MARK SELBY hopes his daughter did not twig how much cash he got on his return to the winners’ circle.
The four-time world snooker champion will be wired £150,000 for lifting the Champion of Champions on Sunday in his home town of Leicester.
Selby, 42, celebrated the 10-5 final win over Judd Trump with wife Vikki and their 11-year-old daughter Sofia.
But with Christmas only around the corner, he said: “It was her birthday the other day, so I’ve already just bought her an iPhone.
“I don’t know what she’ll be wanting now. But hopefully she didn’t hear them say how much I got for winning this!”
Having perhaps learned the hard way in life, Selby does not splash the cash these days and tries to think about his pension pot when he is an OAP potter.
He said: “I mean I’ll probably invest my winnings in property a bit later on. I’ve got a couple of properties at the moment.
“Obviously you don’t want to just go out and splash it too much.
“Because when my career finishes, I don’t want to get to the point where I need to be like working on the bins or something to try and get some money coming in.
“I need to try and spend it wisely and invest it wisely.”
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The world No11 is one of the most granite players around and was once branded a “torturer” by Ronnie O’Sullivan for how he managed to win frames of snooker.
His methodical, slow-paced style of play can attract negativity online but Selby finished this tournament on the back of three successive centuries.
The LeicesterJester – who is missing from this week’s cash-rich Gold Ball event in Saudi Arabia – said: “I get a lot of criticism on social media.
“I’m probably one of many people that do in any walk of life.
“But I try not to take it to heart. I know people have got their favourites. People have got their opinions and I respect that.
“All I’m doing is just going out there, trying my hardest and trying to make it as difficult for my opponent as possible. That’s all I try to do.
“I don’t set out to go out there to play 50-minute frames or one-hour frames.
“I don’t enjoy them as much as you guys don’t enjoy them!
“All I do is just make it hard for my opponent. If they beat me, at least I can feel like I’ve given it everything and I’ve made them win, rather than just lay down and roll over.”
