Selby stays positive for stunning victory

Mark Selby's exceptional ability to keep calm and stay positive under pressure helped him to a stunning win over Ronnie O'Sullivan at the Welsh Open on Sunday night.

Selby looked dead and buried when he fell 8-5 behind, having lost five of the previous six frames, but somehow fought back to win the last four for a 9-8 triumph.

"I thought I had no chance at 8-5, even if you give Ronnie a one-frame lead he usually steam-rollers you," admitted the 24-year-old Leicester Jester after landing his first ranking title.

"I just tried to feed myself some positive vibes and think back to matches I have won in the past. Strangely, I felt more relaxed the longer the game went on.

"I made a great break in the last frame. It's something special to win my first ranking title. Even if I had lost today I would still have gone home chuffed.

"If there was a turning point, it was at 8-7 when I missed a long red and it went close to the baulk corner pocket, but somehow the cue ball went behind the green. Ronnie was 30 points ahead, and if I hadn't covered that red it was all over. That was a massive bit of good fortune.

"I've just beaten the best player ever in front of a great crowd, and now I'm full of confidence so there's no reason why I can't go one better at the Crucible this year."

O'Sullivan felt that the pace of the game and Selby's style of play did not suit him.

"You can't feel involved in the match because he plays in strange patterns and plays different shots," he said.

"It makes him tough to play. You know there are going to be a lot of long frames and it's hard to get a rhythm going. It's an endurance test, to see how patient you can be."

The Rocket, who could be seen scribbling on a notepad in the first session, added: "I was just writing some stories to keep myself amused. My mind wanders. But that's the test, it's a long day."

As for the risky double he attempted on the last red in the deciding frame, he added: "It wasn't the right shot. But in for a penny, in for a pound. You've got to have a giggle."

The rankings

Selby is in the best form of his life, having won the invitational SAGA Insurance Masters last month and now added his maiden ranking title in Newport.

Selby moves up one place in the latest rankings from fifth. Despite losing in the final, O'Sullivan is now over 3,000 points ahead of Shaun Murphy at the top of the latest list, with only two events of the season to go.

Murphy lost to O'Sullivan in the semi-finals but moves into second place above Stephen Maguire, a first round loser in the Welsh Open. Stephen Hendry reached his first ranking semi-final for 14 months and moves up three places to seventh.

Joe Perry boosted his hopes of an official top 16 place by getting to the quarter-finals, moving up two spots to 13th, while Stephen Lee reached the same stage and is up four places to 21st.