Mark Selby wins World Snooker Championship

Mark Selby claimed his fourth World Championship title after an exciting 18-15 battle with Shaun Murphy in a packed Crucible theatre.

At points coming from behind, at times engaged in safety battles or big breaks that it seemed inevitable he would win, the match-up showcased Selby’s skills as one of the best all-rounders in the game. The match was an impressive one, both players clearly thriving on the return of the fans, and it was Selby who ultimately lifted the trophy.

Selby’s path through the tournament was initially an easy one. He steamrolled Kurt Maflin (10-1), Mark Allen (13-7) and, surprisingly, Mark Williams (13-3) to get to the semi-final. There, he faced stiff opposition from fellow champion Stuart Bingham, by far his biggest obstacle to overcome, but he eventually made the final after a 17-15 victory (and made history for being the first time a Crucible semi-final match had overrun).

There, he started on the back foot, with Murphy putting in an incredibly strong showing, clearly buoyed by his fine semi-final win against Kyren Wilson. In the first session, Selby finished trailing 5-3, and it was only down to some missed chances by Murphy that his lead wasn’t larger. But Selby came back in the afternoon session, making breaks of 85, 86 and 90 to overcome that deficit. Murphy was nearest to a century with a break of 98, but that was little comfort – Selby finished on Sunday with a 10-7 advantage.

In the third session, Selby held his nerve as the two players engaged frames and made century breaks in the process. That three-frame buffer remained, however, with Selby leading 14-11 prior to the final session. It was clear that Murphy needed to do something to rattle his opponent, and so his style became more attacking (and, as a result, crowd-pleasing). Half the time, it worked, half the time, it didn’t – both players won two frames each, shifting the score line to 16-13.

It was a dominant showcase that delivered him a much-deserved win and cements his name in the list of the sport’s great players

Selby won the 30th frame after victory in a 15-minute tactical battle led to him making an impressive clearance on 120, moving him within one frame of the title. But then, there were hints of a comeback, with Murphy going on to make centuries in the following two frames after Selby missed some nervy long reds. The crowd was behind Murphy – Selby has often been criticised for being a boring player to watch, and he certainly played less flashy snooker than his opponent this time (not that he minds, of course, if dry snooker gets him the win). There was a sense in the air that, if Murphy could pull this off, it would be a truly special victory. He knew he needed to take any chance that he had, and it seemed that he would.

The score line was at 17-15 as we entered what turned out to be the final frame of the tournament. Selby was on 46, and then he was faced with his Achilles heel in this match – a long red. Instead of taking it on, he opted for a safety shot – one which left another red available. Murphy made a break of 57, and then was faced with the last difficult red on the left-hand cushion. He seemed unsure whether to attempt the pot or play safe, and opted for the former – if he potted it, he’d have won the frame. It didn’t pay off, leaving an easy red for Selby in the jaws of the bottom-left pocket. From there, it was a simple clearance, and one which pushed Selby to championship victory.

It was not an easy win for Selby – Murphy made him work for it, and but for a few misses in the early frames, the 2005 world champion could have picked up his second world title. But Selby won, his form echoing his earlier world championship wins in 2014, 2016 and 2017 – he is now one of only six people to have won four or more world titles, and there’s no reason he couldn’t claim more.

In the post-match interview, Murphy praised his friend: “This puts him right up there. He has to be in the conversation [around the best ever] based on the number of World Championships we have seen. I’ve got him down as the best all-rounder we have ever seen. He is granite in all areas.” Last night, Selby certainly proved that, a dominant showcase that delivered him a much-deserved win and cements his name in the list of the sport’s great players.