Three-time Crucible kingpin Mark Selby suggested he now feels “part of the tournament” after surviving a mammoth first-round scare at the World Championship.

Selby showed all his battling skills to overturn a 5-1 first-session deficit and beat Zhao Xintong 10-7, with the youngster nearly making his Crucible debut a memorable one.

The former world number one Selby landed the final two frames of the morning session to stem the tide to 5-3 and rattled off the opening two in the evening to achieve parity. The 22-year-old wasn’t about to crumble and the next four frames were shared to level the scores at 7-7 before 15-time ranking event winner Selby surged away in the closing stages to secure his passage.

“I’m over the moon to get through. I knew it was going to be a tough game when the draw came out,” he said.

“I’ve played him a few times now and he’s such a laid-back guy, nothing really fazes him. No matter what the occasion is, he’s going to play his attacking game. Some of the balls he potted out there were unbelievable.”

This is also the first time since 2017 that Selby hasn’t entered the Crucible as defending champion and Selby suggests he only feels part of a World Championship when he books a place in round two.

“The first round is always a potential banana skin, no matter who you play. You’ve always got the nerves at the Crucible in the first match,” he added.

“You’ve just got to get that first match out of the way and you feel as though you’re part of the tournament then.”

Selby, who made three century breaks and five 50+ breaks in winning his first-round clash, is 8.50 to win the title in Sheffield.