Four-time Crucible king Mark Selby will take time over the summer to decide whether to quit the sport after a 10-6 defeat against Joe O'Connor in the first round of the Cazoo World Championship.
In the shock of the tournament so far, Crucible debutant O'Connor got the better of one of the sport's all time greats, converting a 7-2 overnight lead into arguably the biggest win of his career. The world number 30, who practises with Selby in Leicester, goes through to the last 16 to face Kyren Wilson or Dominic Dale.
Selby won this event in 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2021 and was runner-up to Luca Brecel a year ago. For most of this season he has struggled with his game, failing to win a ranking title, and after losing to Gary Wilson at the recent Tour Championship he revealed that he would retire if his performance did not improve at the Crucible. After today's defeat he described his display as "pathetic" but will not rush into a decision about his future.
"I will sit down with (wife) Vikki and talk about the options," said the 40-year-old. "I will definitely take a few weeks away from snooker now. For most of this season I have not enjoyed it, I have stopped myself from playing with freedom and that has done my head in. Snooker is affecting me mentally, and that's not where I want to be. Happiness is more important. I have achieved a lot in the game, but I still can't go out there and enjoy playing. If I do decide to carry on, then I will need to work with someone to address that."
As for the match, Selby added: "I was pathetic from start to finish. The damage was done from 2-2 to 7-2, I was really poor and made it too easy for him. I knew he wouldn't freeze, he's not that type of character. Even though I have lost I am chuffed to bits for Joe, no one is prouder of him than me."
O'Connor's career highlights include beating John Higgins twice during his debut season in 2018/19 and reaching the Welsh Open semi-finals. He went one step further at the 2022 Scottish Open, finishing runner-up to Gary Wilson, and climbed into the world's top 32. This season had been disappointing until the last and biggest tournament - this is his first run to the last 16 of a ranking event this term. The 28-year-old came through a brutal test in qualifying, beating Matthew Selt 10-8 by winning a 110-minute frame, the second longest in snooker history. And he now joins the list of players to knock out a seed on their Crucible debut.
Breaks of 122, 67, 101, 74 and 61 helped O'Connor to take a 7-2 lead on Sunday. Selby took the opening frame today with a run of 112 then the next two were shared to leave O'Connor 8-4 ahead. In frame 13, O'Connor had first chance and led 31-0 when he ran out of position and played safe. Selby cracked in a long red and made 91 to boost his hopes of a fight-back.
After the interval, O'Connor's 57 helped him dominate frame 14 as he moved to the brink of victory at 9-5. Selby pulled one back with a 67 but crucially missed the last red to a top corner when he trailed 39-42 in frame 16. After a brief safety exchange, O'Connor converted a long pot on the red to a baulk corner, and kept his composure to clear the table.
"Just to play Mark on my debut was unbelievable, and to win is a dream," said O'Connor. "I have watched him since I started playing and he has always inspired me. I hope he doesn't retire.
"I enjoyed being out there, the crowd was amazing and I felt like I belonged there. There were no nerves until right at the end. Beating a top player gives you so much confidence and shows that all the hard work has paid off."
On the other table, Mark Williams battled to a narrow 5-4 lead over Si Jiahui in a match which concludes on Tuesday afternoon. Three-time champion Williams started with a 142 total clearance and added the second frame, before last year's semi-finalist Si fought back to take four of the next five frames with a top run of 52. From 4-3 down, Williams took the last two with 57 and 63 to establish a slender advantage.