| Mark Selby | |
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 Mark Selby at World Series of Snooker, Warsaw, 2008
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| Born | 19 June 1983 , Leicester, England |
| Sport country |  English |
| Nickname | The Jester from Leicester, Mark the Shark |
| Professional | 1999– |
| Highest ranking | 4 |
| 2009/10 ranking | 7 |
| Career winnings | GB£798,975[1] |
| Highest break | 147[2] |
| Tournament wins | |
| Ranking | 1 |
| Non-ranking | 3 |
Mark Anthony Selby (born 19 June 1983, Leicester, England) is an English professional snooker and pool player. Runner up in the World Snooker Championship 2007,[3] he was the 2006 WEPF World Eight-ball Champion. Selby has won the Masters on two occasions and the Welsh Open, to date his only ranking-tournament success.
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Selby showed potential as a teenager, but did not consistently shine until his twenties. He reached his first ranking final aged 19, the Regal Scottish in 2003, where he finished runner-up to David Gray, losing 9-7 in the final. Before that, he had also already reached the semi-finals of the 2002 China Open, despite leaving his hotel room at 2 a.m. instead of 2 p.m. for one match due to jetlag.[4]
Selby reached the final qualifying round of the World Snooker Championship in 2002, 2003 and 2004, losing each time, but has been present at the Crucible Theatre for the final stages ever since. Early in the 2005/06 season he began to be managed by former snooker professional and fellow Leicester resident Mukesh Parmar, and his form soon improved.
In 2006, he reached the Crucible despite a 147 from his final qualifying round opponent Robert Milkins. At Sheffield, he has played John Higgins on four of the last five years, losing in the first round in the 2005 tournament, getting his revenge at the same stage in 2006,[5] going down to Higgins (13-18) in the 2007 final and losing 12-13 in the quarter-final in 2009 (from 12-11 up) after an excellent match.
In the 2007 World Championships, he beat Stephen Lee 10-7 in the first round, having won 8 successive frames from being 5-0 behind.[6] Selby then defeated former World Champion Peter Ebdon 13-8, with five centuries (including three-in-a-row) to reach the quarter-finals.[7] In the quarter-final, he beat Allister Carter 13-12, from 11-8 up and 11-12 down, in a match that lasted well over nine hours.[8] He went on to reach the final by beating Shaun Murphy 17-16 from 14-16 down, in another deciding frame which he won thanks to a 64 break.[9] Against Higgins in the final, Selby trailed 4-12 after the Sunday sessions, but won all six frames played in the third session on Monday afternoon before the players ran out of time due to the length of the frames. Thus he entered the final session only 10-12 down and closed to within one frame at 13-14, but eventually succumbed 13-18.[3] His performances earned him £110,000 (not far off half of his pre-tournament all-time earnings). It was noted by eventual world champion John Higgins, amongst others, in his victory speech, that Selby was the most improved player on the tour.[10] These performances in the 2006/07 season earned Selby a place in the top 16 for the very first time for the 2007/08 season, where he was ranked 11th.[11]
Selby's achievements at the 2007 World Championships also won him the inaugural 888.com Silver Chip award for outstanding performance. In a close vote, his wins over Lee, Ebdon, Carter and Murphy earned him this accolade from the Snooker Writers’ Association.[12] It was presented at the post-championship ball.
After a moderate start to the season, Selby had a strong run in the second most important professional snooker championship, the United Kingdom Championship, reaching the semi-finals of the event. He led eventual winner Ronnie O'Sullivan 7-5, fell 7-8 behind, but forced a deciding frame. In it, however, O'Sullivan made a 147 break to win 9-8.[13]
On 20 January 2008, Selby won his first major tournament - the Saga Insurance Masters at Wembley. En route to the final, he had edged out Stephen Hendry, Stephen Maguire and Ken Doherty, all on a 6-5 scoreline (and, in the first two cases, having been 5-3 behind). In the final against Stephen Lee, after leading 5-3 at the break Selby took control and reeled off five consecutive frames (eight-in-a-row overall from 2-3 behind) to win convincingly 10-3. Selby's play in the final was of the highest standard, with four century breaks and two consecutive tons to cross the winning line. His final-frame effort, a total clearance of 141, equalled the tournament's highest break and was Selby's best in competitive play.[14]
On 17 February 2008, he won a close-fought Welsh Open final, overcoming Ronnie O'Sullivan 9-8 from 5-8 down.[15] However, he could not reproduce his Crucible success from the previous season. Despite going into the World Championships as one of the bookmakers' favourites for the title, Selby was defeated 10-8 in the first round by Mark King.
The following year in the Welsh Open quarter-final, he was handed a writ by a member of the audience, supposedly his former manager George Barmby.[16] Selby reached the final of the Masters again where he was runner-up to Ronnie O'Sullivan, and also reached the quarter-finals of the 2009 World Championship, losing 12-13 to Higgins, who again went on to win the title.
He opened the 2009/10 season with two first round defeats, before coming from 4-8 down to beat Jamie Cope 9-8 in the first round of the UK Championship, scoring 6 breaks over 40 in those five frames.
On 17 January 2010, Selby won his second Masters title after reaching the final for the third time in as many years in a repeat of the previous year's final, where he lost to Ronnie O'Sullivan. O'Sullivan took a commanding lead at 9-6 leaving him just one frame from victory, but Selby played some of his best snooker of the season to overcome the three-frame deficit, taking the championship 10-9 and the £150,000 winner's cheque.[17]
He is a fan of Leicester City Football Club, who he has supported since childhood.[18]
In July 2006, he won the WEPF World Eight-ball Championship, beating Darren Appleton 11-7 in the final at Blackpool.[19] He plays for Leicestershire County Pool Association at Club 147 in Leicester.
He is also known to be a fan of darts, beating Eric Bristow in 2007 and taking on Raymond van Barneveld in exhibition matches.[20][21]
Selby's nickname on the snooker circuit is "the Jester from Leicester", a name given to him by snooker compere, Richard Beare.[22]
Mark's girlfriend Vikki Layton, who often attends his major matches, is an Irish international pool player.[23]
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   | Selby pips Murphy to world final - BBC SPORT | Other Sport... | Snooker | Selby pips Murphy to reach final |
| | Selby finally shakes off Carter - BBC SPORT | Other Sport... | Snooker | Selby finally shakes off Carter |
| | Sizzling Selby knocks out Ebdon - BBC SPORT | Other Sport... | Snooker | Sizzling Selby knocks out Ebdon |
| | Selby completes amazing comeback - BBC SPORT | Other Sport... | Snooker | Selby completes amazing comeback |
| | Selby pockets world rules pool crown - Cue Club International - An Online Pool Community |
| | Higgins beats brave Selby in epic - BBC SPORT | Other Sport... | Snooker | Higgins beats brave Selby in epic |
| | BBC Leicester feature and interview - BBC - Leicester - Sport - Hot Shot |
| | World Snooker Player Profiles - Sporting Life | World Snooker Championships, Crucible Theatre, Live Scoreboard, Latest News, Schedule, Results, Player Profiles, Full Draw. |
| | Mark Selby Picture Special - Leicester City | News | Latest News | Latest News | Mark Selby Picture Special |
| | Superb Sullivan stuns Selby - SUPERB SULLIVAN STUNS SELBY | Sporting Life - Snooker News | Beijing International Challenge, John Higgins, Scores, Results |
| | www.sportinglife.com/snooker/worldchampionships2007/profiles/story_get.dor?STORY_NAME=snooker/07/01/29/manual_163617.html - Mark Selby: Sporting Life - Snooker News | Beijing International Challenge, John Higgins, Scores, Results |
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