Davis set for Selby showdown

The St Leonards cueman will face Mark Selby in the opening match of the 2014 Masters tournament at Alexandra Palace, London, tomorrow (Sunday) from 1pm.

Davis told Observer Sport: “It’s a massive tournament and I’m looking forward to it. It’s a great venue and it’s one of the biggest tournaments of the season.”

Selby is the reigning Masters champion and UK Championship runner-up, while world number 14 Davis won the Six-Reds World Championship in 2012 and 2013.

“It will be tough match obviously, but they all are,” continued Davis. “He’s got everything; he’s got no weaknesses. He can bang in breaks, but if the balls go scrappy, he’s one of the best safety players in the game. All you can do is play well and hope it’s enough.”

It will be Davis’s third appearance in a tournament which brings together the sport’s top 15 ranked players and world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan.

He first lined-up in 2003 at the event’s former home of Wembley and was edged out by Alan McManus. Davis’s next outing came exactly a decade later when he lost to Mark Allen last year.