Mark Selby is optimistic about his improving form as he looks ahead to next week’s Unibet British Open in Cheltenham, where he reached the final last year.
The four-time Crucible king considered retirement at the end of last season as his game slumped and he suffered first round defeats at the Tour Championship and the World Championship.
But the 41-year-old has since decided to keep his career going and this week at the English Open he has reached his first ranking event quarter-final since February.
“I’m feeling in a good place and enjoying it,” said the Leicester cueman, who meets Ishpreet Singh Chadha in the last eight in Brentwood on Friday evening. “I have played pretty well so far this season. The results haven’t really showed that, but a few times I have just come up against others who have played better than me on the day, and I can accept that.”
Last year at the Centaur Arena at Cheltenham Racecourse, Selby reached the final before losing an epic battle against Mark Williams by a 10-7 scoreline.
“There was a key frame at 8-7 because at that point I felt I was the stronger player,” he recalls. “He made a great clearance to go 9-7 rather than 8-8. But over the two sessions he deserved to win. It’s amazing that Mark is still winning titles at nearly 50 years old. This month in Saudi he was one ball away from winning that event.
“Cheltenham is a great venue, I have always enjoyed playing there and hopefully this event will stay there for good.”
The Unibet British Open will run from September 23-29 and it’s an outstanding field of snooker’s biggest names, as Williams defends the title against the likes of Judd Trump, Ronnie O’Sullivan, Mark Allen, John Higgins, Selby and World Champion Kyren Wilson.
All of the top 16 seeds will be in action on the opening day of the ITV-televised event on Monday.
Tickets for all sessions, including the final on Sunday September 29, are still available. For details CLICK HERE
