TOP 10 RONNIE-SELBY MATCHES

This Sunday, Ronnie O'Sullivan and Mark Selby will meet for the 31st time in their career. Their first match of the season, a best of 17, will decide the winner of the Scottish Open.

The fact that their are the two biggest winners in the game already attracts a lot of interest to whenever they clash, but their off-table grudge and contrast of styles made this one of the biggest rivalries snooker has ever seen. 

Their first match was back in 2002, and here, we list the top 10 matches between these two sporting legends.

10th place: 2019 Scottish Open quarterfinal. Mark Selby 5, Ronnie O'Sullivan 4

Selby's latest trademark comeback win against Ronnie came one year ago at the very same Scottish Open. Ronnie had scored three centuries and led 4-3, before losing the last two.

9th place: 2016 UK Championship final. Mark Selby 10, Ronnie O'Sullivan 7

Selby was playing the best snooker of his career at the time, and found himself 7-2 up after session one. Ronnie fought back to 7-8 down, but Selby scored breaks of 134 and 107 - his second and third centuries of the match - to close out another classic at 10-7.

8th place: 2009 Masters final. Ronnie O'Sullivan 10, Mark Selby 8

An incredibly close match. Ronnie went 5-7 down, got 8-7 up, and after Selby levelled at 8-8 he won a dramatic 17th frame by one point, before taking the next with a break of 55.

7th place: 2013 Antwerp Open final. Mark Selby 4, Ronnie O'Sullivan 3

Belgium had the chance to see a chapter of this amazing rivalry in 2013. Ronnie was playing some amazing snooker by the time, having won the last two World Championships. However, after he went 3-2 up on Selby in this final, he had to see his rival comeback yet again on him with breaks of 126 and 77.

6th place: 2010 World Championship quarterfinal. Mark Selby 13, Ronnie O'Sullivan 11

Their first Crucible meeting and it could only be a classic. Ronnie led 8-5 and 11-9 but lost the last four in yet another comeback by Mark Selby. From 11-11 they played two extremely close frames that went the way of Selby.

5th place: 2008 Welsh Open final. Mark Selby 9, Ronnie O'Sullivan 8

One of their first real classics, and when Mark Selby's name was taken out of O'Sullivan's christmas card list. Ronnie led 8-5 but just couldn't get over the line. Selby took the last four and the title.

4th place: 2007 UK Championship semifinal. Ronnie O'Sullivan 9, Mark Selby 8

A match that will forever be remembered for Ronnie's unbelievable 147 in the decider. He had trailed for most of the match. He lost the first 3, then trailed 1-4 and 5-7 before going 8-7 up. Selby then forced the decider with a 60 break and history happened afterwards.

3rd place: 2010 Masters final. Mark Selby 10, Ronnie O'Sullivan 9

Ronnie certainly won't ever forget this one. It looked like he was going to defend his Masters title when he led 9-6, but I don't even need to tell you what happened. Selby won the last four and Ronnie looked as angry as ever for blowing his lead away to Selby yet again. This kick-started a couple of terrible years for Ronnie that made we all think that his winning days were far past him. Of course, now we know that his peak was yet to come but that 2010 Masters final was, by then, a big mark to both of their careers.

2nd place: 2020 World Championship semifinal. Ronnie O'Sullivan 17, Mark Selby 16

Still fresh in our memories. Ronnie was either scoring or hit-and-hoping throughout the whole match. When he lost frame 30 to go 14-16 down, he looked done and like he didn't even want to be there - how could you play hit-and-hope shots to get out of straightforward snookers in a World Championship semifinal when the score is 14-15? 

However, what turned things around in frame 31 we'll never know, but breaks of 138 and 71 forced the decider. In the decider, Ronnie knocked in a break of 64 before missing and giving Selby a chance. A few shots later, during a safety exchange, Ronnie played another hit-and-hope shot but somehow got away with that and won the match.

After the defeat, Selby accused Ronnie of playing mind games, moving in his eyeline, and being disrespectful to him and to the sport with his hit-and-hope shots. 

1st place: 2014 World Championship final. Mark Selby 18, Ronnie O'Sullivan 14

By 2014 everyone knew that Ronnie couldn't stand Selby, who he called a "torturer" in his autobiography and repeatedly criticised for slow play. A few months prior to that final, Ronnie had beat Selby 10-4 in the Masters final and it looked like he'd win his third consecutive World Title when he led Selby 10-5. However, turning points came when Selby took the last two frames in day one to trail only 7-10 overnight, and when at 11-11 Ronnie missed probably the easiest pink he ever missed. Ronnie went down 11-12 and would never lead again, losing the match 14-18. That same night Ronnie had something to be thankful for though, as him and his then 6-years-old son were unhurt after Ronnie crashed his Audi R8 on his way back home.

Now, are we about to see a match that will contend for this top 10? Well, what I'm sure is that anytime Ronnie and Selby go head-to-head it is a must see.

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