Mark Selby secured his first victory in a Triple Crown event since 2017 as he overcame Stephen Maguire 6-2 in the first round of the Dafabet Masters on Wednesday.

The world number one has a wealth of experience in major competitions, as he has won three World Championship and Masters titles in the past, as well as two UK Championships, but he fell at the first hurdle in all three of those tournaments last year.

The 35-year-old was clearly in the mood to bring that poor run of form to an end at Alexandra Palace on Wednesday and he produced a scintillating display, racking up three century breaks and a further two knocks of over 90.

Selby was certainly pleased by his performance and he felt it was important to remind everyone, including himself, that he could still win on the big stage.

“That was probably my best form,” Selby was quoted as saying by World Snooker.

“Stephen’s been playing well of late, so I knew it was going to be a tough game and I needed to get off to a good start.

“In the last few big competitions over the last year or 18 months I’ve struggled and not really produced. Sometimes you start thinking to yourself, is it ever going to come back? It’s nice to do it on a big occasion and in a big tournament like this.”

Selby’s reward for reaching the quarter-finals will be a mouthwatering clash with fellow Englishman Judd Trump on Friday.

The Jester from Leicester has not made it beyond the quarter-final stage of the Masters since 2014, but he is priced at 7.00 to go all the way and claim the top prize this year.