Coordinates: 53°46′54″N 1°04′13″W / 53.781789°N 1.070309°W / 53.781789; -1.070309
Selby is a town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. Situated 12 miles (19.3 km) south of the city of York, along the course of the River Ouse, Selby is the largest and, with a population of 13,012, most populous settlement of the wider Selby local government district.
Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, much of the wealth of the town was facilitated via Selby's position upon the banks of the River Ouse. In the past, Selby had a large shipbuilding industry and was an important port, for the most part due to the Selby Canal which brought trade from the city of Leeds.
The town’s origins date from the establishment of a Viking settlement on the banks of the River Ouse. Archaeological investigations in Selby have revealed extensive remains, including waterlogged deposits in the core of the town dating from the Roman period onwards. It is believed that Selby originated as a settlement called Seletun which was referred to in the Anglo Saxon Chronicle of AD 779.
Ronald Antonio "Ronnie" O'Sullivan (born 5 December 1975) is an English professional snooker player known for his rapid playing style, and is nicknamed "The Rocket". He has been World Champion on four occasions (2001, 2004, 2008 and 2012) and, with career earnings of over £6 million is second after Stephen Hendry on snooker's all-time prize-money list. O'Sullivan has been the world's no. 1 player on five occasions, and has won a total of 24 ranking titles. He is second, again behind Hendry, on the list of players making the most competitive century breaks, with a total of 678. O'Sullivan has compiled 11 maximum breaks in professional competition, a record which he shares with Hendry. He also holds the record for the fastest maximum break, at 5 minutes 20 seconds.
O'Sullivan is considered by many fans, critics and professionals, including fellow multiple-World Championship winners Hendry and Steve Davis, as the most naturally talented player in the history of the game. He has, however, been involved in a number of controversial incidents during his career.
Mark Anthony Selby (born 19 June 1983, Leicester, England) is an English professional snooker and pool player. Runner up in the World Snooker Championship 2007, he was the 2006 WEPF World Eight-ball Champion. Selby has won the Masters on two occasions, the Welsh Open, the Shanghai Masters and is the current world number one. Known as a tough competitor, Selby is also an accomplished break-builder with over 200 centuries.
Selby showed potential as a teenager, but did not consistently shine until his twenties. He reached his first ranking final aged 19, the Regal Scottish in 2003, where he finished runner-up to David Gray, losing 9–7 in the final. Before that, he had also already reached the semi-finals of the 2002 China Open, despite leaving his hotel room at 2 a.m. instead of 2 p.m. for one match due to jetlag.
Selby reached the final qualifying round of the World Snooker Championship in 2002, 2003 and 2004, losing each time. Early in the 2005/06 season he began to be managed by former snooker professional and fellow Leicester resident Mukesh Parmar and reached the final stages of the World Snooker Championship, at the Crucible Theatre, for the first time. Selby went out in the first round, losing to John Higgins but has qualified for the final stages every year since, including in 2006 despite a 147 from his final qualifying round opponent Robert Milkins.
Judd Trump (born 21 August 1989) is an English professional snooker player from Bristol. He enjoyed considerable success in youth tournaments before turning professional in 2005. On 3 April 2011, Trump won his first ranking title, beating Mark Selby 10–8 in the final of the China Open. Following this success in China, he reached the final of the 2011 World Snooker Championship where he was defeated by John Higgins. He then went on to win the 2011 UK Championship where he defeated Mark Allen 10–8 in the final.
Trump was English Under-13 and Under-15 champion, and reached the World Under-21 Championship semi-finals at the age of 14. At the same age, he became the youngest player ever to make a competitive 147, beating Jamie Jones's record.
In the 2005/06 season he joined the professional tour, and at the Welsh Open became the youngest player ever to qualify for the final stages of a ranking tournament. He reached the same last-48 stage for the China Open, losing 4–5 to Michael Holt, although this was designated the final qualifying round and was actually played in Prestatyn, Wales.
Ricky Walden is a snooker professional, born in Chester, England but living in Flintshire, Wales.
He is currently ranked 18th in the world. He won the 2008 Shanghai Masters, his first ranking final, having previously reached one further ranking quarter-final. He has spent four seasons in the top 48 of the rankings. His first appearance at the final stages of the World Championship came in 2009
He was one of the Young Players of Distinction in a scheme run in 2000, designed to help young players develop their playing and media skills, alongside Shaun Murphy, Stephen Maguire and Ali Carter. In 2001 he won the World Under-21 Championship.
He started the 2004/2005 season ranked at #78 in the world, but climbed 30 places that year. He beat John Higgins twice that season, at the Grand Prix and UK Championship, and reached the Quarter-Final of the China Open.
In 2005/2006 his best run was to the last 16 in the China Open, which he achieved by beating Stephen Maguire. In 2006/2007 he had 2 last-32 appearance including the UK Championship, where he lost to Ronnie O'Sullivan 8–9. He lost to eventual finalist Mark Selby in qualifying for the World Championship.
You pulled up, as if in a rush, and said, 'I'll give
you a ride. I saw you miss the bus.'I said, 'Thanks,
I'm looking to kill some time.'
'I'll take you to your house, or we could see mine.
It's not very far and you'll like it just fine.
You could leave this world behind.'
So, I stayed an hour, a day and then two.
Maybe you'll teach me the things that you know. But
it's getting cold, I think we should go.
When the house was all boarded up, we said goodbye and
we climbed in your red pick-up truck. And we drove off
into the night. And I counted all the street lights as
you turned to me with a sigh and said, 'I'm willing to
give it a try. We could be happy all over again, find a
place to begin.'
Then it's three months and we're still not there.
And I've gotten thinner and you've grown your hair. And
we're looking for home but I don't think it's here. And
if it's September my birthday is near.
And you say there's nothing that I have to fear. 'We'll
get it somehow. I just don't have it right now.'
Locked up the room and returned the key. And the
manager waved to us uneasily and we drove off into the
night. And I counted all the street lights, as you
turned to me with a sigh and said, 'I'm still willing
to give us a try. We could be happy in outer space,
where all of our demons will soon be erased. In a small
quiet town we'll start over again, find a place to
begin.'
But this road just goes on and on.
So, I said, 'I'm sorry. I'll miss you but I've stayed
too long. It's time for me to go home.'
So, you drop me off at the light and I walk off into