Mark Selby snooker's Triple Crown events at least twice. His other ranking titles include the Welsh Open in 2008, the Shanghai Masters in 2011, the German Masters in 2015, the China Open in 2015, 2017 and 2018 and the International Championship in 2016 and 2017. Known as a patient, tough competitor with strong safety play, Selby is also a prolific break-builder and has compiled more than 500 century breaks in his professional career. His nickname, "The Jester from Leicester", was given to him by snooker compere Richard Beare after Willie Thorne came up with it during commentary. However, as Selby became more
Mark Selby father died of cancer when Mark was 16, two months before he joined the main professional tour. Selby showed potential as a teenager, but did not consistently shine until his twenties. He began his career on the UK Tour in 1998, at the time the second-level professional tour. He reached his first ranking final aged 19, the Scottish Open in 2003, where he finished runner-up to David Gray, losing 9–7 in the final. Before that, he had also already reached the semi-finals of the 2002 China Open, despite leaving his hotel room at 2 a.m. instead of 2 p.m. for