Mark Selby reflects on ‘madness’ of string of John Higgins Crucible matches

They made it three clashes in three years in 2007, but this time in the final, which Higgins came through against Selby, who was still competing as a qualifier at the time.

The streak of consecutive year clashes was broken, but they met again in a 2009 quarter, which Higgins won 13-12 and in the 2017 final which the Jester claimed 18-15.

The Crucible head-to-head stood at 3-2 in Higgins’ favour ahead of their 2023 meeting and Selby feels it was pretty wild that he had to take on the legendary figure on his first three trips to Sheffield.

‘It is madness really that I played John in each of those first three years that I made it to the Crucible,’ he said.

‘The first year you get here you are so excited you don’t mind who you draw, because every match is tough and you are just happy to be here. So John comes out and you think “fair enough, one of the greats, he has won it before”.

‘Then the next year I’m thinking “I know a bit more what to expect now – and I really don’t want John, or Ronnie, or Williams”. It comes out, I’m playing him again. But I win 10-4.

‘Then I lose to Williams 13-8, and even if I had beaten him it would have been Ronnie in the quarter-finals. I had no chance that year!

‘The next year I got to the final against John and came close to winning it after being 12-4 down on the first day. But the next day I felt I had nothing to lose and I got all the way back to 14-13 – but then John showed his class and won the last four.

‘Even though I lost it was a breakthrough for me. Getting to the final got me into the top 16 that year, and at that time I still felt like I had nothing to lose. Then you get to the final and your thoughts change – you want to win.

‘But that run gave me the confidence and belief to think ‘I have competed on the biggest stage possible against the top players in the game’. There was no reason not to keep moving forward. And a few months later I won the Masters and then the Welsh.

‘The other final we had I was behind and clawed it back. That and the O’Sullivan one [2014] stand out for me. The Ronnie one was the first time so special, and I was 10-5 behind.

‘And then to be that far behind against another all-time great on John and come back and win was also great. You are doing it on the biggest stage, under the most pressure.’

Selby is an unapologetic fan of Higgins on and off the table, and although he knows taking on the Wizard is an incredibly difficult task, it’s one he enjoys.

‘Playing John Higgins at the Crucible is right up there as one of the great challenges in snooker. Him, Ronnie O’Sullivan, Mark Williams…for the Class of 92 to still be there competing at that level is incredible,’ he said.

‘They won’t be around forever so you cherish the times you do play them now on this kind of stage. They will leave a massive legacy when they go, on the roll of honour everywhere they go.

‘You don’t know if it’s the last time you might play them here, so you go out to enjoy it.

‘And on the other side, I have seven or eight years on them. So I’d like to think if I put in the hours and can still enjoy it like they are, then there’s no reason why I can’t still be competing at their age.

‘There is no edge to it because we get on really well but I suppose it is a very good sporting rivalry, and for the neutral a match the fans like to see. They know it is going to a tough game.

‘We have similar games, and can both win on our B games if we are not fully firing – but can both score as well as anyone when we are.’

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