Mark Selby through to face Luca Brecel in World Championship final

The four-time world champion won five frames in succession on Saturday night, enough it seemed to take the match away from Allen, who then gamely fought to extend it well beyond midnight but couldn't quite achieve the impossible.

Selby had seen his lead cut from six frames to one before composing himself to fine break of 64 which was unfortunate to end, but it was an advantage he was able to coax through to a victory which had been a long time coming.

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Allen had been lacklustre in an error-strewn start to the evening, a slumber from which he awoke at the end of a Selby century which had taken him within one of a resounding win and a meeting with Luca Brecel.

Selby was made to wait and wait though as Allen gritted his teeth, winning five frames in a row without registering a sizeable break, the last of them seeing Selby get as close to winning as he had yet managed as a vital brown rattled in the jaws.

After Allen took care of the remaining colours to draw within two, both he and Selby spurned golden opportunities in the 31st frame as the match entered its 14th hour. Selby was two pots from victory only to miss black off its spot, but Allen followed suit with the remaining red, his third big miss of the frame.

Allen was then forced into taking on a tough red from long range and when he missed, so too was Selby compelled to take on a shot which would either lose him the frame, or win him the match. Again it rattled, and after a fortuitous yellow found the pocket, Allen was back within one for the first time in five hours' play.

The stage had been set for a late finish after Friday's first two sessions both had to be cut short as these two safety-first operators took chunks out of each other, and ultimately that's what was delivered in a semi-final of stark contrast to the one won by Brecel.

At last, Selby finally put together a string of pots before a last throw of the dice from Allen went astray, allowing Selby to clench his fist at a job finally completed as the last of the reds dropped.

Selby will return to face the Belgian on Sunday afternoon, having been taken to Sunday morning by a never-say-die Allen in a match finally settled with the clock ticking towards 1am – 12 hours from the final's scheduled start time.

Third session

Mark Selby held onto a narrow 11-10 lead against Mark Allen as their hard-fought semi-final continue to threaten to run past midnight on Saturday.

Whereas on Friday it was Selby who ended the session delighted with his work, this time Allen will surely breathe a sigh of relief after a break of 92, his highest of the match, clawed him back to within one.

It was Selby who had bossed things for the most part, winning three of the first four frames on Saturday morning to lead 10-7, but the four-time champion then missed a simple green off its spot when attempting to turn the screw.

That allowed Allen to pinch the frame and stop the rot, before going on to collect two of the following three frames to leave the match in the same state that it had started the day, only closer to the finish line.

When that comes who can say, but with a minimum six more frames to come and as many as 12 possible, a marathon final session may be required to separate them.

Second session

Mark Selby edged into a narrow 7-6 lead against Mark Allen as their hard-fought semi-final fell behind schedule.

Allen had led 5-3 overnight and extended his advantage to three before Selby got on the board by securing the snookers he needed to steal the 10th frame.

From there he was able to find a foothold with a run of 95 before keeping Allen from scoring in frame 12, and it was Selby who moved ahead by taking what would prove to be the final frame of a session which ran more than three hours but saw only five frames played.

The pair will resume on Saturday morning, the third of four sessions, with as many as 20 frames still to play to determine who reaches the final, which begins on Sunday afternoon.

For Selby, this was a job well done. Allen had threatened to pull away when capitalising on his opponent's mistakes to win the first frame of the day before pulling into a seemingly decisive lead in the next, at which point more than an hour had passed.

To both turn that around and add the following three frames represented the best-case scenario for Selby, who will now hope to produce the change of gear which had seen him power to victory over John Higgins in their quarter-final.

First session

Mark Allen won the last three frames of the first session to lead Mark Selby 5-3 in their World Championship semi-final at the Crucible.

A 123 clearance gave Selby the ideal start but uncharacteristic errors in the safety battles in the next two frames allowed his Northern Irish opponent to take control with breaks of 63 and 66.

Selby missed a black off its spot in the fourth frame but still went into the mid-session interval level at 2-2 as it was Allen’s turn to fluff his lines in a tactical exchange.

A break of 68 moved Selby into the lead in an ebb-and-flow session and while Allen levelled, there was a hint of controversy when replays showed he grazed the red he was bridging over to make a tough pot.

The referee did not spot the foul while Allen did not acknowledge it either so – with players so scrupulous in calling to attention any wrongdoing when they are at the table – the suggestion was the left-hander, who has won three ranking events this season, was oblivious to what he had done.

Selby did have a visit to the table thereafter but his rival’s break of 64 left him well adrift and Allen quickly wrapped up the frame. Allen then finished the session with breaks of 60 and 78 to seize the initiative.

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