Selby progressed to the quarter-finals of the Masters in January, where he lost 2–6 to Shaun Murphy; he was defeated by Murphy again the following month, in the quarter-finals of the German Masters, losing the match 3–5. After reaching the final of the Welsh Open, where he lost 6–9 to Ding, he met Murphy for the third time in the space of less than six weeks, in the quarter-finals of the World Open, this time achieving a 5–0 whitewash. However, he then suffered a 5–6 semi-final defeat against Mark Allen, despite having built up a 5–2 lead.