Player Of The Month---Mark Selby

This new feature on worldsnooker.com will focus on one player each month, giving an insight into his life on and off the table. First up is Pokerstars.com Masters champion Mark Selby.
Part one: Thorne on my side

“I first picked up a cue at the age of seven, playing English pool. My dad was a keen player so my brother and I went to the club with him. I started playing snooker when I was nine, and of course at first I found it difficult as it’s very different to pool. But by the time I was 11 I had made my first century.

“Willie Thorne’s brother Malcolm was the owner of the club and he took me under his wing. He gave me free practice time, so I started playing every day. My family didn’t really have enough money to fund my snooker, so Malcolm was the one who helped me out with sponsorship. He was very much my mentor in the early part of my career – and he was the same for a few other juniors in my age group, like Ricky Walden. He set up a lot of junior tournaments which were very competitive and really helped us develop our games.

“I was gutted to find out recently that Malcolm has got cancer. He’s having chemotherapy and has just finished the first cycle. I spoke to him afterwards, he said he was feeling very tired but keeping positive. Everyone on the snooker circuit wishes him a quick recovery. If it wasn’t for him, I would never have made it as a snooker player.”