37 Facts About Mark Selby

Mark Anthony Selby was born on 19 June 1983 and is an English professional snooker player.

Mark Selby is a four-time World Snooker Champion, and has won the Masters three times and the UK Championship twice for a total of nine Triple Crown titles, putting him on a par with John Higgins, and behind only Ronnie O'Sullivan, Stephen Hendry and Steve Davis.

Mark Selby made his Crucible debut in 2005, and reached his first World Championship final in 2007, when he was runner-up to John Higgins.

Mark Selby won his first major title at the 2008 Masters, and his first ranking title at the 2008 Welsh Open.

Mark Selby 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.

Mark Selby has compiled more than 800 century breaks in professional competition, including six maximum breaks, one of which is the only one to have been made during the final of the World Championships.

Mark Selby won the WEPF World Eightball Championship in 2006 and was runner-up at the Chinese Eight-ball World Championship in 2015.

Mark 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.

From late 2005, Mark Selby was managed by former snooker professional and fellow Leicester resident Mukesh Parmar.

Higgins pointed out in his victory speech that Mark Selby was "the most improved player on the tour".

Mark Selby 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.

On 20 January 2008, Mark Selby won his first major tournament, the Masters at Wembley Arena in London.

Mark Selby 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.

Mark Selby was a semi-finalist in the China Open, and a finalist in the inaugural Championship League event.

Mark Selby eventually finished fifth on the PTC Order of Merit and therefore qualified to the last 16 of the PTC Grand Final.

Mark Selby withdrew from the second round of the China Open because of a neck injury.

Mark Selby's decision to withdraw was a precautionary measure to make sure he was ready for the upcoming World Championship.

Mark 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.

However, just five weeks later, Mark 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.

Mark Selby appeared "jaded" on the first day after a tough semi-final battle with Robertson the day before.

Mark Selby dedicated the win to his late father who had died when Selby was 16.

Mark Selby 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.

Mark Selby made seven 50+ breaks, while Ding's highest was just 47.

Mark Selby finished the match with a 107 break to claim his second UK title, completing the second Triple Crown of his career.

O'Sullivan reclaimed the top spot by winning his 36th ranking title at the Tour Championship; Mark Selby had himself been eliminated in the first round by Neil Robertson in a final-frame decider, after squandering a four-frame lead.

Mark Selby 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.

Mark 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.

Mark Selby was defeated in the second round, but returned to the top of the rankings for the first time since March 2019.

Mark Selby said that snooker seemed "irrelevant right now" to him, as he spoke about his struggles with depression that was affecting his life and snooker form.

Mark Selby 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.

Two months later, Mark Selby joined the main professional tour, having left school with no qualifications.

Mark Selby's wife Vikki Layton, who often attends his major matches, is a former Irish international pool player born in Ipswich.

Mark Selby has been a fan of Leicester City FC since childhood.

Mark Selby is 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.

Mark Selby was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2022 Birthday Honours for services to snooker and charity.

In February 2015, Mark Selby was runner-up at the inaugural Chinese Eight-ball World Championship in Yushan, China.

Mark Selby entered the Ultimate Pool Pairs Cup in 2022, teaming up with his brother-in-law Gareth Potts.