Mark Selby has quickly put his PartyPoker.com Premier League defeat behind him as he focuses his attention on a much bigger prize.

The 25-year-old 'Jester from Leicester' suffered a 7-2 defeat against Ronnie O'Sullivan in Sunday's final at the Potters Leisure Resort in Hopton on Sea, Norfolk.

But he has a chance to bounce straight back when he kicks off his Maplin UK Championship bid this weekend.

A semi-finalist last year, Selby opens with a first-round clash against two-time world champion Mark Williams on Saturday at the Telford International Centre.

And with £100,000 first prize on offer and valuable ranking points available in the sport's second largest tournament, world No.4 Selby will be hoping to go one better than last year, when he was pipped 9-8 by eventual champion O'Sullivan.

He is also buoyed by his debut Premier League campaign, which saw him remain unbeaten in his six matches to top the league standings after being awarded a wildcard into the lucrative event.

He also knocked out seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry 5-0 in Saturday's semi-final – firing in three centuries on the way – and pocketed a cool £54,000 in overall prize money.

Despite losing to O'Sullivan in the final, Selby said: "There are far more positives than negatives from the whole tournament – I was unbeaten in the league, I topped the table and I got to the final, all on my debut. It's a really good achievement.

"Ronnie played well and punished every mistake I made. I had a few chances early doors but I had a couple of kicks and he kept punishing me.

"I knew I had to get off to a good start because when he gets a lead he can steamroller you.

"That didn't happen though and he just ran away with it. But I'm really pleased to have got through to the final.

"It was only a couple of months ago that I wasn't even in the tournament, so to get to the final is brilliant. And I hope I've done enough to be invited back next year."

World champion and world No.1 O'Sullivan raced into a 5-0 lead thanks to breaks of 93, 62, 83 and 62 before Selby pulled one back.

O'Sullivan added the seventh with a run of 105 and, even though Selby gave himself a glimmer of hope by taking the next with a break of 84, it was the 'Rocket' who closed out for a 7-2 win to clinch his fifth successive Premier League title, and eighth in total.

O'Sullivan was delighted with his victory and said: "To beat someone of Mark's calibre and quality is fantastic for me. He's coming after me so I just want to keep him at bay for as long as I can."

Selby, the Masters and Welsh Open champion, is now concentrating on Saturday's match against Williams.

He said: "I know my game is in good shape. The match against Hendry was one of the best I have played in my professional career, so I am feeling good.

"My preparation has been good and I will get straight back on the practice table this week. I'm looking forward to it."

The best-of-17 frames clash gets under way on Saturday and reaches a conclusion on Sunday.