Mark Selby crashes out to debutant Joe O'Connor at World Snooker Championship as upsets continue at Crucible

Updated 22/04/2024 at 17:30 GMT

Not even three days have passed at the Crucible and the 2024 World Snooker Championship is already turning into a tournament of upsets. Mark Selby became the latest high-profile victim in the first round as he crashed out to debutant Joe O'Connor, joining defending champion Luca Brecel, Masters runner-up Ali Carter and Chinese 11th seed Zhang Anda on the Crucible scrapheap.

'Biggest win of his life!' - O'Connor holds nerve to complete Selby upset

Mark Selby crashed out on the opening hurdle of the World Championship for the first time since 2018 as debutant Joe O'Connor completed a famous win at the Crucible.

The damage was done in Sunday's opening session when O'Connor raced into a 7-2 lead to leave him just three frames away from the second round.

Four-time champion Selby showed his mettle by taking three of the first four frames on Monday afternoon, but O'Connor steadied after the interval to complete a 10-6 victory.

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It means both of last year's finalists have fallen inside three days in Sheffield, with defending champion Luca Brecel losing the last four frames in a 10-9 defeat to David Gilbert on Saturday.

Selby needed a fast start on Monday, and a 112 break was the perfect tonic, only for O'Connor to hit back immediately for 8-3.

But Selby started to take control and when he pocketed a pressure black in the 12th frame, it looked as though the momentum was shifting. Although he found himself tied up with his next shot, he soon returned to tick off another frame in his salvage mission.

O'Connor finally looked set to build a big break in the next but broke down on 27, allowing Selby to swoop in with a brilliant 91 to leave him just three frames away from his rival at the interval.

Selby continued to impress upon the resumption, bulleting home a three-ball plant that split the reds to hint at a sustained revival. But he was left without an easy colour, with a poor safety shot leaving the table wide open for O'Connor.

O'Connor stepped in and made a nervy 57, with Eurosport commentator Neal Foulds fearing the 28-year-old was "tightening up a little bit", but Selby fluffed his next shot as the debutant belatedly moved within one frame of victory.

Selby needed to win the remaining five frames to keep his Crucible dream alive, and a break of 67 in the 15th gave him a glimmer of hope, aided by a remarkable shot on the rest with multiple cue extensions from the opposite end of the table.

'He'll be in the audience at this rate!' – Selby forced to use super long cue

He took the initiative in a scrappy, turgid 16th frame with a beautiful plant, but an in-off invited O'Connor back to the table with the reds dotted about awkwardly. O'Connor duly sunk the reds one by one, teeing himself up for the tricky last one with a stunning pot on the black. But there was still time for late drama.

O'Connor missed the final red down the cushion, Selby returned the favour with a wild effort, the underdog blew another pot opportunity, only for Selby to leave the red on again. Finally, at the third attempt, O'Connor clunked it home and cleared to black to complete one of the biggest wins of his career and set up a second-round date with either Kyren Wilson or Dominic Dale.

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