Selby stunned by Slessor at German Masters
Mark Selby crashed out of the German Masters on Wednesday following a 5-4 defeat by Elliot Slessor at the Tempodrom in Berlin.
Mark Allen, Luca Brecel, John Higgins, Ali Carter and Si Jiahui were the other top-16 players to fall on day three in the German capital.
Selby had won each of his four previous meetings with Slessor, going on to lift the trophy following two of them at the 2015 China Open and 2016 Paul Hunter Classic (on German soil).
However, the three-time ranking semi-finalist made the better start; controlling the first frame before a 79 counter clearance from 50-4 down doubled his lead, while a break of 89 put him 3-1 up at the interval.
Selby, who lifted the trophy in 2015, hit back to level at 3-3, while the next two frames were shared to take the contest the distance.
But it was to be Slessor’s day, with the world number 31 producing a timely 94 to get over the line.
His reward is a last-16 showdown with Xiao Guodong, who recovered from 54-3 down in the decider to edge out compatriot Si.
World number four Allen was also on the wrong end of a deciding-frame finish, the Pistol surrendering a 4-2 lead against Wu Yize.
The English and Scottish Open finalist will play Alexander Ursenbacher in the last 16, after the Swiss number one whitewashed two-time champion Carter 5-0.
Meanwhile, World champion Kyren Wilson survived an early scare to see off Zhou Yuelong 5-3.
The Warrior fell 2-0 behind and required a snooker in the third frame, but recovered to pinch it on the black.
That swung the contest in favour of Wilson, who added further runs of 72 and 100 to set up a repeat of last year’s Crucible final against Jak Jones.
The Welshman also reeled off five of the last six frames from 2-0 down against Higgins, hitting a top break of 106 along the way.
World number one Judd Trump was in fine form, with contributions of 77, 76, 75, 80 and 100 sealing a 5-0 whitewash of Joe O’Connor.
That set up a mouth-watering last-16 showdown with Neil Robertson, who hit breaks of 125, 100, 113 and 131 as he edged out Hammad Miah 5-4.
Shaun Murphy is yet to drop a frame this week. The recently crowned Masters champion built on that momentum with breaks of 100, 79 and 77 as he swept Thepchaiya Un-Nooh aside 5-0.
Next up for the Magician is a clash with Yuan Sijun, who hit three centuries on his way to a 5-2 win over Ross Muir.
UK Championship finalist Barry Hawkins had contributions of 138, 100, 97 and 81 in a 5-3 victory over Ben Woollaston, booking a date with Ricky Walden after he beat Dylan Emery by the same scoreline.
Anthony McGill hit breaks of 123 and 114 in his 5-2 success over Brecel, the same winning margin that saw last-16 opponent Zhang Anda past Robert Milkins.
Runs of 139 and 100 were the highlights of Tom Ford’s 5-2 win against Daniel Wells. Next up for the Shoot Out champion will be Aaron Hill, who built on the momentum of his victory over Mark Williams by beating Jimmy Robertson 5-1.
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German Masters Snooker 2025 Schedule
Wednesday January 29
Second Round
Yuan Sijun 5-2 Ross Muir
Ben Woollaston 3-5 Barry Hawkins
Si Jiahui 4-5 Xiao Guodong
Zhang Anda 5-2 Robert Milkins
Jak Jones 5-3 John Higgins
Zhou Yuelong 3-5 Kyren Wilson
Judd Trump 5-0 Joe O’Connor
Hammad Miah 4-5 Neil Robertson
Mark Allen 4-5 Wu Yize
Ali Carter 0-5 Alexander Ursenbacher
Ricky Walden 5-3 Dylan Emery
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 0-5 Shaun Murphy
Mark Selby 4-5 Elliot Slessor
Tom Ford 5-2 Daniel Wells
Jimmy Robertson 1-5 Aaron Hill
Luca Brecel 2-5 Anthony McGill