Mark Selby is a snooker 'animal' and is the favourite to retain his World Championship title says Steve Davis

  • The World Snooker Championship begins in Sheffield on Saturday
  • Mark Selby begins the defence of his title against Irish qualifier Fergal O'Brien
  • Six-time winner Steve Davis has backed Selby to win a third trophy in four years

Steve Davis has hailed Mark Selby as a snooker 'animal' as the World Championship begins in Sheffield.

The 40th anniversary of snooker coming to the Crucible was marked at a parade of champions in the famous theatre on Friday evening.

Six-time champion Davis was among the famous faces, but Selby is the man with his hands currently on the trophy.

Mark Selby (front) is a snooker 'animal', 

Steve Davis says Mark Selby (front) is a snooker 'animal' ahead of the World Championship

The 40th anniversary of snooker coming to the Crucible was marked at a parade of champions

The 40th anniversary of snooker coming to the Crucible was marked at a parade of champions

Davis sees Selby, champion in both 2014 and 2016, as the man to beat again this year

Davis sees Selby, champion in both 2014 and 2016, as the man to beat again this year

SNOOKER WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FIRST ROUND DRAW

World Championship begins on Saturday at the Crucible, Sheffield:

Mark Selby v Fergal O'Brien

Ryan Day v Xiao Guodong

Neil Robertson v Noppon Saengkham

Marco Fu v Luca Brecel

Shaun Murphy v Yan Bingtao

Ronnie O'Sullivan v Gary Wilson

Liang Wenbo v Stuart Carrington

Ding Junhui v Zhou Yuelong

Stuart Bingham v Peter Ebdon

Kyren Wilson v David Grace

Mark Allen v Jimmy Robertson

John Higgins v Martin Gould

Barry Hawkins v Tom Ford

Ali Carter v Graeme Dott

Anthony McGill v Stephen Maguire

Judd Trump v Rory McLeod 

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The 33-year-old from Leicester landed the 2014 and 2016 titles and starts his campaign on Saturday against Ireland's Fergal O'Brien, the veteran whose record two-hour deciding frame in his final-round qualifier on Wednesday night earned him a 10th Crucible appearance.


Davis sees Selby as the man to beat again this year, and said: 'I bow to his machine-like quality. I'm a fan of them all, but you've got to say that Mark Selby is an animal on the table, and a machine.

'He's a predator. And even if he's not having a wonderful day he's still so dangerous, he's still competing all the time.

'We talk so often about how it doesn't matter how good your 'A' game is, it's how good your 'B' game is. With Mark Selby, his 'B' game's really strong as well.'

Davis, snooker's dominant figure in the 1980s, only retired last year during the World Championship. He has taken on the best of the modern generation, and from his experiences it is not only Selby he considers a contender.

'The best big-occasion players I see in the field would be John Higgins, Ronnie O'Sullivan and Mark Selby, and that's disregarding some fantastic players,' Davis said.

'I think with those three, if they get on a roll and get in a zone they're unplayable. By the time me and Stephen Hendry were 40 some cracks were starting to appear, but for Ronnie and John Higgins those guys are both still showing strength.'

 The 33-year-old from Leicester starts his campaign on Saturday against Fergal O'Brien

 The 33-year-old from Leicester starts his campaign on Saturday against Fergal O'Brien

Hendry, the retired seven-time champion and most successful player of the Crucible era, also likes Selby's chances.

Hendry said: 'Selby's going to be tough to beat I think. The way he plays, in the long-form matches it suits him.'

Five-time champion O'Sullivan also starts his campaign on Saturday as his best-of-19-frame opener against Wallsend cueman Gary Wilson, a debutant, begins in the afternoon session.

Like the match between Selby and O'Brien, the all-Scottish clash between Stephen Maguire and Anthony McGill starts in the morning and finishes in the evening session.

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