Mark Selby

Snooker players are human too

Fri Nov 06 06:30PM

I was due to play in the Pro Challenge Event Series 3 in my hometown of Leicester next week, but did not make the draw because I forgot to send off the cheque!

It was my own fault: my agent Mukesh gave me the form and I took it home, left it on the side and forgot about it! I'm a bit gutted because it would have been good match practice for the UK Championship - and it's just down the road.

I tried to get in after the deadline, but the draw had been made, so there was nothing I could do. I'll just have to stay in the club and practice.

I played John Higgins in an exhibition in Copenhagen recently and it was good fun: the crowd were great and we played well.

The set-up throughout the day was top class, in a venue like a West End theatre: there were 720 people inside, which is how many it could hold.

It was fun but you still have to concentrate to give the crowd some good snooker. John beat me 7-6 and we both had century breaks.

It was only an exhibition but you still want to beat the reigning world champion; in real matches you have to raise your game to stand a chance of winning against someone like John.

Because the exhibition wasn't till the evening, I got to see some of Copenhagen in the daytime. I had never been there before and had a walk around and look in the shops. It seemed a nice place.

Rory McLeod recently won the Masters qualifying event at 38 years of age. He seems to be a late developer and has had quite a bit of success recently, reaching the World Championship proper last year and enjoying a run in the UK Championship, losing to Ronnie O'Sullivan.

He was always a good player - we practice together and get on well - but he never produced it when it mattered. It is so difficult out there: some really good players don't even break through at all.

His long game is very good and he has a straight cue action, which is very helpful in snooker. However I beat him 90 per cent of the time when we play; although I'd say that even if he won 90 per cent! We've never played each other in a tournament.

Ricky Walden just ran the New York marathon, which is great: he has donated a good deal of money to charity. I'm not looking to do something like that at the moment, although I have just had my garage converted to include a running and rowing machine. Fitness is not as important in snooker as in some other sports: some players work out and others don't, it's a question of preference.  

I tried out an entirely carbon cue made by a friend of a friend recently, as a favour. I've played with carbon cues a couple of times before: they're not as consistent in my opinion as a wooden one, but it was okay.

It is difficult to put side spin on the cueball with the carbon one; I think I'll stick with the one I've got.

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