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Mark Selby

Though Selby continued to bolster his reputation as one of snooker’s best up-and-coming players during the 2008/09 season, he was unable to add to his collection of silverware.
His best shot at a trophy came at the Masters, where he was aiming to become the only player other than Stephen Hendry, Paul Hunter and Cliff Thorburn to win the sport’s most-prized innivation title in consecutive years.
Selby opened with impressive 6-5 victories over Ricky Walden and Mark Allen, then saw off John Higgins 6-2 to set up a showpiece final clash at Wembley against Ronnie O’Sullivan. An enthralling final, arguably the match of the season, looked to be going Selby’s way until he missed a tricky brown at 8-8, and O’Sullivan went on to win 10-8. A disappointed Selby said: "I came here with a lot of pressure on my shoulders because it’s my first tournament as defending champion. I came so close to keeping the title and making a bit of history."
The Leicester cueman’s best run in a ranking event during the campaign came at the Roewe Shanghai Masters, as he beat Judd Trump, Mark King and Marco Fu to reach the semi-finals. He then led Ricky Walden 4-1, but the eventual champion hit back to win 6-4.
Selby geared himself up for a real shot at the Betfred.com World Snooker Championship - the title he covets most. He started well at the Crucible with wins over Walden and Graeme Dott, but then came up against John Higgins, the man who had beaten him in the 2007 final. Higgins again came out on top, winning 13-12 in one of the highest-quality matches ever seen at Sheffield. Selby made five centuries but still found himself heading for the exit door. "If I was playing anybody else I would have probably won the match quite convincingly," said Selby, and Higgins returned the compliment by describing the win as "my best ever." Selby finished the season with a fall of three places in the rankings, to No 7.
The 2007/08 season was one in which Selby made the leap from potential to prizes.
He had established himself as one of snooker’s up-and-coming group of talented twenty-somethings by reaching the World final at the end of the previous campaign. The Leicester Jester went on to prove that he was no one-hit wonder by winning two major tournaments last term.
In the first half of the season he reached the semi-finals of the Maplin UK Championship, narrowly losing 9-8 to Ronnie O’Sullivan.
But he put aside that disappointment over the Christmas break, and returned at the Masters to show his best qualities – superb break-building, exceptional tactical and safety play, and ice cool nerves at the business end of key matches. He won his first three games 6-5 – against Stephen Hendry, Stephen Maguire and Ken Doherty – becoming the first player ever to reach the final at Wembley by winning three matches in final frame deciders. From that point is was plain sailing for Selby as he hammered Stephen Lee 10-3 in the final to land snooker’s most prestigious invitation title.
"Getting to the world final at the Crucible gave me the self-belief and my confidence has come on leaps and bounds since then. I think other players will respect me more now that I’ve won a major tournament, and it’s also given me the belief that I can win more titles. Since I was a kid, all I’ve wanted to do is win tournaments, and there’s no reason why I can’t win more this season,” said Selby.
So it proved at the very next event – the Welsh Open at the Newport Centre. This time, Selby’s victims on his way to the final were Dave Harold, Doherty, John Higgins and Stephen Hendry.
He looked likely to come up short of his first ranking title when he trailed O’Sullivan 8-5, but he made a brilliant comeback to win the last four frames, once again showing his strategic nous and calmness under pressure.
"I thought I had no chance at 8-5, even if you give Ronnie a one-frame lead he usually steam-rollers you. I just tried to feed myself some positive vibes and think back to matches I have won in the past. Strangely, I felt more relaxed the longer the game went on. I made a great break in the last frame. It’s something special to win my first ranking title.”
Selby was considered one of the pre-tournament favourites for the Crucible crown, but suffered a shock 10-8 first round defeat to Mark King. Nevertheless, he climbed into the top four of the official rankings for the first time.
Selby’s memorable 2007 Crucible run encompassed wins over Stephen Lee, Peter Ebdon, Ali Carter and a surprise 17-16 defeat of Shaun Murphy in the semi-finals, after trailing 5-1 and 16-14. "To be in the final here is a dream," he said. "I’ve wanted to do this since I was a kid. I feel like I’m asleep and haven’t woken up yet."
Into the final against John Higgins and Selby looked in danger off an emphatic defeat at 12-4 down overnight. He boldly fought back to 12-10 and trailed by just one frame at 14-13, but Higgins showed the mark of a champion to pull away and win the last four frames.
The Leicester City fan’s first ranking final was the 2003 Scottish Open at the Royal Highland Centre on the outskirts of Edinburgh, where he went down 9-7 to David Gray.
His first breakthrough came at the 2002 China Open in Shanghai when, aged just 18, he beat Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O’Sullivan to reach the semi-finals before losing to Anthony Hamilton.
Selby proved in 2006 that he also has a knack for pool as he won the World 8-Ball Championship, staged in Blackpool, beating Darren Appleton 11-7 in the final.

In January 2010, Selby won his second Pokerstars.com Masters title, coming from 9-6 down to beat Ronnie O'Sullivan 10-9 in a dramatic final at Wembley.

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