Mark Selby hopes daughter doesn’t discover huge title payout | Other | Sport
Snooker star Mark Selby has admitted that he hopes his daughter doesn’t discover how much he earned after his latest title win. Selby recently won the Champion of Champions tournament in his home town of Leicester. The 42-year-old defeated Judd Trump in the final on Sunday and earned a six-figure payday as a result. A 10-5 Victory over Trump in the final at the Mattioli Arena saw Selby bank £150,000 in prize money.
Selby, a four-time world champion, spoke about the prospect of needing to spend his prize money on his daughter, Sofia, who recently turned 11-years-old. However, Selby joked that he hopes his daughter never finds out how much he won from winning the tournament held in his hometown.
“It was her birthday the other day, so I’ve already just bought her an iPhone,” Selby told The Sun. “I don’t know what she’ll be wanting now,” Selby added, with the prospect of Christmas on the horizon. “But hopefully she didn’t hear them say how much I got for winning this!”
Selby went on to explain why he always remains careful with what he chooses to spend his prize money on from professional snooker. “I mean I’ll probably invest my winnings in property a bit later on. I’ve got a couple of properties at the moment,” Selby said.
“Obviously you don’t want to just go out and splash it too much. Because when my career finishes, I don’t want to get to the point where I need to be like working on the bins or something to try and get some money coming in. I need to try and spend it wisely and invest it wisely.”
Selby’s next match is pencilled in for December 16, where he will take on Robbie McGuigan in the first round of the Scottish Open. There is still more than five months to go until the World Championship gets underway at the Crucible Theatre at the end of April, where Selby will be hoping to add to the four world titles that are currently under his belt.
Selby will not be competing in the event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which gets underway later this week. After claiming a victory in Leicester, Selby emphasised why he needed to be at his best to defeat Trump in the final.
“This tournament has only got the best players in it, so this is a privilege,” Selby said in an interview with ITV after the win on Sunday. “I played well today but I knew I had to. Judd [Trump] is the man to beat. It feels like it’s been a while since I have played to that standard.”
