HOME-TOWN HERO Mark Selby thrilled local fans in Leicester as he won the Champion of Champions.
Unplayable Selby, who was born and bred in the East Midlands city, beat Judd Trump 10-5 to lift the £150,000 title.
The match was sealed in frame 15 with a victory-lap closing break of 132 – his third century in successive frames.
The Leicester Jester, 42, won the WST Classic on home soil in March 2023 but this far outstrips that achievement, especially as it comes against the world No1.
Trump, 36, opened up with a 111 break but he has now lost THREE finals in a row, and is without a trophy lift in 2025.
There was a bizarre moment in frame 11 when Trump complained about the quality of the cue-ball but then asked for a replacement ball to be taken away after a poor break-off.
Selby said: “This is special. The Champion of Champions is like a replica of the Masters. Only got the best players in it.
“To play Judd in another final was another privilege for me. The only time I had played him before in a (ranking) final was 2011.
“I played good from start to finish and I had to, especially against a class act in Judd. I had to be on my A game to have any chance.
“I felt good in my game the last few days. I felt confident. It’s nice to see me play like that in a match environment – it feels like it has been a little while to play that standard.”
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Trump, who has had cue issues this past week, said: “There are no positives.
“Congratulations to Mark, he was the best player all week.
“He thoroughly deserved to win this trophy. Nice for him to win in Leicester.
“I couldn’t win to be honest with that cue. I am not going to make excuses. I chose to use that cue.
“I can’t get used to it. I struggled on the table. I didn’t know where to aim.
“Mark put me under pressure and scored extremely heavily. It showed why he is one of the greats of the game.”
List of all-time Snooker World Champions
BELOW is a list of snooker World Champions by year.
The record is for the modern era, widely considered as dating from the 1968-69 season, when the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) took control of the sport.
The first World Championships ran from 1927 – with a break from 1941-45 because of World War II and 1958-63 because of a dispute in the sport.
Joe Davis (15), Fred Davis and John Pulman (both 8) were the most successful players during that period.
Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O’Sullivan share the record for the most titles in the modern era, with seven each.
- 1969 – John Spencer
- 1970 – Ray Reardon
- 1971 – John Spencer
- 1972 – Alex Higgins
- 1973 – Ray Reardon (2)
- 1974 – Ray Reardon (3)
- 1975 – Ray Reardon (4)
- 1976 – Ray Reardon (5)
- 1977 – John Spencer (2)
- 1978 – Ray Reardon (6)
- 1979 – Terry Griffiths
- 1980 – Cliff Thorburn
- 1981 – Steve Davis
- 1982 – Alex Higgins (2)
- 1983 – Steve Davis (2)
- 1984 – Steve Davis (3)
- 1985 – Dennis Taylor
- 1986 – Joe Johnson
- 1987 – Steve Davis (4)
- 1988 – Steve Davis (5)
- 1989 – Steve Davis (6)
- 1990 – Stephen Hendry
- 1991 – John Parrott
- 1992 – Stephen Hendry (2)
- 1993 – Stephen Hendry (3)
- 1994 – Stephen Hendry (4)
- 1995 – Stephen Hendry (5)
- 1996 – Stephen Hendry (6)
- 1997 – Ken Doherty
- 1998 – John Higgins
- 1999 – Stephen Hendry (7)
- 2000 – Mark Williams
- 2001 – Ronnie O’Sullivan
- 2002 – Peter Ebdon
- 2003 – Mark Williams (2)
- 2004 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (2)
- 2005 – Shaun Murphy
- 2006 – Graeme Dott
- 2007 – John Higgins (2)
- 2008 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (3)
- 2009 – John Higgins (3)
- 2010 – Neil Robertson
- 2011 – John Higgins (4)
- 2012 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (4)
- 2013 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (5)
- 2014 – Mark Selby
- 2015 – Stuart Bingham
- 2016 – Mark Selby (2)
- 2017 – Mark Selby (3)
- 2018 – Mark Williams (3)
- 2019 – Judd Trump
- 2020 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (6)
- 2021 – Mark Selby (4)
- 2022 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (7)
- 2023 – Luca Brecel
- 2024 – Kyren Wilson
- 2025 – Zhao Xintong
Most World Titles (modern era)
- 7 – Stephen Hendry, Ronnie O’Sullivan
- 6 – Ray Reardon, Steve Davis
- 4 – John Higgins, Mark Selby
- 3 – John Spencer, Mark Williams
- 2 – Alex Higgins
