Mark Selby is currently closing in on 1,000 career centuries – the current count is 931 to be precise – but few of the big breaks he has made over the years will better the break of 69 he made to win the UK Championship on Sunday night.
It has to be right up there with the best of Mark’s illustrious career, engineered from nowhere following a protracted safety bout after he had missed two gilt-edged chances to win the match and tournament in the previous frame.
With the reds in an awful mess, all the colours off their spots, and his head surely in bits, a break of 30 would’ve been a good effort from there, never mind the frame-winning one he produced with only the black and yellow to go at from the colours.
A fitting end to a wonderful final and another memorable tournament in York, with Judd Trump fighting like the great champion he is to deliver us a dramatic final session that had appeared unlikely when the latter slipped 7-2 behind.
It was a frustrating day for Judd, who didn’t always enjoy the rub of the green, with bad kisses here and unlucky nudges there, but we must give him so much credit for the way he continues to battle and fight, despite still searching for his imperious best.
That’s three big finals Judd has reached in recent months, losing them all, and while he will no doubt be frustrated to have not won a tournament for over a year now, it says much about his quality and attitude that he’s still good enough to be there or thereabouts.
I’d say he might only be operating at 75-80 per cent of his capabilities right now, which tells you he must be a bloody good player. But he doesn’t look quite as dangerous as when he’s playing at his best, almost like he’s swimming against the tide. When everything does click into place for Judd, he could well go on a winning spree.
And that’s the beauty of the calendar from here. You’ve got the Masters straight after Christmas, which was the catalyst for Shaun Murphy’s latest revival 11 months ago, before a host of big tournaments leading up to the World Championship.
Win one of those two remaining Triple Crowns, you can view the season as a success, and Judd has built a formidable record at the Masters in recent years. If he can find that extra 10 per cent or so at Alexandra Palace, the other 15 players in the draw better look out.
I’ve mentioned it before, but we still haven’t had any one player win two ranking events this season, though Mark can surely lay claim to being the player of the season so far having backed up his victory at the Champion of Champions with Sunday's triumph.
And I think that’s right. Mark has elevated himself right back towards to the top of the game, and he’s starting to play to a level similar to when he was dominating the sport from 2014 to 2017, winning three world titles in just four years. He’s still been winning tournaments since, but I’m not sure he’s played to the same, outstanding standard we’ve seen from him over the last few weeks.
As I said earlier, that break he produced to win the final was right up there. As a former player, and like those who study the finer points of the game closely, you can only admire a break like that. And you could see it from the crowd inside the Barbican Centre, too. The people of York know their snooker, and it was apparent they really appreciated what Mark had achieved on Sunday.
A peak Mark Selby is always good to see, and I know how much importance he places on the Triple Crown events, particularly the UK Championship. He’s won 10 of snooker’s majors now, surpassing the great John Higgins in the process, which is a remarkable achievement. I dare say he’s got a few more left in the locker, too.
It’s clear that Mark isn’t the only big fan of the UK Championship – it’s a tournament all the top players want to win. I think that’s the case now more than ever, and it must be said that a terrific job has been made of revamping the event for the better.
That’s not to say it wasn’t working before, but moving away from the flat 128-player draw to a seeded system not only rewards the top-16 performing players in a way their efforts deserve, but it has also given the tournament, and the venue in York, more gravitas. And the week is more special for it.
The event takes a better shape and feels as a Triple Crown should. Take Sunday, for instance. The whole day smelt like an occasion – a big final between two of snooker’s biggest hitters – and it’s moments like those that snooker needs to showcase to a wider audience.
Another big win this week was the pockets, and I know Neil Robertson caused a bit of a stir with his comments about pocket sizes last week. My view is that they did play tighter in York, but that the snooker was better for it which, in turn, made for a better tournament.
The current Ashes scoreline means cricket is a touchy subject with me at the moment, but it reminds of T20 cricket. We all love to see the big sixes, just like we enjoy hundred breaks in snooker, but everything in moderation and, ultimately, we want to see a fair contest.
When people are knocking in four centuries per match because some of the pockets in some of the overseas events are patently playing on the generous side, that will eventually turn fans off because they want to enjoy all aspects of snooker – not just big break after big break.
And as for Neil's comments about certain players benefiting from bigger pockets, it’s hard to disagree. With tighter pockets in York, I think we saw the cream rise to the top, two of the great modern players delivering a terrific final, and I don’t think anyone watching will have been disappointed with what they witnessed.
In fact, we didn’t see a break of 140 or more all week, but I haven’t heard a single complaint about that. Bigger pockets, to me, can act as a leveller, and in Triple Crown events in particular, we shouldn’t want that. We should want to see the best all-round players being rewarded for their excellence – and I think we were.
There is clearly a balance to be struck, and the year Luca Brecel won the World Championship, the pockets played more generously than when say Kyren Wilson was victorious a year later. I still think the best player won on both occasions, but it’s something I hope snooker is mindful of. We don’t want snooker to become another version of 9-ball pool.
There will be no Selby or Trump in Blackpool this week for the Shoot Out – a real shift in gear from the UK Championship – but at the time of writing, it’s looking like world champion Zhao Xintong will join Masters champion Murphy in the draw.
I’m pleased to see that, because it will add credibility to an event I really do enjoy. It’s usually a hectic few days, especially on the Saturday when five rounds are completed before we get our winner, but I look forward to this one every year.
The great thing about the Shoot Out is the opportunity it provides. It gives someone not necessarily in the top 16 a chance of doing something special, the opportunity to transform their career.
The Shoot Out has done that for the likes of Michael Holt and Tom Ford in recent years, booking them a ticket to the Champion of Champions the following year, and then, just to prove it’s not the lottery many think it to be, Mark Allen claimed the prize in 2023.
Allen is another big name back for more this week, which is good to see, but I’m hoping for a feel-good story lower down the rankings. The Shoot Out is usually good for one of those.
