Trauma of dad’s death is Selby’s driving force
MARK SELBY’S smile widens. He is reminded that Ronnie O’Sullivan calls him ‘the torturer’, that John Parrott says he is ‘made of granite’.
‘My dad gave me a never-say-die attitude,’ says Selby, speaking to The Mail on Sunday at his Leicester home. ‘He made sure that I never gave in.’
Selby’s life has been touched by trauma and tragedy. When he was only eight years old, his mother left and remains estranged. His late dad, David, brought him up and inspired his love for snooker.
‘I started on a full-size table when I was nine,’ he says. ‘We went to a local social club, Newfoundpool, twice a week. My dad had a word with the committee to let me go in as you had to be over 18 to be in the bar area.
‘I watched dad play. He could make 50s and 60s. He taught me how to stand and hold the cue. I fell in love with it. I started beating the locals and they put a stop to me going in. Someone made a complaint. The bloke was in his late fifties. I was 10 and a half.
‘I went back there a few years ago for a documentary. The committee was still the same people. They were saying “how fantastic’ and I’m thinking, “You weren’t saying that a few years ago”.
‘I got to 15 and my PE teacher put a word in so I could be taught from home. It meant I could practise and do more junior tournaments.’
When Selby was 16, however, his father fell ill. ‘He got lung cancer. He was diagnosed in the middle of September and, five or six weeks later, he passed away.
‘We knew it was leukaemia but you hear about people pulling through. I thought he would be OK. But he deteriorated quickly. You see the change, the weight loss, every day he became weaker. It reaches the point when they don’t look like the same person.
‘I remember clearly the day he died. I was playing a game. He was in a hospice by that stage. I’d seen him the day before and told him I’d come back and see him after the game. I remember he told me not to show emotion if I miss or give anything away. It stays with me. I lost 5-4 that day. My friend then told me what had happened.
‘For months after that, I just wanted to curl up in a ball and snooker was the last thing on my mind. I did nothing really. I didn’t really practise. My friend took me in for three years. We just had the council house from dad but didn’t want to keep it because there were so many memories. He kept installing positive vibes into me every day.
‘He told me, “Dad would want you to play and be happy”. As time went on, I had a different mindset and did it for him. He drives me on.’
Selby, 32, runs his hand over his snooker table. ‘After I beat Ronnie to become world champion in 2014, I actually bought the table I played him on. It was about £4,500 including installation.’
The table is important to Selby, a reminder of the moment he achieved his dream. But it also acts a tribute to the sacrifices of his father.
Mark Selby, the world No1, begins his bid to win the Dafabet Masters on Wednesday with a clash against No15 seed Mark Williams. Reigning champion Ronnie O’Sullivan kicks off the competition today, playing 12th seed Liang Wenbo, with Ding Junhui up against Kyren Wilson in the evening session. MASTERS: TODAY-JAN 22 Live on BBC and Eurosport