Anthony McGill is just two frames away from the Cazoo World Championship quarter-finals, despite a rally from Jack Lisowski, leading 11-5 after the second session of their last 16 clash at the Crucible.
Scotland’s McGill is seeking a fourth quarter-final appearance at the Theatre of Dreams, a venue where he has traditionally played his best snooker. The two-time ranking event winner scored an impressive 10-6 first round win over 2019 World Champion Judd Trump and has dominated this meeting with Lisowski thus far.
Gloucester cueman Lisowski beat Thailand’s Noppon Saengkham 10-7 in the opening round. He made the quarters for the first time last year, when he defeated Neil Robertson 13-12, before suffering an agonising defeat by the same scoreline against John Higgins. He will have to pull off an epic fightback if he is to reach the last eight this year.
They came into this afternoon with McGill holding a commanding 7-1 lead, after a one-sided first session yesterday. The Glaswegian hammered home his advantage in the early stages, crafting a break of 87 on his way to taking the first three and moving 10-1 ahead.
Facing potential defeat with a session to spare, Lisowski dug deep to stay in the tie. He took a 36-minute 12th frame to stop the rot and then fired in a brilliant 119 break to make it 10-3.
World number 13 Lisowski won his third on the bounce, before embarking on a 147 attempt. He eventually snookered himself on the black after the 13th red, ending his run on 97 but closing within five at 10-5. McGill crucially took the last to remain in total control ahead of tomorrow evening’s concluding session.
Meanwhile, four-time World Champion Mark Selby secured a 10-6 advantage over Scottish Open champion Gary Wilson following their second session.
Selby came into this afternoon leading 5-3 after a ferociously contested first session yesterday evening. The Leicester cueman has enjoyed a return to the winner’s enclosure this season, following a 20 month drought without ranking silverware. He picked up titles at the English Open and the recent WST Classic.
World number two Selby crafted breaks of 59, 91 and 71 on his way to securing his four-frame lead. He needs just three more frames when they resume tomorrow evening at 7pm.
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