Mark Selby compiled a maximum 147 break en route to retaining the Championship League Snooker invitational title at the Mattioli Arena on Wednesday.
The Leicester man triumphed on home soil for the second successive season, guaranteeing his involvement at next season’s Champion of Champions in the process.
It didn’t look great for the former world champion when he lost two out of his opening three league fixtures in the initial round-robin phase.
But Selby beat world champion Kyren Wilson in his fourth match before fighting back from 2-1 behind to edge Si Jiahui in a deciding frame.
In the last of his round-robin ties, the 41 year-old produced a moment of magic to make his sixth career 147 break during a 3-2 defeat of Xiao Guodong.
With four victories out of six, Selby comfortably qualified for the knockout phase alongside Judd Trump, who boasted a 100 per cent record, Wilson, and Hossein Vafaei.
Selby scored a brace of century breaks against the latter in the semi-finals to set up a title-deciding encounter against Wilson, who had knocked out Trump in the other last-four clash.
Wilson looked to be on course to capture a second trophy in as many weeks following his dramatic success at the German Masters on Sunday.
Yet the Kettering cueist barely got an opportunity in the final, with Selby contributing runs of 99 and 100 to record a dominant 3-0 victory.
Selby pockets £10,000 for emerging as the champion of the Winners’ Group, but he takes home more than £25,000 in total prize money through the various other bonuses that were on offer in the event.
“This event is difficult to win,” Mark Selby said. “I’d have been happy to win it once, but twice is even better.”
“I played a lot better today compared to yesterday. I scored well when I got my chances, and it’s nice to beat somebody like Kyren.
“He’s the man of the moment, and you get confidence from it.”
The triumph represents his second of the 2024/25 snooker season, adding to his earlier glory during the first half of the campaign at the British Open.
Selby will next be in action at next week’s Welsh Open.
Featured photo credit: Championship League Snooker
I make this his 41st career title but there’s often conjecture about which tournaments are valid when counting overall titles as opposed to just ranking titles.
Selby going back-to-back follows John Higgins winning successive editions. Higgins holds the outright record with four triumphs.
The Jester’s 147 was the 16th made in the competition’s 17 year history.
Dave Hendon said recently that Ali Carter is the only player to have appeared in every edition of Championship League. Carter cites his 2008 run in the event as a factor in him reaching that year’s World Championship final.