After two successive runners-up finishes for Daryl Selby in Canada, it was third time lucky for the fast-rising Englishman in Calgary when he won the Calgary Winter Club Rocky Mountain Open, the inaugural $30,750 3-star PSA World Tour squash event at Calgary Winter Club.
The second-seeded 27-year-old faced surprise opponent Hisham Mohd Ashour, the third seed from Egypt who upset Dutch favourite Laurens Jan Anjema in the semi-finals.
It was Anjema, the world No15 from The Hague, who defeated Selby in the finals of both the National Bank Financial Group International in Montreal and the Manitoba Open in Winnipeg earlier in the month.
But a determined Selby, ranked 12 in the world, took on the 27-year-old from Cairo with only one thing on his mind – title success.
And after surviving a tie-break first game, the England international from Essex took control to carve out an impressive 12-10, 11-4, 11-7 victory in 45 minutes.
The title triumph brought to an end a hugely successful visit to North America in which he boosted his number of PSA Tour final appearances to 14 and his titles total to nine.
“It was a great end to the tour,” said Selby afterwards. “And it hopefully gives me a good chance to be in the top ten at the end of the month.
“But I’ve got Canary Wharf to look forward to first!” added the new champion.
Selby is eighth seed in this week’s ISS Canary Wharf Classic and will be keen to maintain his winning momentum on home soil in this 5-star PSA Tour event at Canary Wharf in London.
The Essex man faces Egypt’s world No25 Tarek Momen in the first round tomorrow (Monday) before a likely clash with England team-mate James Willstrop, the world No4 and a three-time winner of the title, in the quarter-finals.
Final:
[2] Daryl Selby (ENG) bt [3] Hisham Mohd Ashour (EGY) 12-10, 11-4, 11-7 (45m)
Semi-finals:
[3] Hisham Mohd Ashour (EGY) bt [1] Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) 4-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-7 (51m)
[2] Daryl Selby (ENG) bt [4] Shahier Razik (CAN) 11-7, 11-4, 11-6 (45m)
Quarter-finals:
[1] Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) bt Stephane Galifi (ITA) 11-5, 11-8, 11-6 (41m)
[3] Hisham Mohd Ashour (EGY) bt [8] Eric Galvez (MEX) 11-0, 7-11, 11-3, 11-3 (35m)
[4] Shahier Razik (CAN) bt Gilly Lane (USA) 11-9, 11-5, 11-4 (43m)
[2] Daryl Selby (ENG) bt [Q] Clinton Leeuw (RSA) 11-9, 12-10, 14-12 (33m)
1st round:
[1] Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) bt [Q] John Rooney (IRL) 11-1, 13-11, 11-4 (35m)
Stephane Galifi (ITA) bt [6] Aaron Frankcomb (AUS) 6-11, 11-8, 11-9, 1-11, 11-9 (90m)
[3] Hisham Mohd Ashour (EGY) bt Andrew McDougall (CAN) 11-9, 11-4, 11-8 (34m)
[8] Eric Galvez (MEX) bt [Q] Matthew Giuffre (CAN) 11-5, 16-14, 11-7 (44m)
Gilly Lane (USA) bt [5] Martin Knight (NZL) 11-5, 11-7, 12-10 (14m)
[4] Shahier Razik (CAN) bt [Q] Zac Alexander (AUS) 11-9, 11-3, 11-3 (41m)
[Q] Clinton Leeuw (RSA) bt [7] Campbell Grayson (NZL) 3-11, 11-9, 11-9, 7-11, 11-9 (75m)
[2] Daryl Selby (ENG) bt Jan Koukal (CZE) 11-5, 2-11, 11-9, 11-9