Mark Selby is looking to beat his rival in snooker history at the Northern Ireland Open

Mark Selby could 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 snooker history.

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

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

Four-time world champion Selby started his campaign 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 notoriously fierce competitor needs any extra motivation, but there is an extra pep in his step as he tries to get the title missing from his collection.

‘Yes, 100 percent,’ said Selby about his motivation to win a trophy he had never achieved. “I’ve won three other titles, English, Scottish and Welsh, so this is one I haven’t won.

“I read about Neil when he withdrew from the tournament and said he was disappointed because this was something he was missing too.

‘That would be fun. I don’t know how many players have won all four, but no one has. So, yeah, obviously it’s more of an incentive.

“But every tournament I go into, I go there to try and win, so I don’t seem to need any incentive to think that I need to win this to be on the list. It’s just another tournament to try and win, just like everyone else involved.”

Despite picking up three other Home Nations titles, Selby only reached one semi-final in Belfast, losing to Ronnie O’Sullivan in 2018.

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

‘I’m actually happy to come here, even though my record over the years hasn’t been great,’ he said.

“Obviously when I came into this tournament, I didn’t perform well enough to qualify.

“I’ve only ever experienced a single table setup here against Ronnie and the atmosphere was incredible. But the layout of the arena alone, how tiered it is, it’s definitely up there [as one of the best on tour] for sure.

“I lost 6-5 to Ronnie in the decider in 2018, besides, I was knocked out early. I think I lost to Louis [Heathcote] Last year, I got knocked out in the first round a few times, but hopefully I can change that this year, we’ll see.”

Selby has reached three semi-finals this season and feels he is close to his best, but he just needs to add a bit of the consistency and clinical streak he has been missing.

“In general, the performance is good, it’s just that the performance is a little in and out,” he said. “I felt fine out there, it’s just that I played one good match and didn’t follow it up with another match.

“I know it might sound ridiculous because I have to play in the semifinals in Shanghai, the semifinals in England [Open]semifinals in English [Open]but there are some games that can go either way and I managed to get through them. I think I was up 3-0 in two games in a row and tried my best to throw it away. I managed to crawl over the line and enter.

‘Things like that just become a little more clinical. I thought if I could hone in on that and turn the frame off when I got the chance, rather than turn it off in one or two occasions. I think that’s probably the difference between winning and losing in tournaments now.”

Selby is one of the favorites to get his hands on the Alex Higgins Cup on Sunday, with his chances enhanced by Robertson’s withdrawal along with several other high-profile absentees.

Ronnie O’Sullivan and Ding Junhui did not take part in the event, while Mark Williams withdrew after winning 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.

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