Mark Selby It was noted by eventual world champion John Higgins, amongst others, in his victory speech, that Selby was the most improved player on the tour. These performances in the 2006/07 season earned Selby a place in the top 16 for the very first time for the 2007/08 season, where he was ranked 11th. Selby's wins over Lee, Ebdon, Carter and Murphy at the 2007 World Championships also won him the inaugural 888.com Silver Chip award for outstanding performance, awarded by the Snooker Writers' Association at the post-championship ball. After a moderate start to the season, Selby had a strong run
2017 World Snooker Championship 20, O'Sullivan attempted a 147 maximum break. He ran out of position after potting the 13th red and had to take the pink instead of the black and made a clearance of 146, which still ended up as the highest break of the championship. Barry Hawkins reached his fourth Crucible semifinal in five years, beating Stephen Maguire, the only qualifier to reach the quarterfinals, 13–9. The semifinals saw a repeat of the 2016 final, with Mark Selby playing Ding Junhui. Selby would defeat Ding 17–15. Selby would be ahead for most of the match, pulling away from Ding after the