YES, SELBY IS TALENTED (original) (raw)

Ronnie O'Sullivan did himself few favours with his post final comments after losing 9-8 from 8-5 up to Mark Selby in last night's Welsh Open.

"I don't know if Mark's talented," he said. "He plays a very negative game. He doesn't take a ball on unless he's going to leave it safe."

In O'Sullivan's defence, he said this literally minutes after he was defeated, when the frustration at having thrown away a big lead still burned deep.

However, any suggestion that Selby somehow won the title by default is ridiculous.

O'Sullivan was in first on 24 in the decider but failed to make a fairly simple cannon into the reds off the black.

At the end, he lashed out at a very risky double, from which he lost the match.

Selby applied pressure, which is what you have to do. He is more methodical in pace than O'Sullivan. This is how he plays. Why would he suddenly speed up?

His comeback was a tribute to his tenacity, his self belief and, yes, his talent.

He's a worthy winner.