Selby looked to be coasting into the last 32 as he opened up a 3-0 lead, but 25-year-old Wakelin from Rugby, the world No 63, showed plenty of determination and compiled seven breaks of over 50 to force a decider.
It was Selby - Sky Bet's 4/1 favourite to win the tournament - who finally took his chance after both players had passed up decent opportunities to set up a meeting with Alan McManus (200/1) , who came from 4-3 down to beat Dominic Dale 5-4.
Judd Trump (9/2) had breaks of 119, 58 and 54 as he whitewashed Alfie Burden 5-0, while home favourite Liang Wenbo (33/1) enjoyed runs of 108, 76, 64 and 61 as he beat John Astley 5-2 to set up a meeting with David Gilbert.
John Higgins - tipped by our snooker expert Simon Crawford at a pre-tournament 9/1 - made breaks of 87, 76, 69 and 61 as he beat Ian Preece 5-1 and he will now face Zhou Yuelong (125/1) in the last 32.
PRICE BOOST: Ronnie O'Sullivan to win the Shanghai Masters is now 5/1 from 4/1 with Sky Bet!
Former tournament winner Ali Carter (33/1) was pushed hard by Stuart Carrington before emerging a 5-3 victor.
Belgium's Luca Brecel (16/1), currently one of the most in-form players on the circuit, swept past Matthew Stevens 5-0 - but it was not all plain sailing off the table.
The 22-year-old was forced to play in borrowed clothes after picking up the wrong bag at the airport.
Brecel was able to wear shoes he found in the stranger's bag but had to borrow clothes from the tournament director and his fellow player Michael White.
In an interview on World Snooker's Twitter feed, Brecel said: "I took the wrong bag off the belt, which was exactly the same as mine, but I only realised at maybe 6.15 tonight (Tuesday) that it wasn't my bag so I had to borrow Michael White's clothes.
"Crazy story but luckily I could still play."
TUESDAY RESULTS
- Alfie Burden 0-5 Judd Trump (Match 26)
- Barry Hawkins 5-2 Daniel Wells (Match 35)
- Cao Yupeng 5-0 Michael Holt (Match 17)
- Yuan SiJun 4-5 Robbie Williams (Match 19)
- John Higgins 5-1 Ian Preece (Match 27)
- Liang Wenbo 5-2 John J Astley (Match 29)
- Akani Songsermsawad bt Stuart Bingham W/O (Match 32)
- Joe Perry 5-1 Matthew Selt (Match 38)
- Dominic Dale 4-5 Alan McManus (Match 41)
- Chris Wakelin 4-5 Mark Selby (Match 42)
- Mei Xi Wen 5-4 Adam Duffy (Match 11)
- Luca Brecel 5-0 Matthew Stevens (Match 21)
- Rory McLeod 4-5 Stephen Maguire (Match 23)
- Stuart Carrington 3-5 Ali Carter (Match 24)
- Li Yuan 0-5 Martin Gould (Match 31)
- Hossein Vafaei 0-5 Marco Fu (Match 34)
- Soheil Vahedi 3-5 Gerard Greene (Match 40)
WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 15
Morning Session (0100 GMT) First Round (best of 9 frames)
- Ronnie O'Sullivan v Gary Wilson (Match 37)
Afternoon Session (0630 GMT)
Second Round (best of 9 frames)
TV Coverage: Eurosport 1
- Kurt Maflin v Yu De Lu (Match 44)
- Fergal O'Brien v Mark Allen (Match 45)
- Cao Yupeng v Jack Lisowski (Match 46)
- Robbie Williams v Graeme Dott (Match 47)
- Ben Woollaston v Judd Trump (Match 50)
- Liang Wenbo v David Gilbert (Match 52)
- Barry Hawkins v Michael White (Match 55)
- Alan McManus v Mark Selby (Match 58)
Evening Session (1130 GMT)
Second Round (best of 9 frames)
TV Coverage: Eurosport 1
- Mei Xi Wen v Jimmy Robertson (Match 43)
- Luca Brecel v Jamie Jones (Match 48)
- Stephen Maguire v Ali Carter (Match 49)
- John Higgins v Zhou Yuelong (Match 51)
- Martin Gould v Akani Songsermsawad (Match 53)
- Robert Milkins v Marco Fu (Match 54)
- O'Sullivan/Wilson v Joe Perry (Match 56)
- Mark Williams v Gerard Greene (Match 57)
Related links
Fast Results
Scores
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