“Clearly it is a psychological sickness and it has been there for the final 20 years of my life.”

It’s a compulsion to drag your individual hair out, or in Selt’s case his eyebrows and eyelashes.

Regardless of that, he believes he’s taking part in a number of the finest snooker of his life and is already trying ahead to subsequent season, having misplaced 10-8 to eventual runner-up Mark Selby on the World Championship at The Crucible.

“I did not know what it was, for the primary six, seven, eight, 9 years,” Selt informed the BBC Framed podcast.

“I haven’t got any eyelashes on high of my eyes, as a result of I simply decide them out. I do not know I am doing it. Then, I believe, about 2008 or so, I began choosing my eyebrows out.”

World quantity 30 Selt just isn’t the one skilled sportsperson with the situation. Boxer Natasha Jonas has spoken on various events about she started pulling her hair out as a toddler.

“I used to pencil my eyebrows in each single day just about for the final 10 or 15 years,” added Selt.

“But it surely received to a degree about solely about eight weeks in the past that I believed ‘I simply can’t be bothered any extra’ so I do not now.

“I mentioned to a few my associates, ‘oh, have you ever seen my eyebrows? I have not pencilled them in’ and so they mentioned ‘no, you do not look any totally different’.

“I believed ‘Wow!’ You suppose you simply look so totally different, however individuals barely discover it.”

The 38-year-old continued: “It is simply loopy, but it surely’s one thing I’ve to stay with daily.

“The pencil I used to make use of remains to be within the center a part of my armrest within the automotive. I used to be it the opposite day and considering ‘I used to do this daily for 10 or 12 years’.”

Whereas watching a video of his match in opposition to Selby in Sheffield, Selt realised that he couldn’t inform whether or not he had pencilled eyebrows or not.

He mentioned: “You get so self-conscious about it, however finally, who actually cares? Not many individuals.

“I type of really feel like I’ve received over that hurdle, which is good. I am nonetheless at all times going to have it, I’ve not had any assist for it… however I am over the actual fact of caring [about it], which is good, a pleasant place to be.”

Selt gained his solely rating title on the 2019 Indian Open, beating China’s Lyu Haotian 5-3 to pocket a £50,000 prize.

He reached the Turkish Masters remaining in 2022 earlier than dropping to Judd Trump and this 12 months equalled the file for essentially the most century breaks in a single competitors with 23 within the Championship League.

But it surely was his efficiency in opposition to Selby, having reached Sheffield for less than the fourth time in his profession, which has actually instilled new perception in him.

“At The Crucible simply gone, that is essentially the most snug I’ve ever felt and I liked each second of being on the market this 12 months,” he mentioned.

“The three earlier years I performed there have been an entire waste of time, I simply froze and did not put in a efficiency. However that was a extremely good match.

“I believe I misplaced it within the first session, being too far behind. However total, after I look again on it, I am fairly pleased with the struggle that I put up.

He added: “I am trying ahead to seeing what alternatives lie forward, as a result of I have not performed snooker since then, and my solely reminiscences of the final recreation of snooker was dropping to most likely the very best course and distance participant at The Crucible within the final decade and in a really shut recreation.

“I really feel like I am a greater participant now than I ever have been. I am extra assured, which is nice, as a result of it may have been fairly the other.

“I am getting near 40 now, and when you’re not likely getting in the proper path, it’s a waste of time.”

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