Mark Selby was grateful for lavish praise from Stephen Hendry, which he describes as a ‘massive boost’ but until he retires he will continue to see himself as ‘just another player, just another number.’
Hendry has immense respect for the four-time world champion, believing that Selby at peak form would get the better of any other player, including the sport’s consensus GOAT, Ronnie O’Sullivan.
‘I’m including anyone, including O’Sullivan as well. I think if they play their best against each other Mark Selby wins more than Ronnie,’ Hendry said on his CueTips channel.
‘His safety game is like no other and he scores so heavily when he’s at his best.’
To receive such comments from a seven-time world champ is obviously nice to hear, but Selby says he tries to avoid comparisons with other players or conversations about where he stands in the game, intending to think about those things when he has hung up his cue.
‘One of my friends sent me the clip. It’s a huge statement coming from him, but I don’t know, that’s for him to say,’ Selby told Metro.
‘People always ask me if I class myself as one of the all-time greats. While I’m still playing and involved in the game then I don’t see it like that. I just feel as though I’m just another player, just another number.
‘Until I retire and look back on what I’ve achieved, I’ll probably sit down and think to myself you know what, the boy from a council estate with no money in his pocket done good. But as it is at the moment I’ll still keep trying every match and try to win as many tournaments as I can possibly win.
‘Stuff like that does give you a massive boost, but it is just an opinion, it doesn’t mean anything really. It means a lot to me because it’s coming from one of the greats of the game. But you ask someone else on the tour and they’d probably say completely different.
‘So it’s a matter of opinion, but it’s not from Joe Bloggs who’s never played the game. It’s from someone who’s competed at the top level and knows how tough the game is. It’s a massive compliment coming from someone like Stephen, for sure.’
Comparing the peak performances of snooker’s elite is very tough as there are a number of players who, when at their very best, it is hard to imagine losing.
Selby knows like his best stuff is extremely difficult to deal with, but says that he will not be alone in feeling that way.
‘I suppose all of the top boys feel like that, especially to themselves, they probably won’t go around saying it,’ he said. ‘But I’m sure if Judd is flying at the top of his game then he thinks he’s unbeatable.
‘Same with Kyren [Wilson], Ronnie, [John] Higgins, [Mark] Williams, I suppose we all think like that because you have to.’
The Jester from Leicester will be competing alongside all those big names at the Masters, which starts on Sunday, with Selby’s opener against Ali Carter on Monday night at Alexandra Palace.
Selby is looking forward to a bid for a fourth Masters title at a venue which he reckons is only second to the one-table set-up at the Crucible when it comes to atmosphere.
‘I always say the Crucible because of the prestige of the Crucible and what it is, don’t get me wrong I know the Masters has got great history, but for me nothing will beat the Crucible when it’s that one-table set-up for atmosphere and intensity,’ he said.
‘But the Masters is very, very special. It’s second to Sheffield as far as the atmosphere goes, for me.’
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