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 once again faced Higgins in the first round and this time caused a huge upset by defeating the reigning Grand Prix and Masters champion 10–4, before being eliminated in the next round by Mark Williams. In the 2007 World Championship, Selby beat Stephen Lee 10–7 in the first round, having won eight successive frames from being 5–0 behind. He then defeated former World Champion Peter Ebdon 13–8, with five centuries (including three-in-a-row) to reach the quarter-finals. In the quarter-final, he beat Ali Carter 13–12, from 11–8 up and 11–12 down, in a match that lasted well over nine hours. He