Selby out to enjoy UK Championship

World number 4 Mark Selby has been talking in his latest Eurosport blog about the upcoming UK Championship, as well as reflecting on the disappointment he felt following his Premier League defeat to Ronnie O’Sullivan last week…

To view Mark’s blog on the Eurosport website please click here.

It’s good to see one of the best players in the world at the moment being so open on things such as the schedule and the performances of himself and other players. I did not see his match against Hendry but with three centuries against someone in decent form, I can see why he rates his performance so highly. He is also right about his performance the next day against O’Sullivan however, he just couldn’t string a break together until it was too late and struggled to take advantage if the opportunities he was given.

Looking ahead to the UK Championship, if ever there was an illustration needed to demonstrate the strength in depth that snooker has right now, then an opening round tie between Mark Selby and Mark Williams is surely it. If both can play to anything like their best then it should be a really close match, though it has to be said that there is a reason why Williams is outside of the top 16 at the moment and it is not because he is playing well. Provisionally he is back in there at least so hopefully he can give Selby a good run for his money.

Finally it is good to see Selby answering questions in his blog, not least because one of them was mine! With the likes of John Higgins recently expressing a desire to move the World Championship abroad if the money is right, it is also good to hear Mark going against the grain somewhat and saying that he hopes that it can stay at the Crucible. It just would not be the same anywhere else and from a personal point of view, hopefully they can come to some sort of agreement beyond 2010…