World number 71 Louis Heathcote sprang the biggest surprise of the opening day of the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open as he beat Mark Selby 4-3 to reach the last 32.
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Heathcote clearly wasn't expecting a long stay in Belfast as he only brought enough underpants to last two days, but with a guaranteed £5,400 he can afford a trip to the shops ahead of his next match with Jimmy Robertson or Xiao Guodong. While British Open champion Selby was far from his best, it's still a fine win for Heathcote which boosts his hopes of keeping his tour card at the end of the season.
Leading 3-2, Heathcote had a chance to seal victory in frame six but missed a tricky pot on the final yellow to a centre pocket and Leicester rival Selby punished him for 3-3. In the decider, Heathcote had two clear scoring chances and built a 49-1 lead, then four-time Crucible king Selby had an opportunity to counter but potted just one red before missing a routine green to a baulk corner and that proved the key moment.
"I'm delighted, neither of us played great but I'm glad I finished on the right side," said 27-year-old Heathcote. "I felt as if I got stronger as the game went on and it is rewarding to get through that kind of match. I only brought enough pants to last until tomorrow so I'll be in Primark in the morning to buy more.
"I have only had one run to a last 16 (in ranking events other than the Shoot Out) in five and a half years and that's just not good enough to stay on tour. I want to be in the deep end of tournaments and I know how difficult that is. I have been scoring heavily and I felt as if a big win was coming. There is a lot of pressure to stay on tour and earn money but I am trying not to think about that, I'm just trying to enjoy the process."
Shaun Murphy avoided another shock as he came from 2-0 down to beat Jiang Jun 4-2 with a top break of 118. Pang Junxu top scored with 129 in a 4-3 win over Yuan Sijun, while veteran Mark Davis impressed in a 4-1 win over a three-time winner of BetVictor Home Nations events - Gary Wilson. Stuart Bingham eased to a 4-1 success against Scott Donaldson.