Selby crashes out of Premier League Snooker - 18/11/2010

Ronnie O'Sullivan 5-1 Mark Selby
Best of six frames.
O'Sullivan's scores first
67-49 (O'Sullivan 56, Selby 49), 68-43 (O'Sullivan 41, Selby 32), 87-12 (O'Sullivan 80), 48-79 (O'Sullivan 30, Selby 38), 116-4 (O'Sullivan 116), 66-52 (O'Sullivan 34)

MARK Selby is out of the 2010 PartyCasino.com Premier League Snooker tournament.

Selby had a place in the final four within his grasp but slumped to a 5-1 defeat against Ronnie O'Sullivan at Venue Cymru in Llandudno.

A draw would have taken Selby through, a 4-2 defeat would have left him waiting on Neil Robertson's match later in the evening but the 5-1 scoreline meant Selby was out.

It means Robertson has to beat Murphy to qualify, while anything less than a win will see Mark Williams scrape through.

O'Sullivan said: "I knew what was on the line for Mark in the last frame and that made me more nervous as I knew there was someone (Williams) sitting at home thinking 'Come on Ronnie'.

"There's more pressure on you in that situation and you feel like going to jelly."

Ronnie O'Sullivan has, along with Marco Fu and Shaun Murphy, already secured his place in the play-offs.

Selby looked on course for an early lead as he was 49-0 ahead before a miss on the blue gave O'Sullivan a chance. He rattled in 56 before missing the same ball.

The frame could have swung either way but O'Sullivan eventually clinched it with a thin cut on the blue and a fine effort to pot the pink.

O'Sullivan started the second frame by potting six reds and five reds but any hopes of him becoming the first man to achieve a 147 maximum under shot clock rules ended when he ran out of position.

Selby pulled it back to within nine points and, after a lengthy safety exchange, seemed to have O'Sullivan trapped with the cue ball tight behind the pink. But O'Sullivan played an escape off of two cushions to not only hit the yellow, but to pot it as well on his way to taking the frame.

It became an even tougher task for Selby as O'Sullivan won the third frame to move into a 3-0 lead. However, he had a stroke of luck early on as Selby accidentally knocked in the pink and O'Sullivan made him pay with a break of 80.

O'Sullivan gained a 37-point lead early in the fourth but missed a black into the side pocket. Selby chipped away at the lead before he laid a snooker, which saw the frame end in bizarre circumstances.

O'Sullivan had made a number of failed attempts to hit the yellow but was unhappy with referee Paul Collier calling 'foul and a miss' so deliberately kept fouling by nudging the cue ball into the green until Selby had a frame-winning total before then conceding the frame.

If O'Sullivan's antics in the fourth were not appreciated by the crowd, they were soon to see the other side of the player in the fifth as he rattled in a sensational break of 116 to move 4-1 ahead.

Selby had to win the last frame of the match or face elimination from the competition.

O'Sullivan moved 55-0 ahead but missed the frame-winning red. But Selby again started to grind out the frame. He got the snooker he needed and looked to have set up a respotted black but then missed the black ball. His attempt at a cross double left the same ball over the pocket and O'Sullivan finished off the match and ended Selby's hopes.