Mark Selby is no stranger to working his way around a snooker table, with one of his nicknames being Sat-Nav Selby, it’s no surprise that he’s arguably the hardest player to tie up on the 6x12 table, with the Jester from Leicester almost always having an option.
However, back in 2013, Ricky Walden had Selby in all sorts of bother during their UK Championship semi-final at the Barbican in York.
Walden was really up against it. Selby, the world number one at the time, was 6-2 up and had already made a remarkable 147 break to go 5-2 up, so it would take something special to slow the Leicester born cueist.
After a brief containing safety exchange on the final four remaining reds on the bottom cushion in the ninth frame, Walden managed to get back to baulk, putting plenty of distance between the cue ball and object balls.
There was a single ball gap between the baulk cushion and the brown, with Walden managing to get the cue ball wedged between the cushion and brown ball, leaving his opponent in a brutal snooker.
SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND - MAY 03: Mark Selby of England celebrates with the trophy following his victory during the Final between Shaun Murphy and Mark Selby on day seventeen of the Betfred World Snooker Championship at the Crucible Theatre on May 3, 2021 in Sheffield, England. (Photo by Zac Goodwin - Pool/Getty Images)
After a failed first attempt to escape, Selby’s jester side came out, asking the commentary team to draw him a line to show him an escape route that was non-existent!
Walden trailed 48-5 in the frame at the time, knowing he was likely to be able to claw his way right back with foul strokes from Selby.
The miss rule in snooker means if you miss the object ball, in this instance the reds, the other player can choose to have the balls replaced and let their opponent have another go.
SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND - MAY 05: Mark Selby celebrates potting the final black to win The Dafabet World Snooker Championship final at Crucible Theatre on May 5, 2014 in Sheffield, England. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)
It can’t be called a miss if the foul isn’t for missing the target ball, or if the player that lays the snooker needs snookers, they have to be able to win the frame with what’s on the table for a miss to be called.
However, after three failed attempts, referee Paul Collier didn’t call a miss, meaning Walden had to play from where the balls were or hand control of the table over to Selby.
He opted to play himself and managed to sink a red to give him a chance in the frame as he looked to reach a major final.
Video: Ricky Walden's insane snooker shot vs Mark Selby
Selby prevailed to the final after a relatively comfortable 9-5 victory, taking on Aussie Neil Robertson in the final who had come through a final frame decider in his last four match with Stuart Bingham.
It wasn’t to be for the world number one who lost the final to Robertson 10 frames to seven, preventing Selby from making it back-to-back triumphs in the Triple Crown event.