The World Snooker Championship has just wrapped and Mark Selby has reached the mountaintop once again as he claimed his fourth world title, last winning in 2017. When Selby last won the WSC, he was at the height of his powers showing his best form with multiple ranking titles each season and winning three championships in four years. Since then, Selby’s success dwindled leaving many to wonder whether he’d be able to reach the summit once more.
Selby had a relatively faultless journey to the title with comfortable victories over Kurt Maflin, Mark Allen and Mark Williams up to the quarter-finals. It wasn’t until he faced a qualifier in Stuart Bingham who gave him his first real signs of trouble. Despite not being in the Top 16 (at the time), Bingham is a problem for any top seed. Bingham’s attacking playstyle almost negated the effects of Selby as he almost ran him all the way to another semi-final decider.
Consistent long-potting, break building and always formidable match-play carried Selby through to the final. However, it wasn’t until his second session against Shaun Murphy where prime Selby really shone through. Prime Selby is the guy who dictates the pace of the match to go how he wants. Prime Selby is also the guy who doesn’t give his opponent a single inch. Prime Selby is methodical, lethal and a blockade for anyone who he comes up against. And from the second session of the final, Murphy experienced just that.
The most impressive thing about Selby is how he doesn’t crumble under the pressure. When it comes to the difficult pressure shots, Selby doesn’t miss. He is probably the most reliable, under pressure potter there is. He did begin to lose his long potting a little when he got closer to the finishing line when Murphy was closing in, but Selby’s patience along with the damage he did throughout the contest was enough to see him through to his fourth world title.
There aren’t any players that I think would have withstood the impact of Mark Selby in that final. I think Judd Trump would have made for a good matchup given the contrasting styles, but I feel that Selby would have gotten the better looking at both players form during the tournament. Ronnie O’Sullivan’s approach last year may be the only way to stop Selby in his tracks, which Bingham almost honed in during the semis, but at the end of the day, the WSC is a test of patience. And Selby has this in absolute abundance, which is why he was my favourite going into this year. He hasn’t won the most events this season, but he didn’t need to. He’s won enough and played well enough over the past couple of seasons to put himself in good stead.
And now Selby is among those considered the greatest. Four WSC’s puts him ahead of Williams and level with John Higgins. If he didn’t lose in the semi last year (which really, he shouldn’t have), then it’s safe to presume he would have won last year as well. Nevertheless, there can be no argument as to the legacy Selby has created for himself. The modern day Steve Davis, Peter Ebdon, whoever you want to compare him to; Selby has forged his name into the history books by playing the game the best way he knows how.
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