After winning the England Under-15 Championship in 1998, Selby turned professional in 1999, aged 16. He made his Crucible debut in 2005, and reached his first World Championship final in 2007, when he was runner-up to John Higgins. He won his first major title at the 2008 Masters, and his first ranking title at the 2008 Welsh Open. Between 2014 and 2017, he won the World Championship three times in four years. He first became world number one in September 2011, and held onto the top ranking position for just over four years between February 2015 and March 2019. He has compiled more than 800 century breaks in professional competition, including five maximum breaks, one of which is the only one to have been made during the final of the World Championships.
A winner of the England under-15 championship in 1998,[4] Selby joined the professional tour a year later in 1999, at the age of 16.[5][6] In early 2002, he reached the semi-finals of the China Open, despite leaving his hotel room at 2 a.m. instead of 2 p.m. for one of his matches because of jetlag.[7] In April 2003, aged 19, he reached his first ranking final at the Scottish Open, where he finished runner-up to David Gray,[8] earning himself a place in the top 32 for the first time.[4] In October 2004, he made it to the quarter-finals stage of the 2004 Grand Prix with a 5–3 win over Peter Ebdon,[9] but there he was whitewashed 5–0 by Ronnie O'Sullivan,[10] the tournament's eventual champion. Selby got to the final round of qualifying at the World Snooker Championships in 2002, 2003 and 2004, but failed to progress to the knockout stages at the Crucible Theatre on all three occasions.[11][12]
From late 2005, Selby was managed by former snooker professional and fellow Leicester resident Mukesh Parmar.[6] He progressed to the main draw of the 2005 World Championship, losing 5–10 to John Higgins in the first round.[13] He then faced Higgins in the first round again at the 2006 World Championship, this time defeating the reigning Grand Prix and Masters champion 10–4,[14] before being eliminated in the second round by Mark Williams.[15]
Selby reached the final of the 2007 World Championship, beating Stephen Lee 10–7 in the first round, after winning eight successive frames from 0–5 behind to lead 8–5,[16] then defeating former world champion Peter Ebdon 13–8 in the second round, making five centuries, with three of them being consecutive.[17] In the quarter-finals, he beat Ali Carter 13–12, from 11–8 ahead and 11–12 behind, in a match that lasted well over nine hours.[18] Then after trailing 14–16, he won his semi-final match 17–16 against Shaun Murphy, in another deciding frame that he took with a 64 break.[19] In the final, John Higgins led 12–4 after the second session, but Selby won all six frames played in the third session on Monday afternoon, before time ran out due to the length of the frames; he was therefore only 10–12 behind entering the final session, and closed to within one frame at 13–14 before eventually losing the match 13–18.[20] Higgins pointed out in his victory speech that Selby was "the most improved player on the tour".[21]
Selby's performance in the 2006–07 season earned him a place in the top 16 for the first time for the 2007–08 season,[22] where he was ranked 11th.[4] His victories over Lee, Ebdon, Carter and Murphy at the 2007 World Championship also won him the inaugural 888.com Silver Chip award for outstanding performance, awarded by the Snooker Writers' Association.[23][24]
2007–08 season: first Masters title
Next season, Selby made it to the semi-finals in the 2007 Shanghai Masters, but was defeated by Dominic Dale, who went on to win the tournament.[25] Selby also had a strong run in the UK Championship, reaching the semi-finals as well, where he met the eventual winner of the event, Ronnie O'Sullivan. Selby led 7–5, but fell 7–8 behind before levelling the match at 8–8; however, O'Sullivan made a 147 break in the deciding frame to win 9–8.[26]
On 20 January 2008, Selby won his first major tournament, the Masters at Wembley Arena in London.[4] Enroute to the final, he had edged out Stephen Hendry, Stephen Maguire and Ken Doherty, all on a 6–5 scoreline.[27][28] In the final against Stephen Lee, Selby took control and reeled off eight consecutive frames from 2–3 behind to lead 5–3 at the break and to achieve a decisive 10–3 victory. He produced a high standard of play in the final, compiling four century breaks in total; his final-frame effort, a total clearance of 141, equalled the highest break of the tournament.[29]
Selby claimed his first world ranking title at the Welsh Open on 17 February 2008, winning a close-fought final 9–8 against Ronnie O'Sullivan after recovering from 5–8 behind.[30] He also was a semi-finalist in the China Open,[31] and a finalist in the inaugural Championship League event.[32] However, he could not reproduce his Crucible success from the previous season; despite going into the 2008 World Championship as one of the bookmakers' favourites for the title, Selby was defeated 8–10 in the first round by Mark King.[33]
2008–09 season
The following season Selby was defeated at the 2008 Shanghai Masters, once again in the semi-final stage by the event's eventual winner, this time Ricky Walden.[34] Then at the beginning of the new year, he reached the final of the Masters again, where he was runner-up to Ronnie O'Sullivan, losing the match 8–10 after leading 7–5.[35] In the Welsh Open quarter-finals he was handed a writ by a member of the audience, supposedly his former manager George Barmby. Selby commented that all he could think about was the envelope that had been given to him before he was defeated 3–5 by Anthony Hamilton.[36] Later on in the season, he made it to the final once more in the 2009 Championship League,[32] and also reached the quarter-finals of the 2009 World Championship, losing 12–13 to John Higgins, who went on to win his third world title.[37]
2009–10 season: second Masters title
Selby recovered from 4–8 behind to beat Jamie Cope 9–8 in the first round of the 2009 UK Championship,[38] but was beaten in the quarter-finals 3–9, yet again by Ronnie O'Sullivan.[39] On 17 January 2010, having reached the final for the third time in as many years, he won his second Masters title, in a repeat of the previous year's final where he had lost to O'Sullivan. This time, after falling behind 6–9, with O'Sullivan needing one more frame for another victory, Selby took the next four frames to win the championship 10–9.[40] He came within reach of his second World Championship final in 2010, losing in the semi-finals 14–17 to Graeme Dott, despite pulling up to 10–11 and 13–14.[41]
2010–11 season
In July 2010, Selby won the Six-red World Championship in Bangkok, with an 8–6 victory over Ricky Walden in the final.[42] At the 2011 China Open, he beat Tian Pengfei, Robert Milkins, Ali Carter, and home favourite Ding Junhui, but was defeated 8–10 by Judd Trump in the final.[43] At the 2011 World Championship, he set the record for the most century breaks compiled in a world championship match when he made six in his second-round tie with Stephen Hendry.[44] This was also a record for a best-of-25-frames match, and took Selby's century tally for the season to 54, setting a new record for the most centuries compiled by one player in a single season.[45]
2011–12 season
Selby started the season by winning the non-ranking Wuxi Classic with a 9–7 victory over Ali Carter.[46] He won his second ranking event at the Shanghai Masters, where he defeated Mark Williams 10–9 in the final, winning the last three frames from 7–9 behind.[47] With this victory, Selby replaced Williams as world number one,[48] moving to the top of the world rankings for the first time in his career.[4]
He also won the minor-ranking PTC Event 4 (the 2011 edition of the Paul Hunter Classic); having edged out Ronnie O'Sullivan 4–3 in the semi-finals, he achieved a 4–0 whitewash over Mark Davis in the final.[49] Selby eventually finished fifth on the PTC Order of Merit and therefore qualified to the last 16 of the PTC Grand Final.[50] He beat Ding Junhui 4–1, before losing 0–4 to eventual winner Stephen Lee in the quarter-finals.[51]
Selby progressed to the quarter-finals of the Masters in January, where he lost 2–6 to Shaun Murphy.[52] He was defeated by Murphy again the following month, in the quarter-finals of the German Masters, losing the match 3–5.[52][53] After reaching the final of the Welsh Open, where he lost 6–9 to Ding,[54] he met Murphy for the third time in less than six weeks, in the quarter-finals of the World Open, this time achieving a 5–0 whitewash.[52] However, he then suffered a 5–6 semi-final defeat against Mark Allen, despite having built up a 5–2 lead.[55]
Selby withdrew from the second round of the China Open because of a neck injury.[56] His decision to withdraw was also a precautionary measure to make sure he was ready for the upcoming World Championship.[56] He played Barry Hawkins in the first round and was defeated 3–10. After the match, Selby admitted that he had only managed nine hours of practice in preparation for the tournament, and there were certain shots that he was physically unable to play.[57] Despite this disappointment, he finished the season still as world number one.[58]
2012–13 season: first UK Championship and third Masters titles
Selby announced he felt "90 per cent fit" just before the start of the season, as he continued his recovery from the disc bulge in his neck.[59] His first event was the Wuxi Classic where he played Barry Hawkins in the last 32; having been eliminated from the World Championship by Hawkins two months earlier, Selby this time won 5–2, and then whitewashed Jamie Cope 5–0 to set up a quarter-final match with in-form Stuart Bingham, but lost in the deciding frame 4–5.[60][61] He won seven matches in a row to reach the quarter-finals of the Six-red World Championship, where he was defeated 5–7 by Judd Trump.[60] He then suffered a shock 3–5 first-round defeat to Jamie Burnett in the Australian Goldfields Open.[62][63]
Selby lost his world number one ranking on 2November 2012, when Trump claimed the top spot by reaching the final of the inaugural International Championship in China.[64] However, just five weeks later, Selby regained the top ranking position by winning the UK Championship, for his third ranking title and most significant of his career to that date.[65] He defeated Michael White 6–3, Ryan Day 6–4 after trailing 0–3, and Neil Robertson 6–4 from 0–4 behind, to reach the semi-finals. He then defeated Mark Davis 9–4 to progress to the final,[66] where he beat Shaun Murphy 10–6 to win the tournament.[67]
Selby then won his third Masters title, beating Stuart Bingham 6–5 from 1–5 behind in the first round, Mark Williams 6–1 in the quarter-finals, and Graeme Dott 6–5 from 1–4 behind in the semi-finals.[73] He then defeated defending champion Neil Robertson 10–6 in the final.[74] He reached the quarter-finals of the German Masters, but lost 1–5 against Barry Hawkins.[75] He lost in the last 32 of the Welsh Open 0–4 against Joe Perry,[76] and lost his number one position to Judd Trump.[77] Selby then reached the quarter-finals of the World Open, but lost 3–5 against Neil Robertson.[78]
At the China Open, Selby became the fourth player in history to miss the final black on a 147 attempt, and only the second – after Ken Doherty – to do so in a televised match, in a 5–1 defeat of Mark King.[79][80] He then reached the final by defeating Ricky Walden 5–2, Mark Williams 5–1 and Shaun Murphy 6–2, but lost 6–10 against Neil Robertson.[81] After the event he regained the number one spot from Judd Trump. He finished off the season at the World Championship, where he beat Matthew Selt 10–4 in the first round,[82] before losing 10–13 to Barry Hawkins in the second round.[83]
2013–14 season: first World Championship title
In the first ranking event of the season, Selby suffered a 3–5 defeat to Andrew Pagett in the qualifying rounds of the Wuxi Classic in China.[84] The tournament was the first to use a new format requiring the top 16 players to compete in the qualifying rounds at most ranking events.[84][85] In minor-ranking tournaments, he was runner-up at the Yixing Open, losing 1–4 to Joe Perry,[86] and at the Rotterdam Open, where he lost 3–4 to Mark Williams.[87] He won the Antwerp Open in November, defeating Ronnie O'Sullivan 4–3 in the final.[88]
Having won the UK Championship and Masters in the previous season, Selby qualified to take part in the first edition of the revived Champion of Champions competition,[89] where he lost to Stuart Bingham in the semi-finals 4–6.[90] Defending his title at the UK Championship in December, Selby compiled snooker's 100th officially recognised maximum break in professional competition,[91] in the seventh frame of his semi-final against Ricky Walden.[92] He received £55,000 for the achievement, in addition to the tournament's highest break prize of £4,000.[92][93] The next day, he lost 7–10 to world number one Neil Robertson in the final, having been ahead 5–1 and 6–3, missing his chance to regain the top position in the world rankings.[94]
He began the defence of his title at the Masters by defeating Mark Davis in the first round and John Higgins in the quarter-finals, winning both matches 6–5 and extending his unbeaten record in deciding frames at the Masters to 11.[95][96] He then beat Shaun Murphy 6–1 in the semi-finals to reach the final against Ronnie O'Sullivan.[97] After falling behind 1–7 in the first session, Selby lost the final 4–10, receiving the runner-up prize of £90,000.[98] At the German Masters two weeks later, he was eliminated in the second round by Kurt Maflin 5–3.[99] He defeated Alan McManus 5–1 in the quarter-finals of the World Open, and Marco Fu 6–4 in the semi-finals, but lost 6–10 in the final to Shaun Murphy.[100][101]
At the World Championship, Selby defeated Michael White 10–9, Ali Carter 13–9, and Alan McManus 13–5 to reach his first semi-final at the Crucible since 2010,[102][103] where he met Neil Robertson in a repeat of the UK Championship final five months earlier. This time Selby achieved a 17–15 victory to reach his second World Championship final and first for seven years.[104] His opponent in the final was defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan, who had held the world title for the past two years and had won all five of his previous world finals.[105][106] Selby appeared "jaded" on the first day after a tough semi-final battle with Robertson the day before.[107] O'Sullivan led 3–0, 8–3, and 10–5, but Selby then won six frames in a row to lead for the first time, eventually sealing an 18–14 victory for his first world title.[106][108] He dedicated the win to his late father who had died when Selby was 16.[107][109] With his World Championship victory, Selby became the ninth player to win snooker's Triple Crown of World, UK and Masters titles;[107][110] he also returned to the world number one position.[111]
At the first ranking event of the season, the Wuxi Classic, Selby lost 3–5 to Liang Wenbo in the last 32.[112] He won the minor-ranking Riga Open in August, defeating Mark Allen 4–3 in the final,[113] but was defeated by Allen the following month in a final-frame decider in the semi-finals of the ranking Shanghai Masters tournament.[114] He made an unexpected early exit from the ranking International Championship, when he was eliminated in the last 128 by 19-year-old tour rookie Oliver Lines, who had recovered from 0–4 behind to defeat him 6–4.[115] Selby reached the quarter-finals of the invitational Champion of Champions tournament in November, but lost 1–6 against Judd Trump.[116] He had a disappointing run at the UK Championship, losing 4–6 to David Morris in the last 64.[117]
In his first-round encounter with Shaun Murphy at the Masters in January, Selby fell 1–5 behind before recovering to draw level at 5–5, but then lost the match in the deciding frame. This was the first time he had ever lost a deciding frame at the Masters, having won the match 6–5 on all 11 previous occasions.[96][118] The following month, Selby won his fifth ranking title at the German Masters.[119] He defeated Judd Trump 5–4 in the quarter-finals, despite Trump making his second career 147 in the fifth frame of the match; this was the fifth time that Selby had witnessed an opponent completing a maximum against him (including both of Trump's), the most witnessed by any player.[120][121] In the final, he came from 2–5 down against Shaun Murphy to win 9–7 and claim the title.[122]
At the China Open in April, Selby became the first player to win a second ranking title in the 2014–15 season; after advancing to the final without meeting any player inside the world's top 16, he outplayed world number 56 Gary Wilson to win 10–2.[123] He then began his title defence at the World Championship, with no first-time world champion having successfully defended the title the following year, and no winner of the China Open having won the World Championship in the same season.[124] He led Kurt Maflin 8–4 in the first round, before Maflin won the next five frames to lead 9–8, but Selby took the 18th frame and the decider to win the match 10–9. His reign as World Champion ended in the second round, however, with a 9–13 defeat to Anthony McGill.[125][126] Despite this setback, he finished the season as world number one for the fourth year running.[127][128]
2015–16 season: second World Championship title
At the 2015 International Championship, Selby reached the semi-finals but then lost 4–9 to John Higgins.[129] He did not drop a frame in reaching the third round of the UK Championship where he defeated Jamie Jones 6–5, later acknowledging that his opponent had deserved to win the match.[130] He then eliminated Dechawat Poomjaeng and Matthew Selt both 6–1, before being whitewashed 6–0 by Neil Robertson in the semi-finals.[131][132] In early 2016, Selby lost to Ronnie O'Sullivan in the quarter-finals of both the Masters and Welsh Open,[133][134] but won the Gdynia Open with a 4–1 victory over Martin Gould.[135]
In March, he withdrew from the PTC Finals and China Open for personal reasons.[136] Returning to the tour at the World Championship in April, he beat Robert Milkins 10–6, Sam Baird 13–11, and Kyren Wilson 13–8, to face Marco Fu in the semi-finals.[137] Selby drew level at 12–12 after winning a 76-minute frame, the longest in Crucible history, and won the match 17–15 with a successful snooker on the brown ball in the final frame.[138] He took an early 6–0 lead over Ding Junhui in the final, eventually winning the match 18–14 to claim his second world title. With his World Championship victory, Selby finished at number one in the world rankings for the fifth consecutive year.[128]
2016–17 season: third World Championship and second UK Championship titles
Selby won his first ranking title of the season at the Paul Hunter Classic, beating Tom Ford 4–2 in the final.[139] His semi-final against Stuart Bingham at the Shanghai Masters in September, was a meeting between the top-two ranked players in the world, Selby winning 6–5, having trailed 3–5.[140] After taking an early 3–1 advantage over Ding Junhui in the final, he eventually lost the match 6–10.[141] The following month, he was defeated 2–6 by Judd Trump in the semi-finals of the European Masters.[142] He then won 9–3 in another semi-final encounter with Bingham, to reach the final of the International Championship in Daqing, China, winning the event for the first time by overcoming Ding 10–1; Selby dominated their encounter, winning all of the last seven frames, in the most one-sided ranking event final since the 2012 World Open when Mark Allen had defeated Stephen Lee by the same scoreline. Selby made seven 50+ breaks, while Ding's highest was just 47.[143]
At the UK Championship, he defeated John Higgins 6–5 in a high-quality quarter-final match that lasted five hours; Selby won on the colours in the deciding frame.[144] After despatching Shaun Murphy 6–2 in the semi-finals,[145] he developed a 7–2 advantage over Ronnie O'Sullivan in the final of the event, which decreased to 7–4, followed by four breaks of 130 or more over the next five frames—two by each player—bringing the score to 9–7 in Selby's favour. He finished the match with a 107 break to claim his second UK title, completing the second Triple Crown of his career.[146] After failing to progress to the semi-final stage of any of the next seven tournaments, he made it through to the final of the China Open in April, where he took the final three frames against Mark Williams to win 10–8 and claim his fourth ranking title of the season.[147]
In the quarter-finals of the World Championship, he defeated Marco Fu 13–3 with a session to spare .[148] He faced Ding Junhui in the semi-finals, taking a 16–13 lead before Ding closed the gap to 15–16 behind; Selby then won the 32nd frame to reach his third world final in four years.[149] In a repeat of the 2007 final against John Higgins, which Selby had lost 13–18,[149] he fell behind 4–10 before recovering to win 12 of the next 14 frames, eventually closing out the match 18–15 to win his third World Championship, becoming the fourth player—after Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O'Sullivan—to retain the world title at the Crucible. This was Selby's fifth ranking title of the season, tying him with Hendry and Ding as the only players to have won five ranking events in a single season.[150] Selby earned £932,000 during the 2016–17 season, a record amount of prize money for any one season.[150]
Selby successfully defended his International Championship title in November, to claim his first ranking title of the season. After surviving a fightback from Mark Allen, who trailed 3–8 and 7–9 in the final, Selby prevailed 10–7.[157][158] As reigning World Snooker Champion, he qualified automatically for the 2017 Champion of Champions, but was defeated 4–6 in the quarter-finals by Luca Brecel.[159] Defending his title at the UK Championship, he was eliminated 3–6 by Scott Donaldson in the last 64.[160]
In January, he played Mark Williams in the first round of the Masters, in a repeat of the previous year's event, where Selby had won their first-round encounter 6–5. However, this time the finishing score line was reversed as Selby lost the deciding frame 5–6.[161] He retained his China Open championship in April, defeating Barry Hawkins 11–3 in the final. This was Selby's third China Open title in four years.[162] Later that month, his two-year reign as World Champion ended in the first round of the World Championship, where he fell to Joe Perry 4–10, unable to recover from a 2–7 deficit in the first session. In winning the match, Perry became the first player to beat Selby at the World Championship since Anthony McGill had defeated him in the second round in 2015.[163] Despite this disappointment, Selby still finished the season as world number one.[164]
2018–19 season
At the World Open in August, Selby lost 4–5 to world number 53 Noppon Saengkham in the last 16, losing the deciding frame by just three points.[165] He won his 15th ranking title at the China Championship in September, defeating John Higgins 10–9 in a very close-fought final.[166] He reached the semi-finals of the Northern Ireland Open in November, losing 5–6 to Ronnie O'Sullivan on the final black.[167] He faced disappointments in other tournaments too, including an unexpected 3–6 loss to amateur James Cahill in the first round of the UK Championship.[168] At the 2019 Masters, he lost 2–6 to Judd Trump in a "nervy" quarter-final, despite making a 110 break in the seventh frame of the match.[169]
Selby lost the top ranking position to Ronnie O'Sullivan on 24March 2019,[170] having been world number one since February 2015.[171] O'Sullivan reclaimed the top spot by winning his 36th ranking title at the Tour Championship;[170] Selby had himself been eliminated in the first round by Neil Robertson in a final-frame decider, after squandering a four-frame lead.[172] He had an opportunity to regain the top spot at the China Open less than two weeks later, but lost 3–6 to Craig Steadman in the qualifying round which had been held over from the original qualification stage in February.[173] At the World Championship, Selby beat Zhao Xintong 10–7 in the first round before being defeated 10–13 by Gary Wilson in the second round.[174][175] As a result of this mediocre performance, he ended the season as world number six, having also been outranked by John Higgins, Neil Robertson, Mark Williams and Judd Trump.[176]
2019–20 season
In the 2019–20 season, Selby reached the semi-finals of the International Championship, losing 4–9 to Judd Trump,[177] and in defending his title at the China Championship, he lost 3–6 to Shaun Murphy, again in the semi-finals.[178] He defeated David Gilbert 9–1 in the final to win the English Open.[179] The following week, he lost 2–5 to Stuart Bingham in the last 16 of the World Open.[180] In the Champion of Champions, he fell short 2–6 to Mark Allen in the group final.[181] Despite recovering from 1–4 behind to tie at 4–4, he was defeated in the quarter-finals of the Northern Ireland Open by John Higgins.[182] He took more than six minutes to play one of his shots in the seventh frame of this match, leading to criticism from the Eurosport commentator Neal Foulds.[183] He won the Scottish Open in December, beating Jack Lisowski 9–6 in the final. Having also won the English Open earlier in the season, he became the first player to win more than one tournament in the Home Nations Series in a single season.[184]
At the beginning of 2020, he lost in the first round of the Masters against Ali Carter in January,[185] and failed to qualify at the German Masters later the same month.[186] At the European Masters, he lost in the second round to Barry Hawkins; after losing the first four frames, he staged a comeback to level at 4–4 but then lost the deciding frame.[187] He qualified for the World Grand Prix, where he lost 3–4 to Xiao Guodong in the first round despite making two centuries.[188] In February, Selby reached the quarter-final stage of the last Home Nations event, the Welsh Open, where he was defeated 1–5 by Ronnie O'Sullivan.[189] He also qualified for the Players Championship, based on the one-year ranking list; in the first round, he whitewashed Mark Williams 6–0,[190] but was then knocked out in the quarter-finals by Stephen Maguire in a deciding frame 5–6.[191] In March, he also participated at the Gibraltar Open, but was eliminated in the third round by Lyu Haotian 1–4.[192]
After the prolonged break caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Selby participated in the 2020 Championship League, going out of the tournament after the first group stage.[193] He qualified for the 2020 Tour Championship ranked third on the one-year ranking list.[194] He beat Yan Bingtao 9–6 in the quarter-finals before being defeated 2–9 by Mark Allen in the semi-finals.[195][196] At the World Championship, Selby defeated debutant Jordan Brown 10–6 in the first round,[197] Noppon Saengkham 13–12 in the last 16,[198] and Neil Robertson 13–7 in the quarter-finals.[199] In the semi-final, he met Ronnie O'Sullivan, who took a 5–3 lead after the first session, but Selby won the second session to take a 9–7 lead.[200] During the third session, he established a 13–9 advantage before O'Sullivan won the last two frames of the session. Selby then took a 16–14 lead, leaving himself one frame away from his fifth World Championship final, but he lost the final three frames of the match. After the game, Selby accused his opponent of being "disrespectful" after O'Sullivan had played several hit-and-hope shots while being snookered.[201] Selby finished the season as world number four.[202]
2020–21 season: fourth World Championship title
After the delayed start to the new season, Selby won his 18th ranking title at the 2020 European Masters in September, defeating Martin Gould 9–8 in the final.[203][204] The score was level at 4–4 by the end of the afternoon session, despite Selby taking an early 4–0 lead.[204] The two players were evenly matched throughout the evening session, but Selby eventually won the match in the deciding final frame with a break of 72.[203] The win moved him to a joint sixth place, alongside Neil Robertson, on the list of players with the most world ranking titles.[204]
In October, he began the defence of his title at the 2020 English Open.[205] After defeating Fan Zhengyi, Chang Bingyu, Liang Wenbo, Hossein Vafaei and Zhou Yuelong, he lost 5–6 to Neil Robertson in the semi-finals.[206] Despite losing the title, Selby retained the number one spot in the one-year ranking list.[207] He also progressed through the first two group stages of the ranking Championship League tournament,[208][209] but in the third group stage, although he beat Judd Trump 3–0, he lost 1–3 to Zhou Yuelong and 0–3 to Zhao Xintong, finishing at the bottom of the group.[210]
At the 2020 Champion of Champions tournament in November, Selby recovered from 0–4 and 3–5 behind, winning the last three frames of his quarter-final match against Kyren Wilson to progress 6–5,[211] only to be defeated by Neil Robertson in another final-frame decider at the semi-final stage of the competition.[212] In December, after yet another loss to Robertson at the quarter-finals of the 2020 UK Championship,[213] Selby successfully defended his Scottish Open title, beating Yuan Sijun, Nigel Bond, Mark Joyce, Lyu Haotian, Ricky Walden and Jamie Jones to reach the final, then defeating Ronnie O'Sullivan 9–3 to claim his 19th ranking tournament win, and his third Home Nations Series trophy, becoming the second player, after Judd Trump, to win three Home Nations events.[214] The following week, he reached the semi-finals of the 2020 World Grand Prix, where he was defeated 4–6 by Jack Lisowski, despite compiling the highest break of the tournament, a 143 in the seventh frame of the match.[215]
Selby reached the final of the 2021 Snooker Shoot Out in February, but his early 24-point lead was eclipsed by Ryan Day's 67-point winning break in the last four minutes of the match.[216] Though he was aiming to secure a record 12th successive ranking final win at the event, Selby expressed doubts whether the Shoot Out should be classed as a ranking event.[216] Afterwards, he exited both the Welsh Open[217] and the Players Championship[218] at the quarter-final stage, then the 2021 Tour Championship with one more semi-final defeat by Neil Robertson,[219] repeating his last year results for all three events.
Selby won his fourth world title in May 2021, defeating Shaun Murphy 18–15 in the final of the 2021 World Championship in front of a capacity crowd at the Crucible Theatre.[220][221] He became one of only five players to have won the championship four or more times at the Crucible, and said in his post-match interview: "to win it four times is something I could only have dreamed of."[222]
2021–22 season
In contrast with his last two snooker years, this was a poor season for Selby. His first tournament was the 2021 British Open.[223] He was defeated in the second round, but returned to the top of the rankings for the first time since March 2019.[224] After that, he suffered many early round exits, failed to qualify for tournaments or has withdrawn from them. Selby said that snooker seemed "irrelevant right now" to him,[225] as he spoke about his struggles with depression that was affecting his life and snooker form.[226] He reached the semi-finals of the 2021 World Grand Prix in December though, but after levelling the match at 2–2, he was defeated 3–6 by Neil Robertson.[227] The only other highlights of the season were his quarter-final appearances at the 2021 Champion of Champions, where he made his 700th century break in his opening match against David Gilbert, becoming the sixth player to reach that milestone,[228] and the 2022 Masters, where Selby avenged his 6–3 loss to Stephen Maguire from last year's tournament by beating the Scotsman by the exact same scoreline,[229] but then he suffered a 6–1 defeat by Barry Hawkins.[230]
2022–23 season
Compared to his last season performance, Selby's form had improved, as he was in the final of the 2022 World Mixed Doubles, teamed up with Rebecca Kenna, though they ended up losing 2–4 to Neil Robertson and Mink Nutcharut;[231] then he reached the quarter-finals of the British,[232] the Northern Ireland[233] and the Scottish Open,[234] and the semi-finals of the 2022 Champion of Champions.[235] After that, he went on and became the first player to win the English Open for the second time, claiming his first ranking trophy since his World Championship win in 2021,[236] and becoming the second player, after Judd Trump, to win four Home Nations tournaments.[237] In the semi-final of the tournament, he also recorded his first win over Neil Robertson in two years, after seven consecutive losses to him,[238] including this year's Northern Ireland and Scottish Open defeats. Towards the end of the season, Selby also won the inaugural 2023 WST Classic tournament, beating Pang Junxu 6–2 in the final.[239] In the next event, the 2023 Tour Championship, he made it to the semi-final, losing 9–10 to Shaun Murphy, forcing a decider after being 6–9 down.[240]
At the 2023 World Snooker Championship, Selby defeated Mark Allen 17–15 in a semi-final that lasted for over 13 and a half hours in total,[241] with the final session ending at 12:48a.m.[242] In frame 16 of the final against Luca Brecel, Selby scored a maximum break, his first maximum at the Crucible, and the first ever compiled in a World Championship final.[243] Trailing 16–10 at one point, Selby managed to close the gap to 16–15; however Brecel won the following two frames to win 18–15.[244]
2023–24 season
At the start of the season, Selby was a semi-finalist in the 2023 European Masters and the 2023 Shanghai Masters, losing 4–6 to Barry Hawkins in the former,[245] and 7–10 to Ronnie O'Sullivan in the latter tournament.[246] Then he reached the final of the 2023 British Open, facing Mark Williams and eventually losing to him 10–7, despite coming back from 5–1 down to 8–7 throughout the match.[247] Going that far in the tournament took its toll, as in the next event, the 2023 English Open, Selby won his held-over qualifying match, but then he lost 4–2 to world number 104 Martin O'Donnell in the last 64, having played nine matches in nine days altogether.[248] He also exited in the last 64 round at the following 2023 Wuhan Open, losing 4–5 to Xu Si.[249] His last notable result for the calendar year was reaching the quarter-finals of the 2023 UK Championship, where he lost 3–6 to Judd Trump.[250]
During the first half of the season, Selby has missed out on the 2023 Northern Ireland Open, as he—along with Ali Carter, John Higgins, Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and reigning world champion Luca Brecel—opted not to enter, so he could play at an exhibition event in Macau, China instead, originally scheduled to take place from 27 to 29 October. The World Snooker Tour threatened the five players with disciplinary action, claiming that playing at an unsanctioned event in Macau rather than at an official tour event in Belfast would breach their players' contract.[251] Following negotiations, the Macau exhibition was rescheduled to be played from 22 to 24 December, and the WST granted the concerned players permission to participate; however, they remained absent from the Belfast tournament, as they had not entered it.[252] Selby won the Macau event, defeating Carter 6–3 in the final, and he also made a maximum break in his semi-final match against Higgins.[253]
In January, Selby exited both the 2024 Masters and the 2024 World Grand Prix at the quarter-finals stage, losing 5–6 to Mark Allen in the former,[254] and 1–5 to Judd Trump in the latter tournament.[255] Then, in his qualifying match for the 2024 World Open against Xing Zihao, he compiled the 800th century of his professional career.[256] At the end of February, he made it to the semi-final of the 2024 Players Championship with a 6–0 whitewash over Ronnie O'Sullivan,[257] but there he got edged out 5–6 by Zhang Anda.[258] In the next event, the 2024 World Masters of Snooker, he was a quarter-finalist, but suffered a 3–4 loss to Mark Allen after leading 3–1, but spoiling his match-winning chances by missing the black off its spot twice in the next two frames.[259] The following week, Selby won the 2024 Championship League by defeating Joe O'Connor 3–1, lifting his first trophy of the season, almost a year after his last tour event success.[260] Later on, he participated in the 2024 World Mixed Doubles, replacing Mark Allen, who withdrew. Selby was once again paired with Rebecca Kenna, and as in 2022, they were the runner-ups, losing 2–4 again to Luca Brecel and Reanne Evans in the final.[261] Selby's season ended in the first round of the 2024 World Snooker Championship as he faced Joe O'Connor again and was defeated 6–10 by him. After the loss, Selby considered that he might retire from snooker.[262]
2024–25 season
In September, Selby reached the quarter-finals at the English Open, where he suffered a shock 4–5 loss to world number 77 Ishpreet Singh Chadha.[263] The following week, he won the British Open, defeating John Higgins 10–5 in the final to claim his first ranking tournament title since March 2023.[264][265]
Personal life
Born in Leicester on 19 June 1983,[4][266] Selby began playing pool at the age of eight and snooker aged nine.[109] Malcolm Thorne, brother of Leicester-born snooker player Willie Thorne, spotted Selby's snooker ability and offered him free practice at his brother's snooker club, which Selby took full advantage of, practising in the evenings after school.[109][110] Abandoned by his mother at the age of eight,[267] Selby lost his father to cancer when he was 16, after which he lived with family friend and snooker coach, Alan Perkins. He contemplated suicide after his father's death, but Perkins encouraged him to devote himself to snooker, telling him his father would have wanted him to keep playing and trying his best.[268] Two months later, Selby joined the main professional tour,[5][269] having left school with no qualifications. His nickname, "The Jester from Leicester",[6][270] was given to him by snooker compere Richard Beare because Selby liked to have "a laugh and a joke" with him.[271]
Selby's wife Vikki Layton, who often attends his major matches, is a former Irish international pool player born in Ipswich. They began dating in 2006 after meeting on the professional circuit.[272] They became engaged in August 2010 after Selby proposed on a gondola in Venice,[273] and were married in Cancún, Mexico in May 2011.[274] They have one daughter, Sofia, who was born in 2014.[275]
Selby has been a fan of Leicester City F.C. since childhood.[276] His 2014 World Championship victory happened on the day that Leicester City celebrated their promotion to the Premier League with an open-top bus parade.[277] Two years later, he won his second world title just 13minutes after the team sealed their first Premier League title.[128] Selby is also a fan of darts and has played in exhibition matches at Ibstock in Leicestershire, beating Eric Bristow in 2007 and taking on Raymond van Barneveld in 2009.[271][278]
After not competing in pool tournaments for several years, Selby entered the Ultimate Pool Pairs Cup, teaming up with brother-in-law Gareth Potts. Selby and Potts won the tournament after defeating Karl Sutton and Shaun Chipperfield in the final, played on 19 December 2022. This was just one day after Selby won the English Open in snooker, meaning he had won two live televised titles in two days in two different cuesports.[296]
Ding Junhui is a Chinese professional snooker player. He is the most successful Asian player in the history of the sport. Throughout his career, he has won 15 major ranking titles, including three UK Championships, and in 2014, became the first Asian world number one. He has twice reached the final of the Masters, winning once in 2011. In 2016, he became the first Asian player to reach the final of the World Championship.
John Higgins is a Scottish professional snooker player from Wishaw in North Lanarkshire. Since turning professional in 1992, he has won 31 ranking titles, placing him in third position on the all-time list of ranking event winners, behind Ronnie O'Sullivan (41) and Stephen Hendry (36). He has won four World Championships, three UK Championships and two Masters titles, for a total of nine Triple Crown titles, putting him level with Mark Selby and behind only O'Sullivan (23), Hendry (18) and Steve Davis (15). He first entered the top 16 in the 1995–96 world rankings and remained there continuously for over 29 years until September 2024, setting a record for the longest uninterrupted tenure as a top-16 player. He reached the world number one position four times.
Joe Perry is an English professional snooker player from Wisbech, Cambridgeshire. Nicknamed "the Gentleman", Perry climbed the rankings steadily after turning professional in 1992 and reached the Top 16 for the first time in 2002.
Marco Fu Ka-chun, MH, JP is a Hong Kong professional snooker player. He is a three-time ranking event winner, having won the 2007 Grand Prix, the 2013 Australian Goldfields Open and the 2016 Scottish Open. He has been a runner-up at two Triple Crown events, at the 2008 UK Championship and the 2011 Masters. In addition, Fu has reached the semi-finals of the World Championship twice—in 2006 and in 2016.
The UK Championship is a professional ranking snooker tournament. It is one of snooker's prestigious Triple Crown events, along with the World Championship and the Masters. It is usually held at the Barbican, York. Ronnie O'Sullivan has won the tournament a record eight times, followed by Steve Davis with six titles and Stephen Hendry with five.
Stephen Maguire is a Scottish professional snooker player. He has won six major ranking tournaments, including the 2004 UK Championship, and has twice since reached the finals of that event. Maguire turned professional in 1998 after winning the IBSF World Snooker Championship. He was in the top 16 of the snooker world rankings for 11 consecutive years, from 2005 to 2016, twice reaching world no. 2. He is a prolific break-builder, having compiled over 500 century breaks, including three maximums.
Barry Hawkins is an English professional snooker player from Ditton, Kent. He turned professional in 1996, but only rose to prominence in the 2004–05 snooker season, when he reached the last 16 of the 2004 UK Championship, the quarter-finals of the 2004 British Open and the semi-finals of the 2005 Welsh Open. He has now spent twenty successive seasons ranked inside the top 32. Hawkins reached his first ranking final and won his first ranking title at the 2012 Australian Goldfields Open.
Neil Robertson is an Australian professional snooker player, who is a former world champion and former world number one. To date, he is the most successful player from outside the United Kingdom, and the only non-UK born to have completed snooker's Triple Crown, having won the World Championship in 2010, the Masters in 2012 and 2022, and the UK Championship in 2013, 2015 and 2020. He has claimed a career total of 24 ranking titles, having won at least one professional tournament every year between 2006 and 2022.
Stuart Bingham is an English professional snooker player who is a former World Champion and Masters winner.
Judd Trump is an English professional snooker player who is a former world champion and the current world number one. Widely regarded as one of the sport's most talented players, he is currently in fourth place on the list of all-time ranking event winners, having won 30 ranking titles. He has also won five Triple Crown titles.
Ricky Walden is an English professional snooker player from Chester.
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Luca Brecel is a Belgian professional snooker player. A four-time ranking event winner, Brecel is the former World Snooker Champion, having won the 2023 event by defeating four-time champion Mark Selby 18–15 in the final. Brecel trailed Si Jiahui 5–14 in the semi-final, but eventually won 17–15. This comeback from nine frames behind is the biggest deficit ever overturned in the history of the World Championship at the Crucible Theatre.
Jordan Brown is a Northern Irish professional snooker player. After winning back-to-back Northern Ireland Amateur Championships in 2008 and 2009, he made his debut on the professional tour in 2009–10 but lost his tour card after one season. He rejoined the tour via the 2018 Q School.
Jack Lisowski is an English professional snooker player from Churchdown, Gloucestershire. He turned professional in 2010 by finishing first in the 2009/2010 PIOS rankings. A left-handed player, he is known for his attacking style of play.
Kyren James Wilson is an English professional snooker player from Kettering. He has won eight ranking titles and is the reigning world champion.
Shaun Peter Murphy is an English professional snooker player who won the 2005 World Championship and has completed the Triple Crown. Nicknamed "The Magician", Murphy is noted for his straight cue action and his long potting.
The 2018 UK Championship was a professional ranking snooker tournament, that took place from 27 November to 9 December 2018. It was the ninth ranking tournament and the first Triple Crown event of the 2018/2019 season. The event was broadcast on BBC Sport and Eurosport in the United Kingdom.
Ronnie O'Sullivan started his professional snooker career in 1992 and is widely considered one of the greatest players in the history of the sport. His play and accomplishments are described by some peers and pundits as being the greatest in the modern era of snooker. O'Sullivan is a seven-time world champion, and holds many records, including the fastest maximum break in professional competition; the highest number of century breaks; the highest number of maximum breaks, and the most Triple Crown event titles (23).
The 2022 Masters was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that took place from 9 to 16 January 2022 at Alexandra Palace in London, England. It was the 48th staging of the Masters tournament, which was first held in 1975, and the second of three Triple Crown events in the 2021–22 snooker season, following the 2021 UK Championship and preceding the 2022 World Snooker Championship. Broadcast by the BBC and Eurosport in Europe, it was sponsored for the first time by car retailer Cazoo.
1 2 Ashdown, John (18 April 2008). "Small talk: Mark Selby". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2010. Well, I just seem to make people laugh. I used to have a laugh and a joke with the compere, Richard Beare, and he gave me the nickname the Jester from Leicester.
↑ Weaver, Paul (6 May 2014). "Mark Selby beats Ronnie O'Sullivan 18–14 in world snooker final". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 6 May 2014. Retrieved 14 October 2020. Search jobs Sign in My account Account overview Billing Profile Emails & marketing Settings Help Comments & replies Sign out Search current edition: UK edition switch to the UK edition switch to the US edition switch to the Australia edition switch to the International edition News Opinion Sport Culture Lifestyle
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