The 2023 World Snooker Championship was a particularly happy one for the Grove players. Luca Brecel won it, beating Mark Selby in the final. Mark was trying to win a fifth World Title but ran across an inspired Luca Brecel. Luca – who is back at the Grove – won the final by 18-15 to become the first World Snooker Champion from mainland Europe. For Mark though, getting this far after battling severe mental health issues in recent years was a great achievement and something extremely positive. Mark was full of praise for his opponent and optimistic about his own future in the game and privately.

Although he didn’t win the championship, Mark made history. Indeed he made a 147 in the final, the first-ever maximum break in a World Snooker Championship final.

You can watch it here:

Here is what Mark had to say after the match, as reported by WST.

Selby said: “I battled and gave everything but every credit to Luca he deserves it. Congratulations to Luca, he’s a great talent and a great lad with a lovely family. I wish him all the best. It was great to make a 147 at the Crucible, I never thought I would do it in a final.

“It was an amazing achievement and something I will remember for the rest of my life but it’s not about me today, it is about Luca, he played fantastic over the two days.”

The other Grove players involved in the Championship though didn’t fare well. Ali Carter, Judd Trump and Ding Junhui all lost in round 1. Neil Robertson reached round 2. All detailed results are on snooker.org.