Following Mark Selby’s big win at the Worlds, many are left debating whether this cements his legacy among the elite as one of snooker’s all-time greats. Selby will humbly tell you that he wouldn’t consider himself at the same level of those handful of individuals who stand at the very top, but let’s look at his accomplishments and see how they stack.
Winning the Worlds has tied Selby at fourth on the majors list alongside John Higgins – only surpassed by the Trinity that is Davis, Hendry and O’Sullivan. That alone would normally be sufficient to warrant a claim to be an all-time great considering the (deserved) praise that Higgins frequently gets. However, I think those that aren’t necessarily fans of Selby’s playstyle tend to dismiss how well he’s actually done.
Being able to win a tournament isn’t easy in this day and age, let alone a major event. Even more impressive, and something I consider a player must have to be viewed as a great, is winning each major at least twice. Selby has 4 WSCs, 3 Masters and 2 UKs to his name. Technically speaking, this means that I considered Selby an all-time great even before his recent win. And I wouldn’t necessarily disagree with that, because I knew that Selby was going to win another world title.
The stats clearly justify Selby’s position as an all-time great but the manner in which he’s done so is also something to be considered. He’s already established a legacy as someone who won’t go down without a fight and has partaken in a number of classics where he’s shown just this. In fact, one of my favourite things that I would hear would be when online commenters talk about Selby being 100 points behind and still coming back to the table to play for snookers. Whilst funny, I think of it as a positive characteristic.
Some may call him a torturer or grinder but the way I see it is Selby controls the game how he wants it and is able to feed off the weaknesses of his opponents when they become frustrated and start making mistakes. Every sport is like that. No one goes into a match with the intention of losing and after years of watching Selby play, you’d think players would still be better prepared for it. And if you ask any of these fans/players whether they’d switch snooker brains with Selby, they would take it in a second.
And he does have an underrated snooker brain. I think ‘Sat Nav Selby’ is his most appropriate nickname. When you’re in trouble, I don’t think there is any other player many would choose to have at the table (check out his epic snooker/safety battle against Marco Fu at WSC 2016). And when it came to pressure shots, there are fewer that buckled less than Selby.
A lot of people weren’t fans of Davis and his style when he was in his prime yet he’s considered as one of the all-time greats, without question. It seems like time will be one of those factors where people may consider Selby as an all-time great down the line. He still has plenty of years ahead of him and many more titles which will only further support his claim to be considered among the greats.
However, if you look at what he’s accomplished as it stands, you can’t deny that Selby is at the very least one of the greats of the modern era. Undisputed World No. 1 for over four years, held the No. 1 spot for seven seasons, fourth on the all-time majors list and a fortress on the snooker table where he wouldn’t give his opponents a single inch. So yeah, I think Selby’s pretty good.
What do you think?
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