Selby Too Strong For Saengkham In China Final
Mark Selby won his first ranking title of 2026, and 26th of his career overall, as he came from 4-2 down to beat Noppon Saengkham 10-6 in the final of the China Open in Taiyuan.
Underdog Saengkham looked the stronger player in the early stages but crucially missed chances to take a first session lead, and Selby grew in stature as the day progressed. The 43-year-old from Leicester becomes the first player to win the China Open on four occasions and has now won a record eight ranking titles in China.
Banking a top prize of £250,000, Selby earns his first ranking title since the UK Championship last December and now lies in seventh place on the all-time list, level with Neil Robertson.
Most ranking titles
Ronnie O’Sullivan 41
Stephen Hendry 36
John Higgins 33
Judd Trump 31
Steve Davis 28
Mark Williams 27
Mark Selby 26
Neil Robertson 26
Selby jumps from ninth to fifth in the Johnstone’s Paint World Rankings and could even climb to the number one position if he goes on to win the Wuhan Open later this month.
It’s a fantastic start to the season for Selby, who suffered a loss of form in the early part of 2026, culminating in a World Championship second round defeat in a scrappy affair against Wu Yize. The cue he had used for 20 years had seen its better days and the tip size had whittled down to 8.5mm. Over the summer, he decided to take the gamble of having a new cue made, with an increased tip diameter of 9.2mm. While he insists that he is still coming to terms with the switch, it has already paid dividends. Throughout the week in the Shanxi province he looked in control of his game and was rarely in danger of defeat, conceding just 13 frames in five matches.
Popular Saengkham was nicknamed the Dark Horse by Chinese fans as he enjoyed the best week of his career, knocking out Judd Trump, Ronnie O’Sullivan, Shaun Murphy and Zhou Yuelong to reach the final. The 34-year-old Thai couldn’t build on an early advantage today, but the £100,000 cheque is the biggest of his life and boosts him 18 places to a ranking of 27th. It’s his second defeat in a ranking final having lost to Gary Wilson at the 2023 Scottish Open.
Tied at 4-4 after the first session, Selby took the opening frame tonight with a break of 58. In the next he trailed 37-1 when he crashed in a long red and cleared with 90 to go two clear for the first time at 6-4, and he soon extended that advantage with a run of 69 in frame 11. Selby trailed 29-6 in a fragmented 12th, but when his opponent missed a long red he took the opportunity to construct an excellent 52 to lead 8-4 at the interval.
Having lost six frames in a row, Saengkham ended that sequence with a break of 71, and he had a golden chance to close the gap again in the crucial 14th but on 68, leading by 36 points, he missed the last red to a top corner. Selby laid two excellent snookers, the first to gain the penalty points he needed and the second to create the opening to clear for 9-5.
Saengkham continued to battle and a break of 61 pulled one back, then he had two early chances in the next but could muster only 27 points. A tactical exchange ended when Selby clipped in a superb pot on a red to centre, setting up a match-winning 57.
“I’m very happy to be standing here as champion, I felt I played some really good stuff all week,” said Selby, who made his first breakthrough in this event 24 years ago when he beat Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O’Sullivan to reach the semi-finals. “I have scored when I have had chances and felt I was going to win frames in one visit. Noppon played well in the first session and I was fortunate to pinch the last two frames and finish 4-4, I was over the moon with that scoreline because Noppon probably felt he deserved to be ahead.
“When you are confident you look at shots and fancy getting them. I have found some good rhythm and played at a nice tempo when I have had chances. I will try to keep this momentum going and take it into the next event in Wuhan. While you are riding the crest of a wave you want to keep going. I have never played snooker for the money, I’ll just keep playing as long as I enjoy it.”
Saengkham said: “Mark was very strong today and controlled the game very well, his safety game was so good. When I was 4-2 up he was under pressure but in the evening the game changed and it looked like Mark was controlling everything. I am very happy with the way I played during the tournament and to be here until the end. I will keep trying hard and hopefully one day I will be the champion.”
