More snooker? Bring it on!

MARK SELBY BEGINS THE DEFENCE OF HIS SCOTTISH TITLE AS BREATHLESS TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE CONTINUES

THE TOURNAMENTS keep coming thick and fast for Mark Selby and the Jester from Leicester couldn’t be happier that there’s plenty of snooker to enjoy, writes Ross Lawson, of Sportsbeat.

The coronavirus pandemic put paid to most sporting action in 2020, but snooker has come out the other end relatively unscathed, with last week’s UK Championship the second Triple Crown event since lockdown first hit.

Most events have been played in a bubble in Milton Keynes since the summer, with fans unable to be in attendance in the Marshall Arena.

But with the latest ranking event, the Scottish Open, getting under way today, just a day after yesterday’s UK Championship final, Selby is pleased to have snooker to enjoy amidst the pandemic.

“Barry (Hearn, chairman of World Snooker) has done a fantastic job, just to be able to get tournaments on and for people to be able to play,” he said.

“It’s a shame we can’t go back out to China at the moment, but I think that will be something more down to our government than theirs.

“China is huge with snooker, we get really looked after each time we’re out there so it’s unfortunate that we’re not able to be out there, I’m sure we’ll be back for the start of next season.”

Selby returns to the table this afternoon with Yuan Sijun in his

Barry Hearn has done a fantastic job, just to be able to get tournaments on Mark Selby, pictured

sights in the opening round of the Scottish Open, also to be played in Milton Keynes.

And he goes into the tournament as defending champion, prevailing in Glasgow 12 months ago in his first appearance at the event since 2004. Lots has changed in the intervening year but the Leicester potter’s form hasn’t, with his UK Championship run only ended by an inspired Neil Robertson.

Selby reached the last eight of the Triple Crown event and while victory wasn’t his, he was far from disappointed with how he performed on the baize.

“I can’t be too downhearted, if I had chance after chance and then hadn’t won then I’d have been more gutted,” he added.

“I probably didn’t have six clearcut chances to win six frames so there was very little I could do out there.

“I don’t really feel that I’ve done that much wrong. I’m sitting here having lost 6-2 and there were hardly any balls I missed.

“In the first three frames, I didn’t get a chance at all – not even at a pot. Every time I came to the table I got snookered.

“It was one of those days that I was never really going to win – every long pot he went for, Neil made and was 100 per cent on his stats for everything. You can’t compete with that.

“If he plays like that, he’ll win the tournament. He’s played unbelievably against me the last three times we’ve played, if he plays like that then, in my eyes, he can’t be beaten.”

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