Selby Keeps Hot Streak Going

Mark Selby boosted his hopes of winning back-to-back ranking titles with a brace of wins at the BetVictor Welsh Open on Tuesday.

Selby enjoyed a welcome return to form at the recent German Masters, winning his first ranking title since becoming World Champion last May. And the Leicester cueman was quickly into his stride in Cardiff, beating Alex Davies 4-0 and Marcus Campbell 4-2. Breaks of 135 and 120 against Campbell helped Selby into the last 32.

“When I get chances I am taking them,” said the world number one. “Marcus played well tonight and put me under pressure so I’m happy to get through. I came here really confident off the back of Germany. It was fantastic to win my first ranking title as World Champion and get that monkey off my back. It would be nice to have another good run here.”

John Higgins made a 134 in a 4-0 defeat of Alex Borg while India’s Aditya Mehta knocked out world number five Barry Hawkins 4-2 with a top break of 74.

Amateur Oliver Brown, who has claimed several pro scalps this season, scored a 4-1 win over Welshman Ryan Day. But there was good news for the home fans as Neath’s Michael White sailed to a 4-0 win over Chris Melling with a top run of 68.