I think there's too many people who seem to have an insistence that every frame needs to be over in a short space of time, and so when you get tactical frames with some excellent safety play, and there's tension added to that, inevitably you're going to get long frames. No less exciting, but in a different way.
We had the longest frame in Crucible history and indeed an hour plus final frame which had some superb safety play from both players. In the end Mark Selby's experience and his "backs to the wall" game which he can bring out as needed just got him over the line. As Steve Davis said in the studio, it's match play snooker. Your play adapts to the situation, the way the balls lie etc.
As we've all seen, when Selby is on form he can whack in centuries, get maximums under pressure (semi finals of UK for example) and be as fluent and quick as the next player. When it gets tactical and with balls bogged on cushions, he has that tactical brain and is able to think up tough snookers for his opponent. That in my view gives him the all round game that others might lack, and certainly helps. I think Ronnie gave Mark the nickname "Granite" as he's an immovable rock when in tactical mode and you can't shake him off.
And added to that if he's not 100% in the right place at the moment (notably with recent tournament withdrawals) even getting to the final is an excellent achievement and shows a lot of passion, determination and downright hard work to get there. It's also worth noting for those who think Mark has no personality that after his first round match and being interviewed in Winter Gardens by Hazel etc, he was happy to knock a few balls around with people in the crowd behind and generally be all round great with everyone with a smile on his face. Being professional during play should not be deemed as boring, but instead shows he's taking it seriously and wants to win.
If people dislike what they saw last night, they're not a snooker fan.
The final has all the makings of a potential classic, and I don't mind who wins. Let's all enjoy it