Snooker / Editor / 17 January 2008 /

Betfair talks exclusively to UK Masters finalist Mark Selby

Betfair went to the SAGA Masters tournament and caught up with last year's World Championships runner-up Mark Selby before he began his quarter-final against Stephen Maguire.

After knocking out Stephen Hendry in the first round you must be happy with your form at the moment?

Yes, I'm playing well in practice and obviously he last few tournaments I've had some good results too, so I'm really confident at the moment.

Snooker players have to put in hours of practice before a tournament like this, what motivates you to do all that work?

It's simple. It's because I want to be world number one, and the only way I can actually do that is by putting the hours in day after day. It's not difficult for me because I do actually enjoy it, rather than get bored. It's not only what I have to do to get to where I want to go, it's what I want to do.

Is there a secret to maintaining the quality and focus of your practice work? How do you keep the intensity of it going?

If I'm on my own I'll do certain routines and set myself targets for them, and I won't stop that routine until I reach them. You have to put discipline and targets around what you do because you need to practice playing well. It's all too easy to go through the motions and practice playing badly. As much as I can I try to play against other people, and then the competitive instinct comes in and you just want to be winning all the while. I know it's only practice but if you are winning all the while it gives you more confidence and sets you up for when you do go to the tournament.

So is it like a boxer where you have sparring partners, almost?

Yeah, very similar. You try and play as many people as you can because you can't get any better practice than match practice. If you can play with people ideally who are as good as yourself or even better, that's ideal. I try to do that as much as possible but also have a couple of days to work on things I'm struggling on. That's technical things. It's a bit like a golfer working on his swing. You have to keep grooving it day in and day out. If you don't practice for two or three weeks you find that when you get back to the table you just don't play the sort of fabulous snooker that you might when you're in a regular groove.

You were world eight ball pool champion in 2006. Is it unusual to play the two sports and how does it affect you?

They are two very different games. I don't play half as much pool as I do snooker, and I don't practice pool at all. Just playing snooker every day because it's also a cue sport it more or less gets you ready. Pool's a much easier game, to be honest, and so for me it's really more like a hobby.

If you've been world champion it makes it a fairly serious hobby!

I guess so! But honestly that's all it is. When I won the world championship it meant I got an automatic place in the tournament for the next few years, so obviously when that comes round again I'll do a bit of work to prepare to try and go after the title again. But for the rest of the time I just play in a local league two nights a week if I'm at home, or for the Leicestershire county pool team when I'm available, and really it's just a bit of enjoyment for me. It's fun and good company, and just a good way to relax. When it's back to snooker then it's serious business again and it's all about quality practice on the table

You're one of a number of younger players emerging in snooker. Is there a bit of a changing of the guard going on?

I think so. I think there are a lot of good young players coming to the fore now and if you go to a tournament with 32 people in it there, then are 32 people who are capable of winning that tournament. With respect to the guys like Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry who obviously did wonderful things for the sport, at the time they were all dominating there were mainly only eight or ten people capable of winning a tournament. Now the competition is really far more intense and you have to work that much harder to keep your own standards up to deal with it

Looking ahead to the World championships, what's the secret to getting in the peak of form when that comes? Coming so close last year when you lost in the final must have made you hungry to do better?

Exactly, I'm very motivated to try to take that one extra step. It's very much a dream for me and always has been. After last year I spent a lot of time thinking about how I needed to improve. Obviously the first step of that is improving my snooker which as I've already said means more and more practice time on the table. But I also think it will be a lot about physical fitness. I think I learned that last year. I think by the time I got to the final I had played really well but I was absolutely drained by a couple of weeks of intense competition. I felt that probably made the difference by the time the final came.

So does that mean you've got a trainer now?

No but I'm sorting out a programme. It's a bit of a New Year resolution for me. I'm planning now to get myself out and be running and be in the gym for the next few months to get myself physically fitter. I think if you are physically fit then you are mentally fit as well, and better able to deal with the demands of a two week tournament like the Crucible. I'm not so bad at the moment, but I'm sure if I get myself in better shape that will show on the table as well.

Who would you see as the main rivals when that comes round?

You can never rule out some of the old top names, people like Ronnie O'Sullivan - and when it comes to the World Championship then you'll find Stephen Hendry's will to win is just as good as the others. You've got the likes of John Higgins as well, and a lot of the young players coming through. I think Neil Robertson is a danger, and Ding Junhui. I think my strategy has to be to concentrate more on my game. If I'm playing well I think I'm capable of going on to win it.

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