An open Mark Selby reveals he considered retirement from professional snooker last summer

After a rejuvenating season that has seen him win three titles on the World Snooker Tour, Selby is one of the very serious contenders for this year's crown.

Selby's Crucible pedigree speaks for itself. In the last 11 editions of snooker’s blue riband tournament, Selby has won the title four times, been a runner-up once, and reached the one-table (semi-finals) on a further occasion.

The 41-year-old Englishman has a treasure trove of happy memories from the place, however, 12 months ago came one of his lowest career moments when he went out to Crucible debutant Joe O’Connor - another Leicester cueist - 10-6 in the first round.

The former world number one has been open about mental health issues that he has suffered with, and they were a factor at last year’s Championship. Reflecting on, Selby feels that he should have skipped the event.

"Last year, looking back, I probably shouldn’t have played at the World Championships” said Selby.

“I wasn’t in a great place mentally, wasn’t enjoying the game, and coming here you need to be the total opposite to that.

“Even when I came here last year, I knew in the back of my mind that I had no chance of winning, I just thought that if I won one or two games then my memories of playing here might trigger something special.

“But it didn’t and I shouldn’t have played. But you live and learn.”

Following his early exit from the 2024 Championship, Selby’s concerns continued into the off-season, and were such an issue that he pondering leaving the professional circuit altogether.

"After that I had a big break in the summer, deciding what I was going to do, whether I was going to carry on or stop playing all together” explained Selby.

“I spoke with my doctor and he said ‘Look, just pick and choose a bit more instead of trying to play in everything, and if you’re not feeling right, then don’t play.’

“I managed to do that, and I’ve been able to turn it around and that’s shown in my results.”

Selby: “My form is as good as it can be”

It has been a very positive season for Selby - his best on the professional circuit since claiming his fourth and most recent World Championship title in the 2020/21 term.

In September, he defeated John Higgins 10-5 in the final to win the 2024 British Open - twelve months on from being the runner-up - to end his so called 'ITV Curse'; he had never won a singles event broadcasted by the UK television station.

In the new year, he made a maximum 147 break on his way to winning, and successfully defending, the Championship League Invitational title on home soil in Leicester.

Just several days later, having overcome illness at the start of the event, Selby won his second Welsh Open title - the 24th ranking event trophy of his illustrious career.

At the most recently completed competition on the World Snooker Tour, Selby made the final of the Tour Championship. In a record-equalling final where each player compiled four century breaks, Selby won seven consecutive frames to lead 8-5, but Higgins swung the pendulum back for a 10-8 win.

Heading into this year's Crucible, Selby has produced 71 century breaks this term, and he is feeling good about the shape of his game: "I hope I can challenge for the win. I feel like my form is as good as it can be, and I’ve played some good stuff over the last few months, so my confidence is quite high.

“But it’s a tough tournament, you can easily go out there and freeze.

“Even though I’ve been here a few times and won it a few times, it’s such a tough tournament to win, so hopefully I can maintain my form that I’ve played in the last few months and I’ll have an outside chance.”

Selby doesn’t see himself playing professional snooker in five years time

Selby is currently fourth in the world rankings. Elsewhere within the world’s top six are all three members of the famed ‘Class of 92’.

Despite Ronnie O’Sullivan, John Higgins, and Mark Williams all being aged either 49 or 50, though, - and still within the very top echelons of the sport - Selby doesn’t feel that he’ll be around on snooker’s premier circuit at those ages.

“I don’t see myself playing in another five or 10 years. Especially now with what I’ve been through, I just take it one day at a time.

“The thing for me, I’ve always said that once I stop enjoying the game, that’ll be the time that I stop playing, irrelevant of whether I’m number one in the world or number 70.

“If you’re not enjoying it, then you can’t put the hard work in to give yourself a chance of even competing and challenging to win these tournaments.

“But at the moment, I am enjoying it and I’ll carry on as long as I do.”

Selby is the final seed player to get their 2025 World Snooker Championship title tilt underway. The second and concluding session will be Thursday night.

Looking ahead to his opening assignment at the Crucible, Selby said: “Ben and I are very good friends and we’ve played a lot together, so it was horrible really when that draw came out.

“I played Joe (O’Connor) last year in the first round, who’s from Leicester, and once they both qualified I was chuffed to bits for them, but I was thinking, ‘Guaranteed I’m going to draw either Joe again or Ben’. It’s just how it goes.

“It’s not nice, but it's great that he's qualified because it has been twelve years since he qualified. The only positive is that one of us will make it to the next round.”

Please visit our 2025 World Snooker Championship tournament information centre here for details on the draw, results, format and order of play.

Mark Selby was speaking to Midnite.

Midnite, the official UK Betting and Casino Partner of the World Snooker Championship 2025, will be giving away £25,000 for every 147 hit during the tournament as part of their Midnite Maximum campaign.

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