Mark Selby makes history at the Crucible

The quadruple world champion meets the Belgian Luca Brecel in the last act of the competition in Sheffield and is led after the first sessions on Sunday with 9-8, before the last day.

“The atmosphere when I pocketed the black ball at the end was electric. It’s unbelievable. To make 147 here is quite difficult,” said Selby, 39, quoted by BBC Sports.

“I always thought that if I got into this position I would shake like a leaf. It was amazing how calm I felt.”

Belgian Brecel dominated the opening session with his attacking style to secure a 6-2 lead after the first morning session.

Selby looked tired on Sunday afternoon following a grueling late-night semi-final against Mark Allen. The Englishman managed to get back into the game though, delivering a consistent reply in a spirited second session, in which he won three of the first four games, with breaks of 137 and 96.

Brecel, who managed a break of 99 in the 10th frame of the match, built two more over 50 points to restore a four-frame lead at 9-5.

But Selby reacted again, managing to take the last frame of the session, after he had achieved the maximum break of 147, again narrowing the score to an advance of only one frame for the Belgian (9-8).

How Selby achieved the ultimate snooker performance

Selby’s special effort came in the 16th frame of the match, the Englishman coming to the table after Brecel left a red ball on the edge of the pocket in the bottom left corner.

As the excitement in the stands of the Crucible Theater grew, he proceeded to pocket all 15 red balls, in sequence with the black, before clearing the table of the colored balls as well, prompting roars of applause from the stands.

Referee Brendan Moore, officiating in his third and final Crucible final before retiring, congratulated Selby, who was also warmly hugged by Brecel.

Selby’s feat comes 40 years after Cliff Thorburn’s first ever record at the Crucible in 1983.

The Englishman is the tenth player to achieve the feat in Sheffield, with Kyren Wilson also hitting a 147 earlier in the tournament.

In total, there were 14 maximums at the Crucible, with Ronnie O’Sullivan and Stephen Hendry achieving three each.

The select group of players who have reached this magical number is completed by Cliff Thorburn, Jimmy White, Mark Williams, Ali Carter, John Higgins and Neil Robertson.

Wilson’s 147 points came during a 10-5 first-round win over Ryan Day.

Selby will share a further £55,000 with him, with £40,000 on offer for a 147 and £15,000 for the biggest break of the tournament.

Ken Doherty, the 1997 world champion, told BBC Two:

“It was amazing, to be here and have a view from above, it’s a magical moment in the history of the Crucible. To score a maximum in a final is the icing on the cake for Mark Selby in his career.”

Shaun Murphy, world champion in 2005, said:

“Phenomenal. Iconic images. The irony that during the break we aired a report on Cliff Thorburn [care a realizat primul maxim de la Crucible în 1983] and we celebrated his anniversary, so that, a few frames later, Selby made one too.

It was absolutely amazing. What a competitor. To then follow winning the last frame is absolutely vital. A very exciting day that we are preparing for tomorrow.”