Mark Selby has ambitions of playing snooker for another 10 years
All players and staff will be tested before entering the venue in Milton Keynes with players - who will adhere to social distancing guidelines - needing a negative test to take part
Monday 1 June 2020 13:34, UK
Mark Selby says he has ambitions of playing snooker for another 10 years as he prepares for the Championship League in Milton Keynes this week.
Selby is one of many players aiming to kickstart snooker's return behind closed doors at the tournament, which will be staged at the Marshall Arena until June 11.
It is the first since the Gibraltar Open in March when the coronavirus pandemic forced a shutdown.
Selby opens up against Lee Walker on Thursday at the Arena which has been chosen to stage the tournament because it has on-site accommodation.
"It will be myself, my opponent and the referee," Selby told Sky Sports. "I'm due to play Thursday. I'll go down Wednesday and get tested.
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"Then straight to the hotel and lock myself in my room and wait for the results to come back.
"Fingers crossed they come back negative and I'll be good to go. That's the same for anyone in the tournament.
"This tournament next week I've been playing in it for 11 years and am used to playing with no crowd."
The three-time world champion, who turns 37 later this month, also spoke about playing the sport into his mid to late forties.
"Snooker is not really a physical sport so nothing really stops you from playing into your fifties, but the biggest thing is hunger," he said. "There comes a time when you've been doing the same thing day in, day out it gets a bit monotonous so there comes a time when you think 'look, enough's enough, I'm not really enjoying it no more'.
"It doesn't matter for me whether I'm competing at the top level, the biggest thing for me is enjoyment. If I'm not enjoying it then I'd retire tomorrow even if I was at the top or not."
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