Mark Selby’s lengthy reign as snooker’s world number one could come to an end this Sunday at the Tour Championship.
The 35-year-old has topped the rankings since February 2015, winning two World Championship titles since then, but the #1 spot is now under serious threat.
It has not been a great season for Selby and his lead at the top has been cut to £71,725 by world number two Ronnie O’Sullivan.
The ‘Rocket’ can now oust Selby from top spot by winning the Tour Championship in Llandudno this week thanks to the hefty £150,000 first prize.
If Ronnie fails to lift the trophy in north Wales then Selby will be safe, for now, but he will be in a tough spot at the upcoming China Open and World Championship.
Selby won both those events in 2017, and with the rankings based on two-year earnings, those huge winnings will be coming off his total this year.
‘It’s definitely one of my goals at the moment to stay there [world number one] as long as possible,’ Selby told Eurosport in February.
‘I’ve got a lot of points to defend coming up to the second half of the season, I know Mark Williams, Ronnie [O’Sullivan] and probably Judd [Trump] now are getting close. So it’s time for me to try and perform a little bit better and try to get to the latter stages of competitions to hold onto that.
‘But if I don’t, so be it, I’ve had a good spell there as long as I have. I didn’t think I’d last as long as I have at the top.’
However, former pro Neal Foulds suggested that giving up the pressure of being number one might actually be beneficial for a man who has won just one tournament this year (the China Open).
‘He’s not been the best player this season,’ said Foulds.
‘O’Sullivan, Trump and others have been better than him this season and he’s fretting. Losing the world number one spot might help him.’
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