Mark Selby makes Champion of Champions prize money confession about his daughter

Mark Selby won the Champion of Champions tournament on Sunday after defeating Judd Trump in the final in his hometown of Leicester, with the 42-year-old earning a six-figure payday as a result

Snooker ace Mark Selby has jokingly confessed that he’s hoping his daughter doesn’t find out about his recent six-figure earnings from his latest championship win. The 42-year-old recently clinched the Champion of Champions tournament in his home city of Leicester, pocketing a cool £150,000 after defeating Judd Trump in the final.

The four-time world champion joked about having to splurge some of his winnings on his daughter, Sofia, who just celebrated her 11th birthday.

However, Selby quipped that he hopes his daughter remains oblivious to the hefty sum he bagged from the tournament victory, reports the Express.

“It was her birthday the other day, so I’ve already just bought her an iPhone,” Selby said in an interview with The Sun after his 10-5 win over Trump.

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“I don’t know what she’ll be wanting now,” Selby added, with the prospect of Christmas in a few weeks’ time. “But hopefully she didn’t hear them say how much I got for winning this!”

Selby further elaborated on his cautious approach towards spending his professional snooker earnings.

“I mean I’ll probably invest my winnings in property a bit later on. I’ve got a couple of properties at the moment,” Selby said.

“Obviously you don’t want to just go out and splash it too much. Because when my career finishes, I don’t want to get to the point where I need to be like working on the bins or something to try and get some money coming in. I need to try and spend it wisely and invest it wisely.”

Selby’s next match is scheduled for December 16, when he’ll face Robbie McGuigan in the opening round of the Scottish Open.

With over five months remaining before the World Championship begins at the Crucible Theatre in late April, Selby will be aiming to add to his collection of four world titles.

Selby won’t be taking part in the tournament in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, though, which gets underway later this week.

Following his triumph in Leicester, Selby highlighted why he had to perform at his peak to overcome Trump in the final.

“This tournament has only got the best players in it, so this is a privilege,” Selby told ITV over the weekend.

“I played well today but I knew I had to. Judd [Trump] is the man to beat. It feels like it’s been a while since I have played to that standard.”