'He should be number one' - Mark Selby's surprising reaction to Judd Trump frustration at snooker rankings

Updated 13/10/2021 at 17:05 GMT

Speaking to Eurosport, Selby has given a somewhat interesting reaction to the validity of his status as the world number one being openly questioned by an opponent. "Judd’s done fantastic the last two or three years, he’s been the form player and I still feel as though he should be number one now," he said. "I’ve always said it should be on consistency and Judd’s been the most consistent player."

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Mark Selby has given Eurosport a surprising reaction to Judd Trump's frustrations at the world snooker rankings.

The 38-year-old from Leicester, who faced Cao Yupeng at the Northern Ireland Open on Monday, usurped his rival to the status of world number one in August and there has been some fallout over how the system works with Trump less than happy at losing top spot.

The Bristol-born snooker star has been world number one since August 2019 and has claimed he has "clearly been the best player over the last two years", despite Selby being the official world number one.

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"I think I’ve performed a miracle to be No. 1, not winning the worlds in the last two years, with how heavy the ranking points are favoured in that tournament," explained Trump.

"I’d be disappointed, not that I don’t think Mark deserves it, but quite clearly I’ve been the best player over the last two years. For him to overtake me is probably a little bit of a fault with the ranking system."

He added in an interview with WST: "I still think I’m the best and, until someone wins more tournaments in a calendar year than me, I will count myself as the best. I think that is the way it should work."

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Speaking to Eurosport, Selby has given a somewhat interesting reaction to the validity of his status as the world number one being openly questioned by an opponent.

"Judd’s done fantastic the last two or three years, he’s been the form player and I still feel as though he should be number one now," Selby told Eurosport.

"Last year, I won three tournaments and Judd’s won five and six over the last two years.

I’ve always said it should be on consistency and Judd’s been the most consistent player over the last three years, so every credit for him being number one.

"The only reason I feel like I’ve got it is because I’ve won the worlds and it’s so top heavy, so far in front of every other tournament. That’s just the way it is, I can’t control that.

"It's fantastic to be world champion again, hopefully I can try and defend it next year. It’ll be tough but I’ll be out there giving it my all as always."