He began the defence of his title at the Masters by defeating Mark Davis in the first round and John Higgins in the quarter-finals, winning both matches 6–5 and extending his unbeaten record in deciding frames at the Masters to 11. He then beat Shaun Murphy 6–1 in the semi-finals to reach the final against O'Sullivan. After falling behind 1–7 in the first session, Selby lost the final 4–10, receiving the runner-up prize of £90,000. At the German Masters two weeks later, he was eliminated in the second round by Kurt Maflin 5–3. He defeated Alan McManus 5–1 in the quarter-finals of the World Open, and Marco Fu 6–4 in the semi-finals, but lost 6–10 in the final to Murphy.