By Jack Miller, Sportsbeat - 0870 445 0156
MARK Selby admitted it was tough not to press the panic button as he held off a classic Ronnie O’Sullivan charge to win a stunning Betway UK Snooker Championship final.
The 33-year-old world No.1 came out on top on Sunday evening in York, winning 10-7 after a sensational day of snooker – but it was not all plain sailing as five-time world champion O’Sullivan battled back from 7-2 down during the evening session.
The standard was exceptional in York, with the pair notching six century breaks between them, including five in the final six frames.
The Rocket had brought the score back to 7-5 before Selby clinched the vital 13th frame was a massive break of 137 – the biggest of the match.
And the Jester from Leicester sealed his second UK crown in style with breaks of 134 and 107 before celebrating with wife Vikki and daughter Sofia.
“It feels amazing,” he said. “To win the UK Championship is an amazing feeling anyway, but I always said I wanted to beat Ronnie in major finals and now I’ve done that in the Masters, the World Championship, and here.
“I played really solid in patches this afternoon, didn’t really miss anything and Ronnie wasn’t completely on his game.
“But this evening he really put me under pressure and asked a lot of questions, so I was really pleased with how I held up under that.
“You don’t panic at 7-5 when you’re playing anyone else, but because Ronnie does it so quickly and bangs them in, before you know it your head’s spinning.
“In my eyes him and Stephen Hendry are the two greatest players to play the game; I’ve now played him in all three Triple Crown finals which is a marvellous feeling.
“I just tried to stay in the moment, not get too ahead of myself, and play one ball at a time.”
The result means reigning world champion Selby can now boast two sets of Triple Crown titles, having won twice at the Crucible and triumphed three times at the Masters.
And having dedicated his world title earlier this year to the memory of his father-in-law Terry, Selby revealed this win was for good friend Bobby Lee.
He said: “My friend Bobby lives out in China and travels with me quite a lot out there. He was with me for this week, but had some tragic news for him and his wife and had to fly home.
“His wife was expecting and was six months gone, so it was awful news.
“He would have been here with me until the end; he’s come to the world championships the last three years and I’ve won two of those. So this is very much for him.”
PLEASE LEAVE IN FINAL PAR – Follow the UK Championship LIVE on Eurosport with Colin Murray, Jimmy White, Neal Foulds and Ronnie O’Sullivan.
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