By Elliott West
Introduction
As we draw closer to the start of the British Open at the Morningside Arena in Leicester next week, all eyes will be on the interesting draw that has come out for the first round. The box attraction match will be the meeting between Shaun Murphy and Mark Selby. Best friends off the table, the gloves remain firmly on when they play on the green baize. The greatest pressure will definitely be on Selby in this match, as he is the local player and will want to build on his World Championship victory at the end of last season.
However, both players have yet to put their cards on the table. The litmus test, the Championship League, didn’t really produce any clues about their form and it remains to be seen how both will cope with the best of five frames format that World Snooker has implemented at this rekindled tournament. One thing is clear though, neither Mark nor Shaun will want to lose and their trademark styles of play won’t change with Selby pilling on the safety and grinding game that he is notorious for and Shaun, with his loud foot-stomping and blistering long potting, a flamboyant cueman.
Deja Vu
This match leaves off where the old season ended. The last time they both played each other, was in the World Championship and Shaun, despite a tremendous comeback, couldn’t get the better of his opponent and lost the final 15-18. Murphy, to be honest, doesn’t have a good track record against Selby in finals, having lost the 2012 UK Championship, 2014 World Open and the 2015 German Masters previously to him.
What is clear though, is that players will want to win this tournament because it is one that hasn’t been there to win. Its 17-year absence from the tour, makes the prize even more special with only Stephen Hendry and John Higgins from the current tour, remembering what it was like to lift this title multiple times.
In order to find the last time Shaun Murphy beat Mark Selby, you have to cast your minds back to the semi-finals of the 2019 China Championship when Shaun defeated Mark 6-3. A clear victory but not a final, a final instead that he faced Mark Williams and won in a closely fought battle 10-9.
A Wry Smile
When these two play, you can often cut the air with a knife. The tension is at boiling point and only occasionally interrupted by a quick whispered joke between the two or a glancing smile. Growing up together and playing amongst the best in the Willie Thorne Snooker Club, both know each other’s game inside out and aim to lay that trap that causes their opponent to flay and drowns in the other’s game. Time will tell but it remains to be seen if Shaun can get the better of Mark, both love to fist pump in victory but which one will it be this time?
