English Open: Mark Selby beats Mark Allen 6-5 in semi-final
Last updated on .From the section Snooker
Mark Selby won the final three frames of his English Open semi-final against Mark Allen to edge out the Northern Irishman 6-5 in Crawley.
England's world number five Selby led 3-1 at the interval with breaks of 82 and 93 but Allen won the next four frames, including a 96 in frame six, to move to within one frame of victory.
Selby ground out the last three frames to make a 25th ranking event final.
The three-time world champion will play England's David Gilbert in the final.
Gilbert secured his place in Sunday's 17-frame final by beating Tom Ford 6-3.
After Selby won the opener, Allen made a 71 break in the second frame to draw level, before the English player pulled two frames clear.
Allen, ranked seven in the world, made it 3-3 and then won a scrappy seventh, which lasted 67 minutes, to move ahead in the match for the first time and stay on course for a first tournament success since the Scottish Open last December.
Selby, 36, found himself trailing 5-3, but won the next two to ensure that for the eighth time in 10 meetings between the two players a final frame decider would be required.
The English Open forms part of the Home Nations series, which also includes the Northern Ireland Open, Scottish Open and Welsh Open.
