World number one Mark Selby has qualified for the winners’ group in the Championship League tournament after a storming day’s play on Tuesday.

The Jester from Leicester looked to be on the verge of elimination before Tuesday’s play but he produced some of his best snooker at crucial moments, firstly by beating Anthony McGill and Joe Perry to finish in the top four of the group.

That ensured that he had a shot of qualifying for the winners’ group, with those games taking place on March 13 and 14.

Then, in the play-off he edged past Stephen Maguire 3-2 in a high scoring contest before facing Barry Hawkins in the group final.

Selby rattled off breaks of 82, 59, and 97 to whitewash the Hawk 3-0 and advance in the finals where he will be alongside Masters winner Judd Trump and 2015 world champion Stuart Bingham.

And the 35-year-old admits things got tense during the group stage and is delighted to advance.

“It was looking like I was going out the group. I won the last two to get into the semi-finals and that’s the beauty of this tournament,” he said.

“It’s great match practice playing the top players in the world so it’s a win-win for me. The winners’ group is going to be tough, the players who have won the groups so far are all top class players so I’m looking forward to it.”

Selby will be hoping to regain some of his best form after an underwhelming 2018 and can be backed at 7.00 to win the World Championship in May.