Mark Selby It was noted by eventual world champion John Higgins, amongst others, in his victory speech, that Selby was the most improved player on the tour. These performances in the 2006/07 season earned Selby a place in the top 16 for the very first time for the 2007/08 season, where he was ranked 11th. Selby's wins over Lee, Ebdon, Carter and Murphy at the 2007 World Championships also won him the inaugural 888.com Silver Chip award for outstanding performance, awarded by the Snooker Writers' Association at the post-championship ball. After a moderate start to the season, Selby had a strong run
Mark Selby defeat. Despite this he finished the season as the world number one for the fourth year in a row. Selby's first semi-final of the season came at the International Championship courtesy of knocking out Neil Robertson 6–4, but he lost 9–4 to John Higgins. Selby did not drop a frame in reaching the third round of the UK Championship and saw off Jamie Jones 6–5, admitting later that his opponent had deserved to win the match. He then eliminated Dechawat Poomjaeng and Matthew Selt both 6–1, before being whitewashed 6–0 by Robertson in the semi-finals. Selby lost in the quarter-finals