By Luke Baker

After giving defending champion Mark Selby the scare of his life in the first round of the snooker world championship, Lewisham’s Kurt Maflin believes his resilient display bodes well for the future.

Coming in as defending champion, Selby was expected to cruise past Crucible Theatre debutant Maflin but instead was forced to come from 9-8 down to record the most dramatic of 10-9 victories in Sheffield.

A high-quality first session had just one frame without a 50 break and ended with the world number one, who beat Ronnie O’Sullivan 18-14 to secure his maiden world title 12 months ago, leading 6-3.

It looked as if it would be a short evening’s work for Selby when he moved 8-4 ahead but Maflin, ranked 37 places below his opponent, won five on the trot with consistently nerveless potting to take a shock 9-8 lead.

However, the 31-year-old couldn’t seal the deal, losing the final two frames despite having the first opportunity in the last, although he believes the positives are there for all to see.

“I had a chance in that final frame and that is all you want in a decider really – I had it, didn’t take it and he deserved to win,” admitted Maflin.

“That 40-odd break in the last just shows why he is the world champion – he’s so tough and he deserved to win because he was the better player on the day.

“I was quite calm out there all day so I felt quite good in myself even when I was 6-3 behind.

“I’m happy with the way I played but I just wish it had gone the other way really.”

Running the defending champion close in the World Championship was the latest demonstration of the good form that saw Maflin reach the China Open semi-finals earlier this month.

He also had to win three qualifying matches last week just to reach the Crucible, seeing off six-time world champion Steve Davis 10-1 and veteran Irishman Fergal O’Brien 10-9 on the way.

And the world number 38, who now lives in Oslo, admits that while the build-up to the tournament wasn’t ideal, he is definitely on an upward trajectory snooker-wise.

“Maybe tiredness was a slight factor for me after winning three best-of-19 matches to qualify,” added Maflin.

“I went back to London on Wednesday night after beating Fergal and then came back up to Sheffield on Saturday.

“It would have been ideal to play on Monday, so maybe it had a little bit of an effect but I won’t blame it on that.

“I really hope I’m moving in the right direction with my career and it certainly looks like it.”

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