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
World Snooker Championship finish in the final. This was the first Championship sponsored by a betting company after the banning of tobacco sponsorship. Dott won £200,000 for his victory with the 32 Crucible players getting at least £9,600, both significant reductions on the 2003 prize money. In the last round of the qualifying competition Robert Milkins had the first 147 break made during qualifying for the championship. Despite his maximum, Milkins lost to Mark Selby. The 2007 Championship was won by John Higgins who beat qualifier Mark Selby 18–13 in the final. The match finished at 00:55 am, even later than the 2006