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.

Ali was beaten by Mark in the QFs, Mark and Ding bowed out in the semi-finals. This was an important event for Ding though: indeed he did enough to secure his spot as a seeded player in the 2023 World Championship. The event was won by Shaun Murphy.

All detailed results are available on snooker.org.

All detailed results are available on snooker.org

This was Mark Selby’s second ranking title of the season and the 22nd of his career. He beat Pang Junxu 6-2 in the final. He made three centuries during that match.

Here is what Mark had to say to World Snooker after the Final:

“I played well all day, against John Higgins in the quarter-finals and Ali in the semis, then continued that in the final. I was just gutted at the end not to make a fourth century! I have been striking the ball well in practice and it was nice to take that to the match table. Even when I won the English Open in December I wasn’t hitting the ball as well as I was this week. Hopefully, I can carry that into the Tour Championship and then the World Championship. I’ll be going to Sheffield confident

The other grove players involved, Ding Junhui, Judd Trump, and Mark Selby, all lost in round one.

After the match, Ali, who had been brilliant all week, had no complaints but was disappointed by his performance in the Final. (source WST)

“Shaun played great. I think he played the best all week. There wasn’t really much of my game there today. I was struggling to find anything. Normally my strongest part is my safety and I wasn’t finding the baulk cushion. Shaun was just potting every long ball he was looking at. When he is on we all know what happens. It is unbelievable he hasn’t won for three years.”

This ended a 7 year of title drought for Ali who was obviously delighted as reported by WST. Here is what he had to say after his win:

“It is immense. My partner Lee is here with me and I was saying to her that the journey of getting to ten feels like a mile away. I just stayed in the moment and took it bit by bit. I heard a song earlier, which was Step by Step by Whitney Houston. I thought to take it step by step and day by day and I’ve got there,”

“To be honest, over the last two or three months I’ve had dreams about winning a tournament. When I’ve woken up, I’ve been absolutely distraught. After Chris Wakelin beat my highest break in the Shoot Out, which I wasn’t happy about, I said to my friend that normally means something good is around the corner. It certainly was.

“My coach Chris Henry has been massive. He has transformed me. He is a great person to be around and has become a friend. He has given me so much confidence in my technique. I think I missed one ball in that match. I know Tom didn’t play as well as he can, but I put him under a lot of pressure.

“There are add-ons from winning the tournament and that is all going on in your head. You need to keep that quiet and stay in the here and now. All of that is in the future, but you need perspective on life. You have to live for the moment.”

Here is the last frame, shared by Eurosport on their YouTube Channel:

All the detailed results are available on snooker.org

The only other Grove player who had qualified for the event is Neil Robertson. He was beaten in the last 16 round by Chris Wakelin.

All detailed results are available on snooker.org

Judd was outplayed during the first session, trailing by 6-2 at the end of the afternoon, and he lost the first frame in the evening as well. But from 7-2 down he made a real fight of it and managed to force a deciding frame. It was in vain though as Mark Allen eventually emerged as the winner.

Judd was gracious in defeat:

“I had my chances in the last frame. I was just trying to make a fight of it and trying to give the crowd something to cheer about. The support was amazing.

“I want to say congratulations to Mark. Although I felt I had chances to win, he was very solid all day and put himself in that position where he had a few chances to get over the line“

Ding Junhui, Mark Selby, Neil Robertson and Ali Carter were also in the draw but all lost in the first round.

This was a very important win for Mark whose last title before this one was already more than a year and a half old. It was also a very emotional win for a man who had been battling mental health issues for years and had been very open about his struggles over the recent years.

Here is the report by WST:

Selby Ends Barren Streak With English Title

Mark Selby won his first silverware in 19 months as he pulled away from 4-4 to beat Luca Brecel 9-6 in the final of the BetVictor English Open in Brentwood.

A tearful Selby described his victory as his “biggest achievement.” In January he revealed he was facing a long-term battle with mental health, a challenge he admits he may never fully overcome. He is learning to appreciate snooker as a game to enjoy whatever the result, rather than allowing defeats to devastate him. This success, and the chance to lift the trophy alongside wife Vikki and daughter Sofia, will bring the 39-year-old immense satisfaction.

Selby’s last title came at the Crucible in May 2021 when he won the World Championship for the fourth time, so tonight’s triumph is a welcome resolution to a long spell where his form and confidence have wavered. It’s the 21st ranking title of his career and he holds the Steve Davis Trophy for a second time having won the event in 2019.

The £80,000 top prize lifts the Leicester cueman from third to second in the official world rankings and from 21st to fifth on the one-year list. He’s also up to second in the BetVictor Series rankings, just £3,000 behind leader Mark Allen, with only three events to go until the £150,000 bonus is awarded.

Beating Neil Robertson in the semi-finals on Saturday, ending a sequence of seven consecutive defeats against the same player, was a significant breakthrough in terms of self-belief, and he showed his trademark coolness under pressure tonight in a tense conclusion.

Brecel battled back bravely from 4-1 down to 4-4, but made too many errors in the evening session, and also had the disappointment of missing the chance of a 147 in frame 14. The 27-year-old Belgian, who has now lost half of his six ranking finals, banks £35,000 and climbs one place to tenth in the world.

Selby has won five of his seven meetings with Brecel
After finishing the opening session tied at 4-4, Selby took the first frame this evening with an excellent 51 clearance, and the Englishman went on to make a 61 in the next to lead 6-4. Brecel replied with a 122, the highest break of the match.

The key moment of the pivotal 12th frame came when Brecel, trailing 36-45, failed to gain prime position on the last red, then missed a thin cut to a top corner. Selby took advantage with a cool clearance to go 7-5 ahead at the interval. Frame 13 came down to the last red and Selby trapped his opponent in a difficult snooker, and from the chance that followed he went three up with four to play.

Brecel’s 147 attempt in frame 14 reached 113 before he over-cut a tricky pot on the 15th black. And when he missed a difficult long red at the start of the next frame, it proved his last shot as Selby sealed the result with a superb 87.

“It has been a long time coming,” said Selby, who has now won 21 of his 31 ranking finals. “I was disappointed to finish the first session 4-4, I was probably the better player but credit to Luca because he dug in from 4-1 down.

“This means everything to me, it is my biggest achievement for sure. I know I have won four world titles and a lot of other tournaments, but I have been to the well and back over the last year, it was been emotionally and physically draining. So it’s a special one today. At the end, after I had potted match ball, I saw Vikki and I was welling up. In the interviews at the end, I struggled to get my words out. It shows how tough it has been. If I had lost I would have been gutted, but still felt I have come a long way.

“The crowds this week have been fantastic, I said that to Luca before the final. They appreciate good shots. I hope we come back here to Brentwood next year.

“This doesn’t give me a right to win anything else, it could be another 19 months, but it gives me confidence. I can look forward to going to the Masters now. Last time there it wasn’t very nice, this time I will go with a smile on my face.”

All detailed results are available on snooker.org

All Grove players reached at least the last 32 round. Ding and Ali Carter lost at that stage.
Mark Selby, Judd Trump, and Neil Robertson reached the quarter-finals: Judd lost to Thepchaiya Un-Nooh in the deciding frame on a respotted black! Neil beat Mark by 5-2.
Neil, who was only just recovering from a chest infection, lost to Joe O’Connor by 6-3 in the semi-finals.

Judd had made a 147 in the first round. It was his 8th maximum break.

All the results are available on snooker.org