ALAN McManus’ quarter-final defeat at the World Snooker Championship was sealed this morning despite a brief show of resistance against Mark Selby.

The Glaswegian knocked in a composed 69 break to win the opening frame of the third and final session but world No.3 Selby completed a 13-5 victory in the next encounter.

McManus, competing in his first Crucible quarter-final since 2005, faced a nigh-on impossible task to salvage the match – needing nine frames in a row to trump Selby.

But after Selby played a lax shot into the reds, McManus set about making inroads into the deficit with a composed break in among the blue and pink.

He failed to sink a red on 69 but it was enough to clinch the frame and he started the next with just as much poise.

A tricky pot into the middle-right pocket started the break and, running himself into perfect position off a yellow, he started to attack the bunch of reds.

But he tangled himself up on just 20 and was forced to play a safety shot up the table – handing Selby his first scoring chance of the morning.

The world No.3 compiled 26 and then raced away on a second visit to the baize, wrapping up the match before hitting the colours with a further break of 42.

Meanwhile, reigning champion Ronnie O’Sullivan took full advantage of a wasteful Shaun Murphy to open up a 6-2 lead in their quarter-final clash at the Crucible.

Murphy clinched the first two frames but squandered several golden opportunities as O’Sullivan, despite not being at his best, won six on the spin.

And world No.1 Neil Robertson endured a troublesome start to his quarter-final tie with Judd Trump as he trails 6-2 ahead of today’s final two sessions.

The Australian is one century away from hitting a landmark ‘ton of tons’ for the season – but Trump hit breaks past 100 twice in a brilliant display.

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