Mark Selby smashes the snooker icon at the Players Championship, then displays class with a comment from Ronnie O’Sullivan.

Mark Selby smashes the snooker icon at the Players Championship, then displays class with a comment from Ronnie O’Sullivan.

Even though Mark Selby easily defeated Ronnie O’Sullivan 6-0 at the Players Championship on Thursday, he nevertheless made sure to show him the utmost respect.

Although Selby ended the Rockets’ 16-game winning streak in Telford, he displayed elegance in his TV interview following the game.

Since losing to Zhang Anda in the International Championship semifinal in China last November, O’Sullivan had not dropped a set in 103 days.

Including the first two Triple Crown Events of the season, he had triumphed in the last three events he had entered.

Despite having a challenging season of his own, Selby appeared to be finding his form on Wednesday when he defeated Barry Hawkins in the first round.

However, nobody would have predicted such a decisive result in his 29th meeting with O’Sullivan.

After the break, Selby stormed to a 4-0 lead and came back to win the next two sets to hand his opponent a rare whitewash.

The 40-year-old seemed to play for a snooker on the penultimate red in the decisive frame.