It was a short evening for Mark Selby. After the "Jester from Leicester" managed a pre-decisive 7-2 in the morning, he won the second session without losing a frame to beat Jak Jones 10-2.
As in the first session, Selby did not shine with high breaks. The four-time world champion also had repeated difficulties in his positional play in the evening and sometimes missed easier balls.
Selby v Jones
Mark Selby meets Wu Yize
But Jones also remained error-prone and was still unable to capitalise on the opportunities Selby offered him. Selby made it 8-2 with smaller breaks and Jones was better in the following frame, which he should actually have won. But the Welshman missed the frame ball in the endgame on the colours with yellow - Selby thanked him for the opportunity and won the frame on black.
Jones also had his chances in the final frame and sniffed the frame with two reds on the table. However, after he holed one of them, he missed the following colour wildly. After a short safety duel, Selby was again the player with the stronger nerves and decided the match in quick succession. In the round of 16, Selby will face Wu Yize, who, like Selby, won his first round match against Lei Peifan by a clear 10-2.
Neil Robertson surprises with a mental lapse
Things were much closer on the next table. Neil Roberts on got off to the better start against Pang Junxu and snatched the lead after a tight first frame.
However, he made a strange mistake in the following frame: after missing a black with three reds on the table and trailing by 47 points, he conceded the frame to the surprise of everyone watching. The frame was still within reach with 51 points on the table. Referee Terry Camilleri then warned him for unsportsmanlike behaviour, but the Australian was not aware of any fault and replied that he was 57 points behind. When he realised his mistake, he made it clear that he had simply miscalculated - scenes that the Crucible Theatre doesn't see every day.
Robertson v Pang
However, his performance did not affect the action: Robertson played an 81 with a clear lead to secure the third frame. But Pang was an uncomfortable opponent who did not let up and equalised before the mid-session interval. After the break, the Chinese player managed a 73 break, which ultimately decided the frame. However, Robertson equalised the first deficit of the evening with his first chance, thanks to a 72.
It was the first of three frames in a row that Robertson won. Two smaller breaks were enough for him in the seventh frame and he took the eighth with a 53, but Pang limited the damage and ended the evening with the highest and only century break (122) of the session.