Matthew Selt issued a heartfelt apology to defeated opponent Jimmy Robertson during a post-match interview following their thrilling World Championship qualifying encounter on Wednesday night in Sheffield.
World number 34 Selt dramatically ousted Robertson 10-9 on the final black to qualify for the main draw of the 2025 World Snooker Championship and secure a fifth appearance at the Crucible.
However, instead of being jubilant in his post-match chat with Rob Walker, Selt was downbeat as he explained to the MC that he felt bad about an incident earlier in the match when Robertson pulled him to one side to tell him that he had been distracting by him.
Ranking event winner Selt said "I have to apologise and say sorry to Jimmy. He said something to me after one of the frames I won, he said that I was distracting him and putting him off, so this win there's no good feeling whatsoever towards it."
Selt led the contest 2-0, but breaks of 90 and 71 helped Robertson level up at 2-2 going into the first mid-session interval.
Former European Masters Champion Robertson then compiled a 125 in frame five to go in front for the first time before extending his advantage and winning the opening session 6-3.
On resumption a few hours later, Robertson deposited the first two frames of the evening for a commanding 8-3 lead.
However, Selt (breaks of 75 and 112) launched a big comeback as he took six of the next seven frames to square up at 9-9 and force a decider.
The nineteenth and final frame was re-racked twice before a scrappy - but compelling - decider ensued with a plethora of reds in the baulk area.
A low scoring affair due to the unorthodox placement of the balls, Selt held a lead and some control for most of the frame, but Robertson later had a chance to take the tie on the colours before missing a mid-distance match-ball pink.
Selt returned to the table to coolly dispatch both pink and black to advance into round one proper at the Crucible.
Interviewer Walker reiterated to the winning contestant that things happen in the heat of the moment and what an incredible achievement it was to come through the pressure of the final qualifying round.
Englishman Selt agreed but once again expressed his regret for the proceedings which occurred away from the baize by replying: "Yeah, great achievement to come back from 8-3 down but ultimately Jimmy is and was one of my closest friends, so for him to feel so strongly to pull me to one side and say something as we was both walking to the toilet, I feel absolutely dreadful to be totally honest with you.
"Like I say, I'm gutted for him that he didn't win. I'll be happy tomorrow that I've won etc but I just want to just apologise really.
"Everyone knows that not so much I wear my heart on my sleeve but do a lot of commenting when I'm playing etc. but he felt strongly enough to say something so I would have definitely been in the wrong, so apologies to Jimmy."
At the time of writing, there has been no public comment from Robertson after the match about the incident, and it is unclear whether it is something that the sport’s authorities will look into.
Selt - who turned 40 last month - has had a steady season. His best result of the term came near the start of the campaign at the inaugural Xi'an Grand Prix in China where he reached the quarter-finals and was pipped 5-4 by Ronnie O’Sullivan.
He made the last 16 of the Welsh Open, and appeared in the last 32 of four further ranking events.
In terms of his upcoming Crucible campaign - where he will face number 14 seed Xiao Guodong in round one - Selt will be aiming to win his first match at the venue having lost in the opening round there in 2013, 2015, 2021 and 2023.
Selt currently on a suspended suspension
Selt is currently on thin ice with the sport's governing bodies.
Earlier this season, Selt was issued with a three-month suspension - suspended until the end of next season (2025/26) - for using rude and aggressive language following incidents at the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters several months ago.
The 2019 Indian Open Champion was found guilty by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA).
They released a statement on their website in February saying that Selt was "aggressive in his behaviour and was rude and abusive in his language towards a Matchroom Senior Executive in the presence of an important WST Partner", "sent an abusive text to a WPBSA Member" and "was aggressive in his behaviour and was rude and abusive in his language towards a WPBSA Member".
Selt admitted and apologised for his actions. It was noted that Selt was "under a significant amount of stress and pressure at the time of the incidents."
As well as the suspended suspension, Selt was ordered to pay a £10,000 fine and the WPBSA's legal costs of £11,000.
That was not the first time that Selt has found the spotlight on him for the wrong reasons.
In 2022 he was handed a £2,000 fine for his conduct on social media, and just before last Christmas he regretted an outburst during the 2025 German Masters qualifiers near the end of his match against teenager Artemijs Zizins who crucially fluked a ball in the deciding frame.
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