讯:Kenyas Kipchoge becomes first person to run marathon in under 2 hours
我为什么要努力学习 Why Should I Study Hard
国内英语资讯:Xi urges BRICS Business Council, New Development Bank to make greater contributions
自然解放浪潮来袭 近四分之一女性不再剃除腋毛
神奇新APP:给美食拍张照就能看到做法!
国际英语资讯:DPRK calls for direct talks in response to Washingtons new proposal
国际英语资讯:Kagame delivers stern warning against those trying to destabilize Rwanda
美俄加强沟通避免在叙发生事故或误判
体坛英语资讯:History as Kipchoge becomes first human to run marathon under 2 hours
人工智能遇上交通灯 交通堵塞或成历史
超越推特! 新浪微博月活跃用户达3.4亿!
体坛英语资讯:China claims silver and bronze on balance beam at Gymnastics Worlds
国内英语资讯:CPC meeting reviews documents on inspection work
国内英语资讯:China lifts restrictions on U.S. poultry imports
"Be a chicken"是什么意思?
中国成全球稳定开采可燃冰第一国
体坛英语资讯:English Premier League winners Chelsea cancel victory parade
不限 |
英语教案 |
英语课件 |
英语试题 |
不限 |
不限 |
上册 |
下册 |
不限 |