World number two Ding Junhui has been dumped out of the World Championship in the first round at the Crucible following a shock defeat at the hands of debutant Michael Wasley.
The game didn’t finish until after midnight as tournament organisers had to arrange a third session when play in the afternoon was halted with Ding leading 9-8 because they had ran over their allocated time to finish the match.
And 24-year-old Wasley took full advantage of the late-night extension as he levelled the tie with an impressive 103 break and then held his nerve on the pink to edge through 10-9 in the 19th frame.
Ding had been seeded to face defending champion Ronnie O’Sullivan in the semi-finals in Sheffield and while that mouth-watering encounter will not happen, Wasley could pose him a serious threat if the world number 75 continues to play in this manner.
In the meantime the Gloucester player will face 13th seed Mark Davis or Dominic Dale in round two.
There was another classic first-round clash earlier on Monday evening as 2007 runner-up Mark Selby edged past Michael White 10-9, while England’s Joe Perry progressed by winning six frames in a row to beat Jamie Burnett of Scotland 10-7.
Four-time champion John Higgins could be another early casualty as he is trailing 6-3 in his first round tie against fellow Scot Alan McManus.
Wasley is now 67.00 to win the World Snooker Championship, while O’Sullivan is 1.73 and Selby is 10.00.
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