the 31-year-old from leicester rocked ronnie o'sullivan in last year 's final to claim his maiden crucible title , and returned to ease 6-3 ahead of kurt maflin in their first-round tussle .
no first-time champion in sheffield has returned to retain the trophy 12 months on , and that factor has taken the tag of the ` crucible curse ' .
mark selby plays in the first round match against kurt maflin on day one of the world championship .