World Snooker Championship 2016 Results: Wednesday's Scores, Semi-Final Draw

Mark Selby wasted little time in booking his semi-final place at the 2016 Snooker World Championships in Sheffield, England, winning three frames from five to beat qualifier Kyren Wilson 13-8 in his last-eight clash on Wednesday morning at the Crucible. 

The world No. 1 came into the session leading 10-6 from Tuesday's action and moved to within just one frame of victory with two excellent opening breaks.

Wilson got on the board in the third and produced a fantastic break to win the fourth, but Selby sealed his victory in efficient fashion following the mid-session interval and will now face Marco Fu in the semi-finals after he held off a spirited comeback from Barry Hawkins.

Meanwhile, Alan McManus came from behind to beat John Higgins in the the final session on Wednesday evening and will compete in the semi-finals of the tournament for the first time since 1993.

Read on for a recap of the action and an updated schedule for the rest of Wednesday, along with the lineup for the semi-finals.

Morning Session (10 a.m. BST)	Best of 25 frames
John Higgins	9-7	Alan McManus
Mark Selby	13-8	Kyren Wilson
Afternoon Session (2:30 p.m. BST)
Barry Hawkins	6-10	Marco Fu
Evening Session (7 p.m. BST)
John Higgins	11-13	Alan McManus
Barry Hawkins	11-13	Marco Fu

Alan McManus	vs.	Ding Junhui
Marco Fu	vs.	Mark Selby

Evening Session

An excellent start from McManus saw him win two of the first three frames to reduce the deficit to 10-9, per World Snooker:

A break of 69 helped the four-time champion regain control of the match and restore his two-frame lead.

McManus was determined to fight his way back into the contest, though, and responded with three consecutive frames—the latter thanks to a stunning 128 clearance. Pro Snooker Blog's Matt Huart noted the significance of his comeback:

Angles made no mistake in closing out the win with a 60 break, and Higgins hailed his opponent's nerve:

Hawkins finished the afternoon session in fine form and carried his momentum into the evening as he pulled three more frames back, the last thanks to an 85 break, meaning he had fought back from 9-1 down to 10-9.

An excellent long red from Hawkins opened the fourth frame of the session as he sought to pull level, but runs of 50 and 93 from Fu took him to within one of victory.

Some profligacy from Fu and equally clinical play from the Hawk kept the Englishman in the match, though, per Live Snooker and Huart:

Hawkins moved closer to a decider once more with an 80 break, but from 60-0 down, an outstanding red saw Fu come back with a remarkable 74 clearance to take the 24th frame and the match.

He will face Selby on Thursday, and he will need to be even more wary of his opponent coming back in that match should he find himself ahead. If he opens the door to Selby as he did to Hawkins, he's likely to be punished.

Afternoon Session

Hawkins and Fu resumed hostilities with Fu leading 7-1 from the first session, and the 38-year-old wasted little time in extending that lead as he bagged two further frames in quick succession, the latter courtesy of a 71 break.

The Hawk got the third frame of the session off to a perfect start as he potted from the break-off, per World Snooker:

He capitalised fully on that start to win just his second frame of the match, with this excellent long pot of a red among the highlights:

An outstanding 86 break in the next frame—in which Fu did not get on the board—saw the deficit reduced to six once again at the interval. The Englishman was able to maintain his momentum into the 13th frame and emerged victorious after a 38-minute contest—his third frame in a row.

Fu stopped the rot in some style with an incredible 136 clearance, but Hawkins hit back once again with a 95 break of his own before claiming the final frame of the session to narrow the gap to four.

Morning Session 

Selby was the first into the balls in the opening frame on Wednesday, and despite running out of position after cannoning into the reds, he made an excellent winning contribution of 92 when he got his hand back on the table.

The Jester from Leicester looked as though he could not miss and got back into the balls in the second frame, producing another strong break of 78 to move 12-6 in front, per Live Snooker:

Wilson had few opportunities in the opening two frames and could do little but sit and watch. However, he got his first chance in the third only to unluckily go in-off from the blue having made 36.

Selby, though, surprisingly missed an easy black off the spot, and the 24-year-old took his opportunity and won his first frame of the morning to move to 12-7 behind.

Wilson then forced the match into the mid-session interval as he took the fourth frame in spectacular fashion.

He eschewed an attempt at a 147 having paired the early reds with five consecutive blacks, but he still managed to post the tournament-high break as he made a brilliant visit of 143.

It was also a personal milestone for Wilson, per the Mirror's James Whaling:

The comeback was on, but Selby quickly wrested the momentum back in the 21st frame of the match, forcing a mistake from Wilson with some excellent safety play.

Selby got into the balls with a terrific long pot and produced a break of 64 to secure his spot in the last four. Wilson wished his opponent luck in the semi-final and reflected on his own tournament:

McManus was 5-3 down going into Wednesday's action but wiped out the deficit in no time and moved 6-5 ahead as he won the opening three frames of the session.

An excellent 68 break from the world No. 29 was enough for him to win the opener after Higgins was unfortunate to pot the black when playing for position.

Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

Higgins then gave his fellow Scot another chance in the second as he surprisingly missed a sitter of a black, and McManus tied the match up 5-5.

Another visit in the 60s saw McManus edge ahead before Higgins posted a break of 80 for 6-6.

The world No. 8 then looked set to go 8-6 in front as he picked up another frame and took a 40-point advantage in the sixth of the morning.

But McManus came to the table and produced some excellent positional play—including a brilliant shot to get on the last red from the blue—to steal the frame.

However, he then lost the final two frames to again trail by two, Higgins finishing the session in some style with a break of 101.