Mark Selby in the last 64. In the first round of the Masters, Selby played against Mark Willams in a repeat of the 2017 edition. However, it was Williams who prevailed in their encounter 6–5. It was also the second time that Selby lost in a deciding frame at the tournament. Selby retained his China Open title, defeating Barry Hawkins 11–3 in the final. It was the 3rd China Open title he won in 4 years. Selby's two-year reign as World Champion came to an end at the first round of the 2018 World Snooker Championship. Facing Joe Perry, Selby trailed 2–7
Mark Selby second of the season after Robertson), and also the twelfth player to win the World and UK Championship double in their career. In winning the world title, Selby also retook the world number one spot. In the first ranking event of the season, the Wuxi Classic, Selby lost 3–5 to Liang Wenbo in the last 32. He won the minor-ranking Riga Open, defeating Mark Allen 4–3 in the final, but lost 5–6 to Allen in the semi-final of the ranking Shanghai Masters. He suffered a surprise early exit in the last 128 of the ranking International Championship when 19-year-old tour