Mark Selby slams his ‘pathetic’ performance in shock World Championship defeat
Mark Selby slumped to a surprise first round defeat at the World Snooker Championships (Picture: Getty) Mark Selby branded his performance ‘pathetic’ after he slumped to a surprise defeat against Ben Woollaston in the first round of the World Snooker Championships. The world No.4 held a slender 5-4 advantage heading into last night’s deciding session, but won only three frame of a slugfest that went on beyond midnight. Woollaston, who came through two gruelling matches in qualifying to reach the main tournament for only the second time of his career, held is nerve and surprisingly outplayed four-time winner Selby in the safety exchanges he would usually dominate. The 37-year-old Woollaston will now face former semi-finalist Si Jiahui, and Selby had no complaints about the outcome of a match that left a sour taste in his mouth as he ended his season on a low. ‘I didn’t deserve to win,’ said Selby afterwards. ‘Ben played some great stuff, his safety was unbelievable at times but I still had my chances. It was pathetic really from me. To play like that is disappointing. ‘It’s the same old story – I try too hard and stop myself from playing. I love Ben to bits, I’ve known him for years. I grew up with him and have seen him progressing. ‘To finish off the season like that has put a dampener on the season. My goal going forward is to win more Triple Crown events.’ Ben Woollaston ground out a 10-8 win over Mark Selby (Picture: Getty) For Woollaston, meanwhile, the victory represented, by his own admission, the biggest of his career. The 37-year-old said: ‘I got to the final of the Welsh Open and my biggest win was beating [Mark] Williams in Wales and it was packed, but this is bigger. ‘I know I’m pretty good tactically, but Mark [Selby] is the best at that. I stayed pretty tough in the safety battles and that’s what won me the match.’ Earlier on Thursday, former champion Luca Brecel completed a fightback from 5-1 down to beat Ryan Day 10-7 and reach the last 16. Luca Brecel got the better of Ryan Day in their first round clash (Picture: Getty) The Belgium Bullet was nowhere near his best and benefited from several strokes of good fortune along the way. It was a difficult defeat to swallow for the experienced Day, who at 45 years old conceded his best days were likely behind him. ‘Even with a 5-1 lead I was looking over my shoulder and not looking forward. I’m just not over-confident and I’m definitely not the player I once was,’ he said. ‘I turn up and play and try. I’ve been doing it a long time so it’s obviously a lot closer to the end than the beginning. I would’ve beaten myself up the way I played if that had been a couple of years ago, but I’ve come to terms with it. ‘I still like competing, I just haven’t got the game that I had. As long as I’m on the tour I will still play and make a living out of it. I need to try to do something different [in matches] but I can’t see my game really improving much.’
Mark Selby branded his performance ‘pathetic’ after he slumped to a surprise defeat against Ben Woollaston in the first round of the World Snooker Championships.
The world No.4 held a slender 5-4 advantage heading into last night’s deciding session, but won only three frame of a slugfest that went on beyond midnight.
Woollaston, who came through two gruelling matches in qualifying to reach the main tournament for only the second time of his career, held is nerve and surprisingly outplayed four-time winner Selby in the safety exchanges he would usually dominate.
The 37-year-old Woollaston will now face former semi-finalist Si Jiahui, and Selby had no complaints about the outcome of a match that left a sour taste in his mouth as he ended his season on a low.
‘I didn’t deserve to win,’ said Selby afterwards. ‘Ben played some great stuff, his safety was unbelievable at times but I still had my chances. It was pathetic really from me. To play like that is disappointing.
‘It’s the same old story – I try too hard and stop myself from playing. I love Ben to bits, I’ve known him for years. I grew up with him and have seen him progressing.
‘To finish off the season like that has put a dampener on the season. My goal going forward is to win more Triple Crown events.’
For Woollaston, meanwhile, the victory represented, by his own admission, the biggest of his career.
The 37-year-old said: ‘I got to the final of the Welsh Open and my biggest win was beating [Mark] Williams in Wales and it was packed, but this is bigger.
‘I know I’m pretty good tactically, but Mark [Selby] is the best at that. I stayed pretty tough in the safety battles and that’s what won me the match.’
Earlier on Thursday, former champion Luca Brecel completed a fightback from 5-1 down to beat Ryan Day 10-7 and reach the last 16.
The Belgium Bullet was nowhere near his best and benefited from several strokes of good fortune along the way.
It was a difficult defeat to swallow for the experienced Day, who at 45 years old conceded his best days were likely behind him.
‘Even with a 5-1 lead I was looking over my shoulder and not looking forward. I’m just not over-confident and I’m definitely not the player I once was,’ he said.
‘I turn up and play and try. I’ve been doing it a long time so it’s obviously a lot closer to the end than the beginning. I would’ve beaten myself up the way I played if that had been a couple of years ago, but I’ve come to terms with it.
‘I still like competing, I just haven’t got the game that I had. As long as I’m on the tour I will still play and make a living out of it. I need to try to do something different [in matches] but I can’t see my game really improving much.’
