Continuing our series of Cazoo World Championship previews.

Selby turned professional at 16 and reached a ranking final at the Scottish Open at 19, but his big breakthrough came at the 2007 World Championship where he reached the final as a qualifier, losing to John Higgins.

A year later at the Welsh Open he won his first ranking title in a manner which would sum up his career, by recovering from an unlikely deficit – 8-5 down to Ronnie O’Sullivan – to win 9-8.

Three times a Masters champion and twice winner of the UK Championship, Selby was world number one for four years unbroken from 2015 to 2019. His victory at the recent WST Classic netted him his 22nd career ranking title.

This season

Selby would surely prefer to win two ranking titles and have quiet spells during the campaign rather than just being consistent without winning anything.

For the great champions, collecting trophies is what matters. Selby’s victories at the English Open and WST Classic extended his run of having won 19 of his last 21 ranking finals, a formidable record which proves that, if he’s still around on the last day of a tournament, he’s very tough to beat in the title match. The earlier exits he made in other events matter less if he is ultimately picking up silverware