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Mark Selby humbled by praise.

Postby SnookerFan

Mark Selby says he has to "pinch himself" at being called a snooker great by his fellow professionals after his victory at the UK Championship.

The world number one's success in York saw him become just the sixth man in history to win each of the sport's 'Triple Crown' events more than once.

Six-times UK champion Steve Davis said Selby "is one of the greats already".

Leicester's Selby, 33, beat Ronnie' O'Sullivan 10-7 in a thrilling, high-class final which saw six centuries.

Davis added: "If he doesn't know how great he is, he should just watch the tape of that match."

Stephen Hendry, the winner of 36 ranking events, was also full of praise for Selby and beaten finalist O'Sullivan, saying the pair were the "best two players in the world".


Two-time world champion and triple Masters winner Selby told BBC East Midlands Today: "It means a lot when it comes from your fellow professionals.

"When it comes from the likes of Stephen Hendry and Steve Davis you have to pinch yourself.

"What I have achieved probably won't sink in until the end of my career."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/snooker/38234451

Re: Mark Selby humbled by praise.

Postby davisfan

Ye-eah. There's a large degree of diplomacy in the things pros say about fellow pros, Mark. It's why ROS always talks his opponents up and himself down. And Snooker Ambassadors(TM) like Hendry & Davis aren't going to say the current no.1 is just the most consistent in a weak era.

Bless the guy and all, but 'great' is chucked around way too readily these days.

Re: Mark Selby humbled by praise.

Postby SnookerFan

davisfan wrote:Ye-eah. There's a large degree of diplomacy in the things pros say about fellow pros, Mark. It's why ROS always talks his opponents up and himself down. And Snooker Ambassadors(TM) like Hendry & Davis aren't going to say the current no.1 is just the most consistent in a weak era.

Bless the guy and all, but 'great' is chucked around way too readily these days.


Hendry would.

He was the one who told Robertson his play was amateurish.

Re: Mark Selby humbled by praise.

Postby davisfan

Heh, point taken. But I think we're both right, kinda.

Hendry has a bigass ego and a hugely competitive nature; those qualities helped him win so much in the first place. And they caused him to retire, after the final realisation that he couldn't dominate any more. But he will always believe that he's the best and that he can judge other, lesser, players from his lofty perch.

But (x2)... part of the Official Narrative(TM) of snooker is that the standard of play is continually rising over time. It's understandable, psychologically speaking, why veterans and ex-pros - especially super-successful ones - would buy into this and parrot it. They played, they won, they gradually stopped winning... so maybe their long game went downhill a bit, but the players around them must have got better as well, right? It's a coping strategy.

Everyone's entitled to their opinion, of course. I just happen to think that the current era is weak; it's certainly not The Best Eva!!!, whatever Hazel Irvine might say about it.

It's the "Everything is awesome!!!" spin, together with a narrow historical focus, that gives rise to the hyperbole over every Tom, Fred & Harry who wins a title.

And that's a shame, because snooker has a rich, fascinating history, and lends itself perfectly to all sorts of analysis and comparisons. Players don't need to be hyped excessively; doing so insults them, those who came before, and us as fans. It's sport, not Strictly Come Dancing.

N.B. Fred is Fred because otherwise he'd be sausage. :roll:

Re: Mark Selby humbled by praise.

Postby PoolBoy

<laugh>
When I first joined this forum, I wondered why so many people were being called "sausage heads"!
A assumed it was a new expression - until I realised it was the work of the swear filter! <laugh>

Re: Mark Selby humbled by praise.

Postby SnookerFan

PoolBoy wrote:<laugh>
When I first joined this forum, I wondered why so many people were being called "sausage heads"!
A assumed it was a new expression - until I realised it was the work of the swear filter! <laugh>


You can turn that off, you know.

Re: Mark Selby humbled by praise.

Postby PoolBoy

SnookerFan wrote:
davisfan wrote:N.B. Fred is Fred because otherwise he'd be sausage. :roll:



:huh:

Tom, Dirk and Harry - if the middle name was spelled correctly - would be pounced-on by the swear-filter and would read Tom, sausage and Harry! <laugh>