Dott stays four clear
Graeme Dott is just three frames away from a third World Championship final after moving into a 14-10 lead over Mark Selby.
Last Updated: 01/05/10 2:41pm
Graeme Dott is just three frames away from a third World Championship final after moving into a 14-10 lead over Mark Selby.
The 32-year-old 2006 world champion - who also reached the Crucible final in 2004 - led 10-6 overnight, but the 'Jester from Leicester' won four of the opening five frames on Saturday morning to trail by only 11-10.
With three frames remaining before lunch, there was the possibility that Selby would move level or even lead heading into this evening's concluding session.
However Dott, unflappable throughout the tournament, dug deep and rediscovered the game which has taken him past Peter Ebdon, Stephen Maguire and Mark Allen so far.
Selby had been the dominant force prior to the interval, taking a nervy opening frame and then fighting back from 65-0 behind after Dott missed a red to win the next with an outstanding clearance of 66.
Chances
Dott hit back with a run of 57 but his early form was patchy and he passed up chances in the next frame which allowed Selby to win another.
Selby was well positioned for a frame-winning break in frame 21 before missing a red to the middle pocket on 67, but Dott soon presented the 26-year-old with another chance from which he made sure.
With his lead trimmed to a single frame, it was a worrying time for Dott, but multiple errors from Selby allowed him to move two in front again.
Dott was almost back in the comfort zone when he surged 13-10 ahead courtesy of a 56 break, and when he fired in the pink to win the final frame of the session, after Selby had threatened to take it to a re-spotted black, there was a fist pump to show how much it meant.
The Larkhall man has reached two Crucible finals, finishing runner-up to Ronnie O'Sullivan in 2004 and then beating Peter Ebdon in 2006, while Selby was defeated by John Higgins for the title three years ago.