After a series of billiard games, it’s Mark Selby who’s taken home the ultimate prize at the English Open. It was a game of two home players in Mark Selby and David Gilbert vying for the title in Crawley, and just like every other final, it was tense, tough, and exciting all the way through.

A cheque of £70,000, a guaranteed invitation to the upcoming Champion of Champions, and the coveted Steve Davis Trophy is enough to get your adrenaline rushing as bad as a tornado if you’d ask any snooker professional.

Mark Selby, who’s almost made a trademark name for himself as the king of comebacks, came from behind to seal his place in his 25th ranking event final and his first outside China. He was more than ready and had a fire crackling through his bones.
He was clearly the favorite to take home the trophy and didn’t disappoint the punters who had put their faith in him.

After winning the game, the Jester was in tears as he took his seat after spending the whole day on his feet. Those legs must have been tired, but they do have good reasons to, don’t they?

With his win, he has now taken his total tally of successes at this level to 16, equalling Neil Robertson in sixth on the all-time list in the process.

It was a dominant win for the three-time World Champion who knocked out his opponent, David Gilbert, by a 9-1 scoreline to clinch his first HomeNations silverware.
With five minutes to the end of the encounter, Gilbert was down 8-1 and needed to pull off a Mission Impossible even Tom Cruise wouldn’t dare. He would, however, take solace in the fact that he’s gotten into another final, which could mean something good could happen soon.

It’s the third time in just over a year that Gilbert has reached the title-deciding encounter.
In the middle of the congratulatory texts, messages, and posts that has flooded social media platforms, Barry Hearn, via his verified Twitter handle, wrote: “well done. See you at the Champion of Champions.”

Written by: Roland Arum