In-form Mark Selby completes perfect dozen as he leaves opponent potless at the Scottish Open

Surely the best player in the world right now, newly-minted UK Champion Selby continues his incredible run of results on the professional circuit, stretching his winning streak to 12 matches across three tournaments.

Earlier this week in the Scottish capital, Selby eliminated Robbie McGuigan 4-1 and Hossein Vafaei 4-0 in the last 64 and last 32 respectively, producing a century break in each assignment.

Against Thai ace Saengkham in the last 16, four-time world champion Selby faced an opponent who also travelled to Edinburgh feeling very good about their game having reached the semi-finals of the Snooker Shoot Out last weekend. Saengkham lost to eventual title winner Alfie Burden in Blackpool.

But Saengkham proved to be no match for an inspired and lethal Selby who is producing his best snooker in several years.

'The Jester from Leicester' fashioned runs of 94, 104 and 71 in the crushing win, outscoring his opposite number by 429 points to 4.

Those four points for Saengkham came in frame three following a foul from Selby, meaning the 33-year-old didn't pot a single ball throughout the entire match.

Earlier this season, Shaun Murphy recorded a similar win at the Xi'an Grand Prix when he didn't allow opponent Kyren Wilson to pot a ball either.

Next up for Selby at the £550,400 Home Nations Series event is exciting prospect Chang Bingyu in Friday’s last eight stage.

The 23-year-old from China - who defeated Stephen Maguire and Si Jiahui in earlier rounds - got the better of world number two Kyren Wilson, 4-1, crafting breaks of 125 and 104 in the process.

Selby on course to complete a double hat-trick in Edinburgh

The 42-year-old Englishman is going for two hat-tricks this week. Firstly, he is aiming for a third Scottish Open title, regaining the crown he won in back-to-back years in 2019 and 2020.

Should Selby achieve this, he would be the first player in the tournament’s history to win it three times. Currently, he is tied with fellow two-time title winners Ronnie O’Sullivan and Gary Wilson.

Selby is also trying to win three tournaments from as many outings on the sport’s top flight.

Last month, he secured his maiden Champion of Champions title when he denied world number one Judd Trump 10-5 in the final on home soil in Leicester.

Having not made the cut for the invitational Riyadh Season Championship in Saudi Arabia, Selby’s next engagement on the World Snooker Tour arrived at the UK Championship in York where he saw off Lei Peifan, Zhou Yuelong, Barry Hawkins, Shaun Murphy, and then defending champion Trump 10-8 in the final.

Completing a trio of titles at snooker’s second most-prestigious ranking event following previous triumphs in 2012 and 2016, Selby scooped the tenth Triple Crown title of his illustrious career, becoming only the fourth player in the modern era of the sport to reach double figures on that list.

Selby did not enter last week’s Shoot Out, so his 12-match winning sequence is across the Champion of Champions, UK Championship and the Scottish Open.

Should Selby lift The Stephen Hendry Trophy on Sunday evening and pocket the £100,000 winner’s kitty, it would be his fifth title of 2025 having also tasted success at the Championship League Invitational and Welsh Open earlier in the year.

To view the full draw, results, match schedule, and other information from the 2025 Scottish Open, visit here.