selby's career performance

[evergruven]

intrigued by selby's recent play, and win
I dug into his career stats and found interesting patterns
from 2003-2014, his record in ranking finals is 4-8
from 2015-2021, his record in ranking finals is 16-2 (!)

I honestly don't know a lot about snooker, nor its players
so I'm curious if anyone can speak to a clear difference in mark's game
anything physical and/or mental that's helped him excel more recently?

 

[drsnooker]

I know he started working with Chris Henry last year and worked on getting his confidence back. He also had some neck problems years ago...
Don't remember what changed in 2014 to make the bigger change. Perhaps he should write a book!

 

[Geosnookery]

intrigued by selby's recent play, and win
I dug into his career stats and found interesting patterns
from 2003-2014, his record in ranking finals is 4-8
from 2015-2021, his record in ranking finals is 16-2 (!)

I honestly don't know a lot about snooker, nor its players
so I'm curious if anyone can speak to a clear difference in mark's game
anything physical and/or mental that's helped him excel more recently?

Thanks for pointing this out. Interesting stat.

My ‘guess’ is that earlier he was coming up against O'Sullivan, Higgins and Williams at their peak...and a few other players such as Ebdom, Fu and Doherty. And, understandably, he just didn’t have the experience.

Many players seem to hover in that 6 to 16 ranking area for most of a decade and then make a break through or fade. They win a ranking tournament every second year or so that maintains their ranking top 16 position. This allows them to qualify in limited tournaments that reinforce those rankings. The group of top 16 players aren’t a lot different from last year...Yan has been added. Gilbert is out.

 

[evergruven]

My ‘guess’ is that earlier he was coming up against O'Sullivan, Higgins and Williams at their peak...and a few other players such as Ebdom, Fu and Doherty. And, understandably, he just didn’t have the experience.

quite reasonable. his competition in finals definitely appears to have been stout. impressive turnaround regardless.
not everybody takes advantage the way he has of lesser competition, more experience, etc.

 

[Swighey]

He was also playing a lot of pool in the 00s. He was world champion at English 8 ball in 2006 (beating Darren Appleton). Full on commitment to snooker, along with other factors already mentioned by others, will have made a difference.

 

[evergruven]

He was also playing a lot of pool in the 00s. He was world champion at English 8 ball in 2006 (beating Darren Appleton). Full on commitment to snooker, along with other factors already mentioned by others, will have made a difference.

great point, thanks!

 

[Geosnookery]

He was also playing a lot of pool in the 00s. He was world champion at English 8 ball in 2006 (beating Darren Appleton). Full on commitment to snooker, along with other factors already mentioned by others, will have made a difference.

Completely agree:

Pro Snooker players often mention that you are either 100% dedicated or out. There is a lot of empathy among the players. Ding is fading and the first thing a few players defend him with is ‘he’s a new father’ and can’t make the sane commitment.

Hendry’s mediocre performance in his two return tournaments shows how even one of the best ever can’t step away from the table when there is such a depth of talent.

 

[bmaniac]

Many players seem to hover in that 6 to 16 ranking area for most of a decade and then make a break through or fade. They win a ranking tournament every second year or so that maintains their ranking top 16 position. This allows them to qualify in limited tournaments that reinforce those rankings. The group of top 16 players aren’t a lot different from last year...Yan has been added. Gilbert is out. Completely agree: Pro Snooker players often mention that you are either 100% dedicated or out. There is a lot of empathy among the players. Ding is fading and the first thing he did was place a bet at horsebetting.com and a few players defend him with is ‘he’s a new father’ and can’t make the sane commitment. Hendry’s mediocre performance in his two return tournaments shows how even one of the best ever can’t step away from the table when there is such a depth of talent.

I agree with both of you. Still, I am a big big fan of selby and I watch almost every game. and that is from a german guy with almost no matches being broadcasted in local tv :-/

 

[Cameron Smith]

I think it has mostly to do with his age and that he was still developing as a player. He definitely hit his stride around 2015. He was world number 1 a year or so prior to that but that was mostly on the strength of good performances but not nearly as many wins. But around the time he won his first world title he had put the pieces of his game together where he was not only one of the best tactical players but also one of the best break builders and long potters. Nowadays snooker players tend to hit their prime in their early 30's (Judd Trump is another example) and that is definitely true for Mark.

 

[Geosnookery]

I think it has mostly to do with his age and that he was still developing as a player. He definitely hit his stride around 2015. He was world number 1 a year or so prior to that but that was mostly on the strength of good performances but not nearly as many wins. But around the time he won his first world title he had put the pieces of his game together where he was not only one of the best tactical players but also one of the best break builders and long potters. Nowadays snooker players tend to hit their prime in their early 30's (Judd Trump is another example) and that is definitely true for Mark.

They hit their prime ‘and’ will more likely keep in the top 16 for another 2 decades if that is a priority. Selby, Robertson, Ding, Trump, Lizowski are very health conscious.

Selby is going to be around for a while. He seems a stable fellow. Judd Trump could go either way ...he reminds me more of those Eccentric Chess
Masters who walk a fine line between genius and snapping.