Mark Selby wants to avoid Neil Robertson fate as he approaches huge milestone
Mark Selby is closing in on his 1,000th professional century, but does not want to get there in the same circumstances Neil Robertson did.
Selby continued the brilliant form he has been showing this season in a 5-1 hammering of Jackson Page at the Shenzhen Open on Wednesday.
The four-time world champion lost the first frame but then went on a scoring rampage, knocking in three centuries of 132, 135 and 138 along with a 77.
Those three tons took his career tally to 980 as he gets ever closer to becoming the fifth player in history to reach 1,000 centuries.
Ronnie O’Sullivan was the first to do so, followed by John Higgins, Judd Trump and Robertson, with the Australian hitting the milestone in underwhelming circumstances.
The Thunder from Down Under made his 1,000th ton in an International Championship qualifier against Umut Dikme at Ponds Forge in Sheffield, which was played behind-closed-doors.
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Robertson celebrated the huge achievement, but only in front of a solitary guest of his German opponent.
Selby does not fancy the same kind of experience when he hits four figures, telling WST after beating Page: ‘I don’t know how many I’m on at the moment but I do need to look because I don’t want to be making my 1000th century behind closed doors, that’s for sure.’
O’Sullivan being the first player to reach 1,000 centuries was an iconic moment in the sport, especially as he did so in the last frame of an entire tournament.
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The Rocket reached the landmark as he beat Robertson 10-4 to win the 2019 Players Championship, doing so in front of a jubilant crowd in Preston.
Remarkably, Higgins and Trump both reached 1,000 centuries in September 2024 and both did so in defeats to Mark Allen.
The Wizard of Wishaw got to 1,000 in an English Open defeat to the Pistol and the Ace in a British Open loss to the same man.
With another 20 needed to reach four figures, Selby will not get there in Shenzhen this week, but will do this season, with big events to come before the end of 2026 including the Northern Ireland Open, International Championship, Champion of Champions and UK Championship.
The Jester from Leicester has been really impressive so far this season, winning the China Open in August and reaching the British Open final earlier this month.
‘It’s amazing what confidence does, just in general,’ he said. ‘I’m confident with my game at the moment, I know that I’m playing some good stuff. When I get my chances I’m confident that I’m going to take them and today was one of those days.
‘The standard of snooker nowadays, if you’re not scoring when you get a chance you can’t be winning tournaments and competing at the back end. I seem to be doing that at the moment and long may it continue.’
There have been some big shocks already at the Shenzhen Open, with the likes of Zhao Xintong, O’Sullivan, Higgins and Mark Williams all falling early.
Selby continues to look very strong, though, and will take on Stephen Maguire in the last 16 on Thursday.
Zhao’s early defeat to Scott Donaldson gives hope to the chasing pack in the race to dethrone him as world number one in the near future, with Selby, Trump, Robertson and world champion Wu Yize all in the hunt.
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