Mark Selby aiming to beat rivals to piece of snooker history at Northern Ireland Open

Mark Selby can become the first player to win all four Home Nations titles if he triumphs at the Northern Ireland Open and would love to claim that slab of snooker history.

The 42-year-old has won the English (twice), Scottish (twice) and Welsh Open titles as part of his incredible snooker CV.

Neil Robertson would have also had the chance to complete the Home Nations set in Belfast, but the Australian was forced to pull out due to illness.

Four-time world champion Selby got his campaign underway in Belfast with a 4-1 win over Ian Burns on Sunday afternoon, setting up a clash with either Jack Lisowski or Haris Tahir in the last 32.

Not that the world number 10 and famously fierce competitor needs added motivation, but there is an added pep in his step as he tries to land a title that is missing from his collection.

‘Yeah, 100 per cent,’ Selby said of being motivated by winning a trophy that has eluded him. ‘I’ve won all the other three, the English, Scottish and Welsh, so this is the one that’s missing.

‘I read somewhere about Neil when he withdrew from the tournament saying he was disappointed because this is the one that’s missing for him as well.

‘It would be nice. I didn’t know how many players have won all four but no one has. So, yeah, obviously that’s more of an incentive.

‘But every tournament I play in I go there to try and win, so I it’s not like I need any incentive of thinking I need to win this to tick it off the list. It’s just another tournament to try and win, same as everyone else who’s involved.’

Despite landing the other three Home Nations titles, Selby has been to just one semi-final in Belfast, losing out to Ronnie O’Sullivan in 2018.

He may have a disappointing record in Northern Ireland, but the Jester from Leicester is a fan of Belfast and the Waterfront Hall.

‘I actually love coming here, even though my record over the years has not been great,’ he said.

‘Just obviously the time of the season when I’ve come to this tournament I’ve not performed well enough to get through.

‘I’ve only experienced the one-table set-up once here against Ronnie and the atmosphere was great. But just the layout of the arena, how it’s tiered, it’s definitely up there [as one of the best on tour] for sure.

‘I lost 6-5 to Ronnie in a decider in 2018, other than that, I’ve gone out early doors. I think I lost to Louis [Heathcote] last year, a couple of first round exits, but hopefully I can change that this year, we’ll see.’

Selby has been to three semi-finals already this season and feels he is close to trophy-winning form, but just needs to add a bit of consistency and a clinical streak that he is missing.

‘Form’s good in general, it’s just the performances are a bit in and out,’ he said. ‘I feel good out there, it’s just that I’m playing one good game and not really following it up with another one.

‘I know that might sound silly because I’ve got to semis in Shanghai, semis in the British [Open], semis in the English [Open], but there were a couple of games that could have gone either way and I managed to scrape through. I think I was 3-0 in front two games in a row and tried my best to throw it away. I managed to crawl over the line and get in.

‘Just things like that, just being a bit more clinical. I think if I can just sharpen up on that and kill the frames off when I get my chance, rather than killing them off in one or two chances. I think that’s probably the difference between winning and losing tournaments now.’

Selby is among the favourites to get his hands on the Alex Higgins Trophy on Sunday, with chances boosted by Robertson’s withdrawal along with some other high profile absentees.

Ronnie O’Sullivan and Ding Junhui did not enter the event, while Mark Williams withdrew having won the Xi’an Grand Prix on Monday.

World champion Zhao Xintong did come to Belfast but fell at the first hurdle, losing 4-0 to Jordan Brown.