to make sure he was ready for the upcoming World Championship. He played Barry Hawkins in the first round and was defeated 3–10. After the match, Selby admitted that he had only managed nine hours of practice in preparation for the tournament, and there were certain shots that he was physically unable to play. Despite this disappointment, he finished the season still as world number one. 2012–13 season Selby announced he felt "90 per cent fit" just before the start of the season, as he continued his recovery from the disc bulge in his neck. His first event was the Wuxi Classic where he played Barry Hawkins in the last 32; having been eliminated from the World Championship by Hawkins two months earlier, Selby this time won 5–2, and then whitewashed Jamie Cope 5–0 to set up a quarter-final match with in-form Stuart Bingham, but lost in the deciding frame 4–5. He won seven matches in a row to reach the quarter-finals of the Six-red World Championship, where he was defeated 5–7 by Judd Trump. He then suffered a shock 3–5 first-round defeat to Jamie Burnett in the Australian Goldfields Open. Selby lost his world number one ranking on 2 November 2012, when Trump claimed the top spot by reaching the final of the inaugural International Championship in China. However, just five weeks later, Selby regained the top ranking position by winning the UK Championship, for his third ranking title and most significant of his career to that date. He defeated Michael White 6–3, Ryan Day 6–4 after trailing 0–3, and Neil Robertson 6–4 from 0–4 behind, to reach the semi-finals. He then defeated Mark Davis 9–4 to progress to the final, where he beat Shaun Murphy 10–6 to win the tournament. Selby also participated at the Players Tour Championship. He successfully defended his Paul Hunter Classic title with a 4–1 win over Joe Swail in the final. He then lost in the final of the Antwerp Open 1–4 against Mark Allen, and won the Munich Open by defeating Graeme Dott 3–4 in the final. He then finished number one on the Order of Merit, and qualified for the Finals, where he lost 3–4 against Jack Lisowski. Selby then won his third Masters title, beating Bingham 6–5 from 1–5 behind in the first round, Mark Williams 6–1 in the quarter-finals, and Dott 6–5 from 1–4 behind in the semi-finals. He