It’s been four years since Mark Selby won the last of his three world titles, but his form is exactly where he wants it to be after beating his first-round match with Kurt Maflin at the Betfred World Championship.
The Leicester Potter was in top form as he advanced to a 10-1 win, finishing the last two frames he needed to eliminate last year’s Norwegian quarterfinalist.
That sets up a second-round meeting with Mark Allen and Selby couldn’t have asked for a better start at the Crucible.
He said: “Really, in my complete game, I felt like I had no weaknesses throughout the game. Going into the evening session, it was a weird mindset because you feel like all you have to do is take care of your work and you’ll have opportunities, so it was a case of when not if I went over the line.
“The way I played yesterday I was very happy with my complete game, it’s been a while since I felt that way. It shows that my game is where I want it to be.
“In the first session I don’t think I could have played better in any part of my game. I thought I ticked all the boxes in that session with my game where I want it to be. But you have to take care of it while you can because it doesn’t happen too often. ”
After beating Maflin, Selby faces a familiar foe in Allen, the 2018 Masters champion.
It is the Northern Irishman who beats his head-to-head record, and Selby admits that he will have to be in his prime to make it to the last eight.
He added: “It is very, very tough, we have met many times and as people have told me, he has a 10-9 advantage.
“It just shows how close the matches are and we’ve had a lot of decisive frames.
“I know he hasn’t had the best seasons, but I saw a little bit of his first-round game and it seemed like he was getting back to where he wanted to be.
“It’s going to be a difficult game, but it’s the World Championship, you don’t expect easy games.”
Earlier in the day, Shaun Murphy booked his place in the second round with a 10-7 victory over Mark Davis, while Ronnie O’Sullivan and Anthony McGill are tied at 4-4 in their second-round encounter.
Watch the World Snooker Championship live on Eurosport and the Eurosport app from April 17 to May 3
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Source: www.yorkshirepost.co.uk
This notice was published: 2021-04-22 21:53:57
