Mark Selby is in the UK Championship final but his snooker career could have already been over if he had not taken his wife’s advice
Jake Bayliss Sport Writer – U35s
13:26, 07 Dec 2025
Selby has described his wife Vikki as his ‘rock’
Mark Selby will have the backing of his wife Vikki Layton as he pursues his third UK Championship crown. The 42-year-old is preparing to take on reigning champion Judd Trump in Sunday’s final at the York Barbican.
‘The Jester from Leicester’ progressed to the UK Championship final with 6-2 victories against Lei Peifan, Zhou Yuelong and Barry Hawkins. In the semi-final stage, Selby defeated Shaun Murphy 6-3 to earn his shot at the £250,000 winner’s cheque.
A four-time world champion, Selby recently triumphed over Trump in last month’s Champion of Champions final. Throughout his distinguished career, the snooker star has been open about his mental health struggles, particularly following his wife Vikki’s cancer diagnosis.
Vikki, a former international pool player for Ireland, received a breast cancer diagnosis shortly after December 2022. Selby acknowledged that his wife’s illness had a significant impact on his mental well-being.
“She’s been stronger than me throughout it, for sure,” Selby told the Metro last year. “When it was first announced, I was completely blown apart. Obviously with how my mental health was before anyway, that multiplied it.
“She’s been the one supporting me. It should be the other way round, but people say that, it always seems to be the person going through it that’s the strongest.”
Vikki helped Selby to revive his career
Just months following Vikki’s diagnosis, Selby managed to reach his sixth World Snooker Championship final. He revealed that his worries about his wife helped take the weight of expectation away from the competition, with Vikki urging him to continue playing.
“Vikki was going through radiotherapy while I was playing in the Worlds so in a way it did take my focus off the tournament,” he said. “I was playing and thinking, ‘If I get beat, so what?’
“I said to Vikki that I wanted to be with her going through the radiotherapy but she was saying, ‘Look it’s only 20 minutes every day.’ But I wanted to be there to support her, going through it.
“She wanted me to play and I carried on playing. It takes the pressure off a bit, because you’re playing without a care in the world on the table, then there you are in the final.”
Selby has enjoyed success since deciding to continue with his snooker career(Image: Tai Chengzhe/VCG via Getty Images)
The pair tied the knot in 2011 and share a daughter. Vikki has been instrumental in Selby’s snooker journey, encouraging him to keep competing after he contemplated retiring following a first-round exit at last year’s world championship.
“I had a sit down with Vikki and she said look, ‘Look, I think you should carry on playing because you probably have got a bit more to give to the game,'” Selby shared with The Sun last July. “She added, ‘Maybe pick and choose a bit, don’t play in everything, don’t put too much pressure on yourself.’ I’m going to give that a go and see what happens.”
The advice seems to have worked some magic, with Selby subsequently clinching the 2024 British Open and this year’s Welsh Open. He also secured second place in the Tour Championship before triumphing in last month’s Champion of Champions, where he bested Trump in the final.
