Sunday 10 July 2011

Selby seals Wuxi Classic title

Mark Selby must step up to win trophies this season.

Today, he grabbed his first of the season with a 9-7 win against Ali Carter in the Wuxi Classic final - and I just wonder what a milestone this could become.

The Jester enjoyed his most consistent season to date last year as he climbed up to third in the world rankings with the help of runners-up place in both the German Masters and China Open.

Bu while the points he collected in the 2010/11 season were impressive, he knows he has to lift silverware this season because when every player calls time on their career, this is how they are judged.

Luckily for Selby, who has surprisingly won just a single major ranking event in his career so far, he's very close to adding more.

While today's victory is unlikely to rank alongside his career highlights when he does eventually finish playing the game, I get the feeling this could be the start of a season where he begins proving his quality with trophies.

What I like most about Selby is how well suited his game is to win tournaments. He's a very able break-builder, as he proved in Wuxi by making his 200th competitive century, but he's also one of the most tenacious match players circuit, which he again counted on today to fight past an equally-determined Carter.

With this win comes a cheque for £20,000 - but he won't have long to bask in the glory of his success. He must now travel straight to Bangkok to ironically pair up with beaten-finalist Ali and fly the flag for England in tomorrow's world cup.

The good thing for England fans is that it's obvious both players are playing good snooker in order to make this final. They'll have a great crack at another title next, I'm sure.

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