Mark Selby Career Story: The Jester from Leicester's Four World Titles

Mark Selby is enjoying a glorious late-career surge. In August 2026 he won the China Open for a record fourth time – his 26th ranking title – having already captured the UK Championship and his first Champion of Champions crown in late 2025. In September he climbed back to world No. 2, and next month he returns to his home city of Leicester to defend the Champion of Champions title.

Four world titles, ten Triple Crown wins and a place in Crucible history: here's the story of the Jester from Leicester. Find more cue-sport legends in our snooker collection.

Mark Selby Fact File

Full name	Mark Anthony Selby MBE
Date of birth	19 June 1983 (age 43)
Place of birth	Leicester, England
Turned professional	1999, aged 16
Nationality	English
Status	Active on the World Snooker Tour
Ranking titles	26
World titles	4 (2014, 2016, 2017, 2021)
Nickname	The Jester from Leicester

Career History

Year	Tournament	Result
2007	World Championship	Runner-up
2008	Masters; Welsh Open	Winner (first ranking title)
2010	Masters	Winner
2012	UK Championship	Winner
2013	Masters	Winner
2014	World Championship	Winner
2016	World Championship; UK Championship	Winner
2017	World Championship	Winner
2021	World Championship	Winner
2023	World Championship	Runner-up (made a 147 in the final)
2025	Welsh Open; Champion of Champions; UK Championship	Winner
2026	China Open	Winner (26th ranking title)

Selected major results only. Selby held the world No. 1 spot in several spells, the longest from February 2015 to March 2019. Ranking title total correct as of October 2026.

Early Years

Selby started on the pool table at eight and switched to snooker at nine. He won the England Under-15 title in 1998 and turned professional the following year, aged just 16. In 2003, at 19, he reached his first ranking final at the Scottish Open.

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Breakthrough

His first Crucible final came in 2007, a defeat to John Higgins, but the big titles soon followed. Selby won the Masters in 2008 and his first ranking title at the Welsh Open the same year, then added a second Masters in 2010 with a 10-9 win over Ronnie O'Sullivan. He first became world No. 1 in 2011 and won the UK Championship in 2012.

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Crucible King

In 2014 Selby beat O'Sullivan 18-14 to become world champion for the first time. He retained his reputation as snooker's ultimate grinder by winning again in 2016 against Ding Junhui and in 2017 against Higgins, and claimed a fourth world title in 2021 by beating Shaun Murphy 18-15. In the 2023 final he made the first 147 maximum ever seen in a World Championship final, though Luca Brecel took the title.

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The Late Surge

Selby won the Welsh Open in 2025, beat Judd Trump in the final of the Champion of Champions on home soil in Leicester that November, then beat Trump again 10-8 to win the UK Championship in December. A switch to a new cue after around 20 years did him no harm: he won the 2026 China Open 10-6 against Noppon Saengkham and reached the British Open final in September.

Honours

Triple Crown (10)

World Championship: 2014, 2016, 2017, 2021
UK Championship: 2012, 2016, 2025
Masters: 2008, 2010, 2013

Other titles

26 ranking titles
Champion of Champions: 2025
Six-red World Championship: 2010
Championship League: 2024, 2026
WEPF World Eightball (pool) champion: 2006

Honours

MBE: 2022, for services to snooker and charity

Away From the Table

Selby is a lifelong Leicester City fan and a keen darts player who has taken part in darts exhibitions. Before snooker took over, he showed his all-round cue skills by winning a world eightball pool title in 2006.