How a swimming pool inside Brentwood Centre upset Mark Selby at English Open - 'You can just feel the damp'
Published 19/09/2025 at 21:30 GMT+1
Mark Selby has an interesting theory on why the conditions have been "tough" at the Brentwood Centre for this year's English Open. The four-time world champion needed a decider to beat Jackson Page to reach the semi-final but produced two centuries, including a total clearance. However, speaking with TNT Sports, Selby - who is searching for a third English Open title - admitted he was not pleased.
'You can just feel the moisture' - Selby shares interesting theory on 'tough' conditions
Video credit: TNT Sports
Mark Selby believes the swimming pool inside the Brentwood Centre is partly to blame for the "really tough" conditions at the English Open.
The four-time world champion made two centuries, including a total clearance of 131 in the decider, to overcome Jackson Page and seal his place in the last four of the Home Nations event.
However, Selby – who is bidding to win the English Open for a third time and first since 2022 – could not enjoy his performance due to the conditions of the tables at the Brentwood Centre.
"I felt it was really tough out there," said Selby, who has also beaten Liam Highfield, Peifan Lei and Wu Yize this week.
"The conditions were very heavy. Even just screw back shots you felt like you had to give it an extra oomph to get anything out of it.
"But it’s the same for both players. It’s hard to really enjoy it when the conditions are like that."
He continued: "I think with having a swimming pool at the venue, you can just feel the moisture.
"As soon as you walk out of the arena to go to the corridor where the toilets are, you can just feel the damp from the pool.
"I think everywhere we’ve played… it was the same in Barnsley, Ponds Forge. It’s difficult, you know."
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Selby overcomes Page in decider with 'very fine' century to make semi-final
Video credit: TNT Sports
The tables will be re-covered ahead of Saturday’s semi-finals, where Selby will face Zhou Yuelong after the Chinese star edged out Luca Brecel in another deciding frame.
Former Masters champion Alan McManus, who was on TNT Sports pundit duty alongside Jimmy White, backed Selby's assessment.
"The conditions have generally been brilliant in recent years as Mark would agree with, I think," he said.
"But players don’t say the conditions are tough when they’re not. The fact is, they are. It’s not necessarily anyone’s fault."
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Selby has yet to hit top form this season but insists his game is heading in the right direction. The 42-year-old reached the semi-finals of the Saudi Arabia Masters and lost a tight last-16 battle with Mark Williams at the Wuhan Open.
"I feel like I’ve started okay," he continued, "I know I’ve not been deep in many tournaments but the last few competitions I’ve lost to Neil [Robertson] who went on to win in Saudi and I lost to Williams in China who has been playing well for a while as well.
"It wasn’t that I was playing bad, they just played better than me. I’m happy with where my game is at."
Selby will hope that confidence shows when he takes on Zhou for a place in Sunday’s final.
Meanwhile, Everton footballer Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has revealed that he is a friend of his home city's snooker hero Selby.
In an interview ahead of Saturday's Merseyside derby, live on TNT Sports and discovery+, Dewsbury-Hall revealed he spent a lot of time in snooker halls during his formative years and even had his own table.
"I used to play all the time," he said. "I was fortunate enough to have a snooker table at my house a couple of years ago and I used to be in there all the time playing.
"I would say I’m an average player. I've had like a 45 break, so that's probably the best you're going to get, but I absolutely love it.
"I'm good friends with Mark Selby. He's lovely. A big Leicester lad so we always chat. He's invited me down to watch him at the Crucible.
"It’s just something that stimulates me and makes me want to improve because they make it look so easy, but it’s so hard."
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Watch and stream top snooker action, including the English Open, live and on demand on TNT Sports and discovery+
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