Four-time winner Mark Selby described his own performance as "pathetic" as he crashed out of the Halo World Championship in the opening round, beaten 10-8 by close friend Ben Woollaston who scored his first Crucible win.
Selby joins Kyren Wilson and Neil Robertson as the major casualties of the opening round and it's the second year in a row he has failed to make the last 16 as he lost to Joe O'Connor in 2024. The 41-year-old came to Sheffield with high hopes having won three titles this season, but looked uncomfortable throughout and wasn't helped by problems with his cue tip which had to be replaced before the second session. He made just one break over 40 tonight as his opponent came from 5-4 down to win six of the last nine frames.
Woollaston had appeared at the Crucible just once before, in 2013 when he lost in the first round, and his second trip to the Theatre of Dreams has given him the best moment of his 22-year career. Watched by son Edward and wife Tatiana, the world number 44 kept his cool in the closing stages as he set up a second round fixture with Si Jiahui which starts on Saturday night.
"Without a doubt it's my best ever win," said the Leicester cueman, now guaranteed £30,000. "I beat Mark Williams to reach the final of the Welsh Open in 2015 in front of a big crowd. But this is far bigger.
"Mark didn't play his best but that doesn't matter to me, he is still really difficult to beat, especially here. I did a lot of things well, I made a few mistakes but that was bound to happen. Mark is the best there has ever been tactically but I stayed tough in the safety battles and that won me the match. People might say his head was gone, but I made it hard for him and that's why he got frustrated. It's possible I can go further if I can play better."
Woollaston took the opener tonight with a top break of 58 then added a scrappy 11th frame to lead 6-5. In the 12th he potted green, brown and blue to lead by 14 points, but Selby then got the snooker he needed on the pink before converting two excellent pots for 6-6. At the time that felt like a turning point, but in fact it was Woollaston who kept his composure and regained the lead before the interval.
Selby had first chance in the 14th but made just 37 and his opponent took it with a run of 60 for 8-6. Leicester's Selby got the better of a scrappy 15th to halve the gap and he was on 12 in the next when he was unlucky not to find position when splitting the pack. Woollaston's runs of 49 and 39 put him 9-7 ahead and he had a scoring opportunity in the 17th but missed a red to a baulk corner and Selby punished him with 81.
Frame 18 lasted 46 minutes and Selby looked favourite to make it 9-9 until he missed a mid-range red leading 37-13. Woollaston countered with 32 and later laid a tough snooker on the last red, setting up the chance to close out the result.
World number four Selby, champion in 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2021, said: "I was pathetic from start to finish, I didn't show up and didn't deserve to win. I didn't score well enough when I got chances. Ben's safety was unbelievable at times and had me in trouble. I love him to bits, I grew up with him and have seen him progress.
"Sometimes I just try too hard and stop myself from playing. I can't put my finger on why that happens. I know I won tournaments but to finish like this puts a dampener on the season because my goal is to win more Triple Crowns, so this is very disappointing."
On the other table, John Higgins and Xiao Guodong finished the opening session of their second round meeting locked level at 4-4. Higgins arrived in Sheffield as one of the form players on the circuit, having collected silverware at the World Open and the Tour Championship in recent months. The Scot started strongly this evening, making breaks of 131, 62 and 54 to lead 3-1 at the mid-session interval.
Xiao, who won a maiden ranking title earlier this season at the Wuhan Open, made a fine 114 when play resumed, then claimed the next two frames to move 4-3 ahead. Four-time champion Higgins took the last of the session with a run of 79 to finish all-square. The second of three sessions takes place on Friday afternoon at 2:30pm.