MARK SELBY ended a nine-year wait to become snooker’s UK Champion – as he survived Judd Trump’s late-night fightback.
The Leicester Jester, 42, is the Duke of York for the third time following a far-from-compelling 10-8 victory over the Juddernaut at the Barbican.
This was his first triumph in the second-biggest event on the calendar since 2016.
And he took home the £250,000 winners’ top prize as he dethroned the defending champion in the full glare of the BBC TV cameras.
World No1 Trump has surprisingly gone a whole year without a trophy and this is the fourth time in a row he has lost a final in 2025.
Selby – who got the better of Trump in last month’s Champion of Champions finale in Leicester – raced into a 5-0 lead with consecutive breaks of 77, 51, 97, 70 and 105.
Fans may have feared an annihilation of the sport’s leading potter and maybe even an early cut in the nighttime.
Dubai-based Trump, playing in front of his parents for the first time since the Crucible Worlds in May, hit back in frames six and seven with scores of 74 and 75.
While this ensured there would be no whitewash, Selby then moved 7-2 ahead with back-to-back frames.
In frame 11, Selby turned down a free ball offer by the referee Olivier Marteel and then Trump fluked in the red, without appearing to apologise, from a snookered position.
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As Trump closed the gap to 7-5 with a 105 break, there was the possibility he would become the third person in a UK final since 1993 to overturn a five-frame or more deficit.
But after the evening’s mid-session interval, even though he missed some key blacks off their spots and produced some twitches, Selby held off Trump with instrumental breaks of 77 and 69 for a tenth Triple Crown.
Selby said after his win: “It’s amazing. To win another Triple Crown event, they are not easy to win. It took me nine years to get back here.
“Judd put me under pressure, even at 5-0 up.
“I was all over the place at the end. It’s great to win again here in York. I love the city and venue.
“My target every year is to win one of the three main tournaments. All the top boys are the same. You are judged by the Triple Crown events, very similar to tennis and the Grand Slams.”
Selby was also asked about his daughter Sofia, 11, watching on, who was two when he last tasted victory in the UK Championship.
He said: “She’s seen me play in a lot of tournaments. She said the other day, ‘Do you actually enjoy watching Daddy play because it takes so long, it’s so boring.’
“It’s my job at the end of the day. I try my hardest every single time. Sometimes I am not pretty to watch.
“I never ever leave the table without trying, whether I win or lose, and that has always been my attitude.”
Trump said: “I could have done with him letting me win another frame. It wasn’t me playing amazing. Mark let me back in.
“He was great at the start. It’s hard to get over the line in these finals. Mark was the best player all week. He thoroughly deserved this win.”
