At the British Open in his hometown of Leicester, Mark Selby will make his first appearance as a World Champion this season.
Notably, Selby's opponent was none other than his opponent, Sean Murphy, whom he defeated 18-15 in the world championship final in May. There will be no seeding on the Uk Open's draw, and all matches will be randomly selected. Selby and Murphy will meet again at Morningside Arena in Leicester after a gap of three months.
Four-time World Championship champion Selby from Leicester will receive home support for the tournament, and his clash with fellow Crown player Murphy is expected to be attended on Tuesday, August 17.
In the world championship final, Murphy's smooth offensive style and good audience interaction did win the support of many live audiences. In the fourth stage of the final, Selby walked into the scene with some boos, and he himself admitted that the boos on the spot were indeed the motivation to stimulate him to rush to the crown.
Selby, 38, said: "It's incredible, we haven't played in front of an audience for 12 to 15 months. With the advancement of the game and the liberalization of epidemic prevention measures, the final scene was finally opened to the audience, and it was quite incredible to be able to play in front of the whole audience. In the atmosphere of the time, Sean received considerable support. I think there must be a lot of Irish fans in the crowd. I was booed a bit when I played in the last stage of the late game, but it actually inspired me more. I don't know if the audience was drunk or just supporting Sean, but it really inspired me. ”
"I would see booing as a challenge. It can shift your attention more than a bland daily game. Every time I play with Ronnie O'Sullivan, it's the same scenario. As we all know, O'Sullivan's playing style and personal charm have attracted quite a few fans. I love challenging occasions like this, and I seem to be playing well. I was able to play well thanks in large part to this occasion. ”
"It's great to be able to play in the British Open. Since I became a professional, Leicester has not held a major ranking tournament other than the Champions League. It was an indescribable joy that I was able to walk out of my hometown stadium in the first game of the season as a world champion. Hopefully, there will be a lot of spectators on the scene. ”
"I've played as a world champion before, but who would be too much. After winning the 2014 World Championships, I've been feeling good throughout the 2015 season. I'm looking forward to the new season. I've only just started practicing in the last four or five days and I'm still a little rusty. ”
Selby's battle against Murphy has been ranked as one of the highest-quality World Championship finals in recent years. In this peak showdown, Murphy broke the hundred in a row to chase the score from 13:17 to 15:17. Murphy had a chance to clear the stage and chase another set, but after he lost the difficult red ball, he was reversed by Selby. Looking back on the inning, Selby admits that it started to look like a desperate clearance.
"Sean got up and the game became unusually tense. If he hadn't desperately won those sets at 13:17, the game would have been much easier. But he scored two consecutive shots to turn the score to 17-15. If he had won that set to keep the score at 17:16, he would have driven the atmosphere to cheer him up. I was lucky he didn't score that red ball. In that case, his efforts are worthy of recognition, but I will certainly try my best to win. Luckily, he didn't win the round and I took the opportunity to complete the clearance. ”
"I thought to myself, according to Sean's momentum at that time, clearing the stage was my only chance to win. With Sean's performance at the time, he might have taken advantage of that if I hadn't cleared the stage. As long as there are balls on the table, he is still confident of pulling back the set. Everything will go in the direction he was expecting. I said to myself, this is my chance, if I don't go to the stage, I will give him the opportunity in vain. I played very seriously during the process of clearing the stage. At that last moment, my joy overflowed. I know how difficult it is to clear the stage in this situation. ”
The upcoming new season offers the opportunity for Selby to return to world number one. Selby held the world's number one position for 49 consecutive months between 2015 and 2019. Judd Trump's absolute dominance of world number one, built up in nearly two years, has been chased by Selby to a gap of just over £100,000. Selby also hopes to have a better performance in the process of catching up with Trump.
"Ever since I lost my world number one position, getting back to top the table has been one of my goals. Judd is far ahead of the rankings, and rightfully so. He deserves his leading position and world number one position. The prize money at the World Championships is very high, and whoever wins will have the opportunity to hit the world number one next season. Now that I've won the World Championship, I have a chance to compete again. I'm still a lot behind, but if I can get off to a good start at the British Open, it will be a big help to get back to the top. ”