Mark Selby successful, some pundits and fans began to view this nickname with irony. Former world champion and now BBC commentator Dennis Taylor has given him the nickname “Sat Nav Selby” due to his knowledge of angles and ability to lay and escape from snookers. Selby is also a pool player. He was the 2006 WEPF eight-ball pool world champion and was the 2015 Chinese Pool World Championship runner-up. Selby was born in Leicester, England. Malcolm Thorne, the brother of Leicester-born snooker player Willie Thorne, spotted Selby's snooker ability and provided Selby practice so he could practise every day after school. Selby's
Mark Selby from 5–1 behind in the first round, Mark Williams 6–1 in the quarter-finals, and Graeme Dott 6–5 from 4–1 and 5–4 down in the semi-finals. He then defeated defending champion Neil Robertson 10–6 in the final. He reached the quarter-finals of the German Masters, but lost 1–5 against Barry Hawkins. He lost in the last 32 of the Welsh Open 0–4 against Joe Perry, and lost his number one position to Trump. Selby then reached the quarter-finals of the World Open, but lost 3–5 against Neil Robertson. At the China Open, Selby became only the fourth player in history to