Snooker: Safety first as Scot sets record for slow play

Published on Sunday 26 April 2009 22:40

STEPHEN Maguire and Mark King set a new Crucible record for slow play yesterday during the first session of their Betfred.com World Championship second-round match, which finished with the pair locked at 4-4.

Their second frame became the longest ever played at the Sheffield theatre, which has hosted the World Championship since 1977.

When Scotland's Maguire finally potted the black to win it 70-56, the clock showed they had taken one hour, 14 minutes and 58 seconds to sink all the balls. They had become bogged down in safety play on the green ball, and eventually eclipsed the previous record which was set by Peter Ebdon and Graeme Dott in the 2006 final. Ebdon and Dott, another Scot, took one hour, 14 minutes and eight seconds to complete frame 27 on that occasion.

Maguire, who was installed as favourite by bookmakers after Ronnie O'Sullivan's shock defeat to Mark Allen on Saturday, had lost the first frame after King made a break of 93. So despite the second frame being a grind, the 28-year-old Glaswegian was grateful when King missed the pink, to allow him to pot the final two balls.

It took Maguire less than 18 minutes to grab the third frame with a break of 59, however he was struggling to shake off King, who battled well to lead 4-3. The Scot fell behind in the eighth frame but a clinching break of 33 ensured the session finished level. The match will conclude today.

Dott's hopes of progressing to the quarter-finals suffered a blow when Mark Selby reeled off four frames in a row to move 6-2 ahead in their second-round match.

Selby had been tied at 2-2 with the 2006 champion at the mid-session interval but fired in breaks of 72, 52 and 104 to take control of the best-of-25-frames match. The Leicester player had won the day's opener with a run of 52, but between that and the 81 break Dott made in the fourth frame there had been some patchy play.

When the players returned from their short break, the fifth frame was also scrappy and the highest break was just 15 from Selby. The 25-year-old began to find his potting prowess though and won the next frame in one visit. Dott again struggled in the seventh frame, and when Selby produced the first century of the match in the next to close the session the outlook appeared bleak for the Scot. They will resume this morning at 10am, and providing Dott avoids a two-session defeat they will conclude in the evening.

But John Higgins is clinging to his dream of a third world title as Jamie Cope threatened another major upset.

Higgins and Cope shared eight superb frames in the space of two thrilling hours to instantly revive the tournament after O'Sullivan's exit left it with a heavy hangover. The Scot, 33, and his young opponent will resume today at 8-8 in their second-round tussle, with five more frames required for victory.

Neil Robertson holds a 9-7 lead over Ali Carter and they play to a finish today.