Ssb - selby's not so perfect ten

[MySockPuppet]

There's pressure on everyone, of course, at the Grand Prix but especially so for Mark Selby.

I note that some bookies have him second favourite for the world title next year, even though he is drawn in the same quarter as the tournament favourite, Ronnie O'Sullivan.

Selby hasn't been in a ranking event semi-final for a year and is down to tenth in the provisional rankings.

This doesn't add up to a crisis but is certainly food for thought.

I'm a fan of his, both as a player and a professional. He couldn't have played any better against John Higgins at the Crucible this year but lost out in, to say the least, dramatic circumstances.

But for that he could well be world champion. However, sport is littered with what ifs...

Selby has become a very solid match player but in Glasgow he plays another one in the shape of a resurgent Ken Doherty, just the sort of draw he wouldn't have wanted.

The list is so tightly packed that a first round defeat could leave his top 16 place in doubt, although it's worth remembering he got zero points from last season's Bahrain Championship through no fault of his own.

Even so, for a player tipped by many as a likely mainstay of the top four Selby needs a good run to restore confidence and send himself back up the rankings.


More...

[Monique]

Mark has not been in a ranking semi final for a year indeed but IMO this sentence is a bit misleading. He has been in 2 finals, the PL and the Masters. The latter can't certainly not be considered a minor event and what a match it was! Mark tenth current standing in the ranking doesn't reflect his value although it must be said he has not been the most consistent of players over the last year. Yet, for me he clearly belongs to the top 8 if not to the top 4.

[superaussie]

i agree about the masters but the premier league is nothing more than an exhibition event

[Monique]

i agree about the masters but the premier league is nothing more than an exhibition event

It's still an event featuring a selection of the very best players in the game. I suspect that if Robbo was more at ease in it you'd be more enthousiastic about it.

[Templeton Peck]

This is a player whose entire game is built on gamesmanship. The comparison with Ken Doherty is a striking one in many ways. Ken isn't flash player and is renowned for his solid matchplay, and sometimes regarded as a bit of a slow player. Dott is another one. But these are players who don't take particulalry take an age on their shots, they decide which shot they are going to play, get down and play it. Often their decisions lead to protracted tactical battles, but the game is kept on the table. It's matchplay. It's snooker.

This isn't the case with Selby, whose game plan is to frustrate his opponents with delay tactics. When I first witnessed the extent to which he would deploy this technique against John Higgins in the world final I was astonished. Higgins was caught totally off-guard. It was an absolute disgrace that Selby received no warning from the referee. Davis was cricticised when he would occasionally play a frame or two that way against Alex Higgins and Jimmy in the 80s. Ebdon was branded a cheat by a national newspaper when he did it against Ronnie in 2005. Selby has continually got away with it, at least with the authorities. When he was being thrashed by Ronnie in the Welsh final, he resorted to the same tricks once again and Ron didn't win another frame. It was with considerable amusement that Ronnie was determined not to lose the Masters final in similar fashion, and notably gave Selby a dose of his own medicine, deliberately pausing between shots. It turned that final into draining durge, which is a shame because a final featuring Ronnie should always be a showcase for snooker. When Ronnie's final is possibly the most boring of the year then you've got problems!

Selby noticeably only reached two finals last year, and one of them was the Premier League where the field is traditionally weak - you only really have to win one match proper to make it into the final. In the Masters, he was the top seed so enjoyed a slightly easier draw. His performance in the ranking events was uneventful, and I don't think this is due to a dip in his performance, but like Ronnie the other players are onto him and have a strengthened resolve in the face of such underhand tactics. The game is up, or rather the gamesmanship is up.

Selby is a good player despite his lack of sportsmanship, with a sound tactical game. It should keep him in the top 16 for a few years but an era of Selby dominance was a promise built on a house of cards. He won't win the world championship unless there is a particularly weak field one year like in 2006, but he could and probably should win a few tournaments. Hopefully he will view his downward trajectory as an indicator that the delay tactics don't really yield the results anymore. He's in the top 16 now, he's a good enough player to stay there on his own merits, and hopefully he will draw a line under the whole thing and adopt a more sporting attitude.

[steedee]

he played a part in the two greatest matches of last season and had he have beaten Higgins im pretty confident he would have gone on to lift the trophy. it was a bit of a shock losing in shanghai first round but he's due a good run again at some point and in truth there's a few playes off the boil at the minute.

as for being second fav for the worlds... If ronnie falters then Mark would for me be a massive favourite to make the final and as hes one of the few top players who can keep up with ronnie at his best i can see why he's so fancied

[wildJONESEYE]

Mark has not been in a ranking semi final for a year indeed but IMO this sentence is a bit misleading. He has been in 2 finals, the PL and the Masters. The latter can't certainly not be considered a minor event and what a match it was! Mark tenth current standing in the ranking doesn't reflect his value although it must be said he has not been the most consistent of players over the last year. Yet, for me he clearly belongs to the top 8 if not to the top 4.

Reaching the Masters Final as defending champion was impresive and Reaching The PL Final he played the best ive seen under shot clock from a debutant and the best bar Ronnie ever under shot clock .

but your career is defined in Ranking events and he isn't producing the goods..but i expect that to change sooner rather than later.

Reaching finals in those other tournaments isn't good enough to guarantee a spot the following year.

Stephen Lee Reached the final of the Masters he might never play there again and Williams and Selby reached the PL Finals and not asked back the following year in Williams case the last 4 years.

[cueman]

I have to agree with Templeton to a large degree that when Selby was enjoying his successful period it was due in large part to gamesmanship and slowing down his opponent. Now players know about his strengths and weaknesses it seems that it has led to his downfall somewhat.

He is a good player, but his purple patch appears to be over now but he is still a contender to win any event if he finds his form.

I think what he has been struggling with more than anything is he is not winning frames in one visit anymore. Its like his early days, he usually needs two or three chances to win a frame whereas during his good run 18 months ago he was up there with O'Sullivan and Higgins in clearing up the table. As Davis put it on commentary, he nicknamed him the hoover for the ability to clear up difficult chances, that seems to be the main thing lacking right now.

[poolqjunkie]

Mark has not been in a ranking semi final for a year indeed but IMO this sentence is a bit misleading. He has been in 2 finals, the PL and the Masters. The latter can't certainly not be considered a minor event and what a match it was! Mark tenth current standing in the ranking doesn't reflect his value although it must be said he has not been the most consistent of players over the last year. Yet, for me he clearly belongs to the top 8 if not to the top 4.

Agreed entirely.

[wildJONESEYE]

I have to agree with Templeton to a large degree that when Selby was enjoying his successful period it was due in large part to gamesmanship and slowing down his opponent. Now players know about his strengths and weaknesses it seems that it has led to his downfall somewhat.

so it has nothing at all to do with his break-building which has in the last 3 season given him 50%+ of his career centuries.

reason selby has struggled is his own expectations. when he gets the balance right he will be back and he will be better.

[Rane]

I think what he has been struggling with more than anything is he is not winning frames in one visit anymore. Its like his early days, he usually needs two or three chances to win a frame whereas during his good run 18 months ago he was up there with O'Sullivan and Higgins in clearing up the table. As Davis put it on commentary, he nicknamed him the hoover for the ability to clear up difficult chances, that seems to be the main thing lacking right now.

Well he was the player with most centuries last year, by my knowledge that wins you a frame!

[steedee]

yeah i hate it when players use gamesmanship by clearing up consistently its not fair on the opponent

[Looki]

Well he was the player with most centuries last year, by my knowledge that wins you a frame!

Indeed it wins you a frame but nothing else. The fact that he made most centuries last season doesn't mean that he won most of the frames that he played, which is obvious looking his results.

I think the reason for Selby not being successful lately is because of his tactical play. He falls into his own tactics. He tries too hard to do everything in difficult situations: attack, play possition and play safe at the same time. I think that's one of the reasons he lost to Higgins in WC. He'd need to play a little bit more straight forward sometimes and I think that should do the trick for him.

[cueman]

Having more centuries than anyone else doesn't mean a lot at the top level. Its about winning the scrappy frames and also the clearences under pressure which is where Selby is starting to struggle. Hendry is the all time leading century break builder and is still capable of them but he's nowhere near good enough anymore to win a title.

[Migtsf]

There are only 2 reasons for Selby not being successful lately:

1. Ronnie O’Sullivan
2. John Higgins