In January, he played Mark Williams in the first round of the Masters, in a repeat of the previous year's event, where Selby had won their first-round encounter 6–5. However, this time the finishing score line was reversed as Selby lost the deciding frame 5–6. He retained his China Open championship in April, defeating Barry Hawkins 11–3 in the final. This was Selby's third China Open title in four years. Later that month, his two-year reign as World Champion ended in the first round of the World Championship, where he fell to Joe Perry 4–10, unable to recover from a 2–7 deficit in the first session. In winning the match, Perry became the first player to beat Selby at the World Championship since Anthony McGill had defeated him in the second round in 2015. Despite this disappointment, Selby still finished the season as world number one.