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 the final and went on to lose the final 4–10, receiving the runner-up prize of £90,000. In the World Open, Selby defeated Alan McManus 5–1 in the quarter-finals and Marco Fu 6–4 in the semi-finals, but lost 6–10 in the final to Shaun Murphy. At the World Championship, Selby beat Michael White 10–9, Ali Carter 13–9, and Alan McManus 13–5 to reach his first semi-final at the Crucible since 2010. He played world number one Neil Robertson in a repeat of the UK Championship final, and this time came out a 17–15 winner in a match described by commentators as