Was Selby doing an Ebdon?

[Monique]

You never saw him do this in any of his other matches, and I watched nearly every session!

Well I think he did it also in the final frame in the match vs Carter. Carter had played extremely well untill then but at the end he was obviously completely exhausted. Selby was certainly tired also and this could explain the slow pace. But I had the distinctive feeling when I was watching that he was deliberately taking more time than stricly needed. It was so obvious, in my eyes, that time was playing against Carter and that Selby was aware of this.
I admit that this is only about how I felt when watching ...

[cueman]

I think when you have an instinct about something its usually right. As I said, the fact that quite a few people have now mentioned this I think says it all really. Forget the fact it was a final, I really think it has very little to do with it. Tactics play a large part in snooker and its not always done on the table. There are certain things that go on in matches that aren't always obvious to the spectators but I look at players body language and you could see what Selby was doing. He was 'milking' the occasion as well IMO, he never usually jokes or makes comments in matches but this was a first too.

[Ekphantos]

You mean it will show up only if he uses that deliberately? I could argue it could show up because that is a natural part of the game, he'd take his time to think about a shot every time before a tough shot. So how will you discriminate between these cases?

Well, I figure if it was just his nerves, in matches that aren't as important as the WC final he probably won't be as nervous so you won't see slow play . If he plays slowly even there, it might be tactics. But you are right, it might be difficult to discriminate...

[PaulTheSoave]

if you watched all his other matches you must have a valid point. At the latter stages I got a bit irritated in the arena as he took very long on some of the shots who looked obvious to me. Probably also a combination of duration and uncomfy seat I was sitting in for the last session. Could be tactics, I am not saying its good or bad.

[dannyd0g]

I think I was one of the first to mention it and now I've spoken to a few people and reading about this now I'll tell you for sure he was deliberately playing slow.

When you have played the game to a good standard and you know the shots you can tell when a player is taking more time than necessary and I'm convinced he tried to get into John's head. There were a couple of instances where he had a straightforward safety, i.e. there wasn't another option but he took nearly 2 minutes on one and over a minute and a half on another and I could tell he was doing it on purpose. He did this when he was back in the match and he could see John was struggling a bit. You never saw him do this in any of his other matches, and I watched nearly every session!

Another reason I know this is because he is tactically very good, he has to be having won the 8 ball championships which is arguably more tactical than snooker. In that you get a maximum time of 1 minute per shot. Take that into equation I think its realistic that you only need up to 1 minute to play any shot in snooker, except perhaps for extremely tough snookers or safety shots that need a lot of thought, for example when the reds are very open but you can't pot one.

Whilst it wasn't quite Ebdon tactics, he was certainly playing slow in the deliberate attempt to upset Higgins. It worked for the most of the final session until John stepped it up.

While some players like JH ("best snooker brain") may size up a situation quickly, who is to say that Selby as a pool player to world champion standard, does not have a more creative approach - and may be thinking of something other players would not. As we cannot see inside his brain we do not know he was deliberately playing slow. For that reason i would give him the benefit of the doubt.

Its difficult to progress these kind of arguments. I can see your points, though i still do not really agree. I would concede that maybe on one or 2 shots he did seem to take slightly longer than was necessary.

He certainly did not upset or unsettle JH though. The camera panned to him often during Selbys thinking time. Most of the shots caught Higgins looking perfectly calm and content. Nothing like the meltdown that Ebdon inflicted on Ronnie.

[Monique]

"Staying calm at the table and not letting the situation get to me is the one thing I can put this win down to," said the 31-year-old Scot. "I’ve tried to keep a positive outlook because in the past when I’ve been behind in a match I show my emotions far too much to the other player.

"I controlled that 99% of the time over the last 17 days and I think that’s been one of the deciding advantages for me.

An excerpt from JH post match! I genuinly admire him for being able to do this, and as he said it works. But then his composure is no proof that he was not frustrated by Selby's pace, maybe he just managed.
And Carter did melt down ...

Honestly, I think we'll never know for sure; and that's one reason behind the fact that referees so seldom warn players for "slow play".

[moondan]

Tactics are a part of sport, Im sure his manager and coach would have set his path out.
The guy plays a lot of pool and enters big private money games, he is a pool World champion and it showed.
Most championship 8 ball is played on the minute per shot rule and he certainly took almost that on some very easy shots and very much longer on some others.
He was there for the biggest dream of his life, I dont think he will get another chance so dont blame him for whatever tactics.

[missneworleans]

He was very confident and didn't want to do mistakes so that help btw!

[trevs1]

Tactics are a part of sport, Im sure his manager and coach would have set his path out.
The guy plays a lot of pool and enters big private money games, he is a pool World champion and it showed.
Most championship 8 ball is played on the minute per shot rule and he certainly took almost that on some very easy shots and very much longer on some others.
He was there for the biggest dream of his life, I dont think he will get another chance so dont blame him for whatever tactics.

Agree with much of this.

Personally, I was mightily impressed with how Selby performed, even though it appeared his scoring somewhat deserted him.

He struck me as 'a thinking mans player'.

I'd be a little surprised if he was deliberately seeking to take longer at the table than he needed to, as this could prove detrimental to the concentration required to perform.

The referrence to Pool is, I think very important, as 8 ball can be incredibly tactical. This could well be a natural rythm Selby has become accustomed to, however, even if it isn't, he should be commended on the way he went about doing what HE wanted, in a way HE wanted to do it.

The viewing masses are there to be entertained by whatever happens, whether that be suicidal long potting and savage scoring, or, long tactical frames where balls are missed all over the shop.

Selby, AND Higgins were there for one thing and one thing only.........

WIN............. that's all that matters when it over.

[kellie-text]

Selby definately slowed down on the final day but i don't think he should be criticized at all.

This was the biggest day of his life and after getting himself back in with a great chance of winning, he was entitled to weigh-up every situation and take that bit extra time.

I hope we see him win a tournament next season as he's a cracking guy with a sense of humour even in the most intense moments.

Thumbs up Mark Selby, what a star!

[Wity]

If any player critises the slow but legal play of another all he is bringing to the fore is his own inabilty.

[dantuck_7]

Towards the end of the 50 minute frame it seemed that Higgins was getting annoyed with Selbys tactics.

He rushed his escape on the snooker on the blue which ultimately lost him the frame. I thought this was going to be a bit of a turning point in the match. However Higgins then composed himself and finished really well.

At the start of the tournament Dott was annoyed with McCullochs tactics also....

[Kingscratcher]

I saw absolutely nothing wrong with the speed of Selby's play at any stage of the final. He took his time over some difficult shots, as did Higgins, and I really don't think there's anything in this at all. I also think that if he had reached 12.12 in the afternoon, which with a reasonable starting time he would have, he would have gone on to take the title. That's not to take anything away from Higgins though, who found another gear at 14.13 very impressively. Fantastic effort from Selby overall.

[gabrielsbride]

Well, Mark has never seemed to be a very fast player to me so why should he rush things in one of the most important matches of his life? I am sure he was not intending to annoy John by purposely playing more slowly than usual!

[WALTER-ITALY]

If any player critises the slow but legal play of another all he is bringing to the fore is his own inabilty.

SLOW play or fast play the important thing is respect the conduct rules and MARK doing that(in my oponion also PETER in the controverse match again RONNIE 2 years ago)..in all frames this final was a shock between two gentlemen