Mark Selby has achieved a lot in the history of snooker, but he is still aiming for his first victory in an ITV event, which is a unique gap in his successful career.
The four-time world champion will not necessarily feel disappointed if he ends his career without an ITV tournament win, but it's unusual that he has not been able to secure any of these titles.
These are significant events broadcast on ITV, including the World Grand Prix, Players Championship, and Tour Championship, which are part of the prestigious series determined by the one-year list. Additionally, the Champion of Champions and British Open are also key fixtures on the calendar.
Selby suggests that the high level of competition in these events makes his lack of success on ITV less surprising, as these tournaments are extremely challenging to win, even for a player of his caliber.
Despite the fact that it's surprising that the Jester from Leicester has not won on the channel, he has only reached one final, which was at this season’s British Open.
‘It’s tough, obviously at some point I’d like to think I’d win one, but you just have to look at the tournaments that are on ITV,’ Selby told Metro.co.uk.
‘The British Open, it’s been a short format so it’s tough to win. All the other events, Champion of Champions, that speaks for itself, full of people who’ve won events.
‘Then it’s the top 32 [World Grand Prix], top 16 [Players Championship], now top 12 for the Tour Championship on the one-year list so to win them it’s not easy.’
Selby is competing against Gary Wilson in the opening round of the Tour Championship this week, and is currently trailing 5-3 after Monday’s first session. The match will conclude on Tuesday afternoon.
He is entering the event feeling confident about his performance after some impressive recent displays, such as a 6-0 victory over Ronnie O’Sullivan at the Players Championship and winning the Invitational Championship League.
‘I feel like the last few comps I’ve been playing a bit better,’ he said. ‘Played well against Ronnie, any win against Ronnie is good but it wasn’t like I fell over the line, I played really good.
‘In the league I played good, won that. Out in China [World Open] I played good, Jackson [Page] just played unbelievable against me, I can’t remember him missing a pot, I think I only missed two balls in the whole match. If anyone plays like that against you, you can accept losing, you just have to hold your hands up.
‘The Tour Championship is a big comp, hopefully I can put in a good performance there.’
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