Mark Selby remembers one of his many epic clashes with Ronnie O’Sullivan as the best match he has ever played in.
The Jester and the Rocket have developed one of the greatest rivalries in the history of snooker, having met in the finals of the World Championship, Masters and UK Championship along with many other high profile battles.
In total they have played 35 times in all competitions, with the first coming at the China Open in 2002 when the young Selby laid down a marker with a 5-3 win over O’Sullivan.
The Rocket now has a winning record over his old foe, but he has lost some huge matches to him over the years, including a Crucible final in 2014.
Of all their battles on the baize, the one that Selby remembers as the best came in the final of the UK Championship at the Barbican in York in 2016.
Selby won the match 10-7, picking up his second UK Championship title in the process, and he did so in some style, making centuries in each of the last two frames.
‘The best match I’ve ever played in standard-wise would probably be against O’Sullivan in the UK Championship final in 2016,’ Selby told ITV.
The game began with a break of 124 from O’Sullivan, but it was Selby who finished it with immense scoring prowess.
In the last five frames of the game the Leicester man made breaks of 137, 134 and 107.
He needed to as well, because O’Sullivan won three of the last six frames with efforts of 134, 130 and 82.
After winning the classic contest, Selby said: ‘To play Ronnie in any game is always a great atmosphere and gives you a buzz.
‘I had to be on the top of my game, and if I had only played at 60 per cent then I wouldn’t have won. It’s a great feeling.’
The respect Selby has for the seven-time world champion is clear, as he is in no doubt of the answer when asked for the toughest opponent of his career.
‘Toughest opponent would have to be O’Sullivan,’ he said. ‘He’s the greatest player to play our game, so I’d have to say Ronnie.’
The 41-year-old had a more surprising answer for his best achievement in snooker, though, given that he has won pretty much everything worth winning in the game.
A four-time world champion, three-time Masters champ and two-time UK champion, Selby has won 24 ranking titles and once spent over four years as world number one.
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However, it is not any of these monumental achievements he regards as his finest, instead it was making it onto the professional tour at just 16 years old and keeping hold of his spot among the elite since arriving in 1999.
‘I’d probably have to say turning professional at 16,’ he said of his best achievement. ‘I was such a young lad, it was my first time on the Challenge Tour to try to turn professional.
‘I got on first time and have stayed on ever since. So that would probably be it.’
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