Sporting Life
Mark Selby lost to Joe O'Connor
Mark Selby lost to Joe O'Connor

Snooker results: Four-time world champion Mark Selby will review future in the summer after shock Crucible defeat to Joe O'Connor

By Chris Hammer
Snooker
Wed April 24, 2024 · 8M ago

Mark Selby will 'review his future in the summer' after he crashed out in round one of the World Championship to debutant Joe O'Connor.

The four-time Crucible champion has endured a dismal season by his standards and questioned his future in the sport after losing to Gary Wilson in the Tour Championship earlier this month.

Selby, who has reached one ranking tournament final and two semi-finals, has traditionally reserved his best form of the season for the World Championship but he was largely outplayed by his fellow Leicester cueman and slumped to a 10-6 defeat.

It's only the fifth time in his career that he's fallen at the opening hurdle and the first since 2018.

Selby looked distinctly out of sorts during the first session - which O'Connor won 7-2 with the help of two centuries in three frames - and he didn't fare much better on Monday afternoon despite opening with a break of 112 and a couple of runs of 91 and 67 merely delayed the inevitable.

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Asked about his future, he told the BBC: "I don’t know, I’ll definitely still review in the summer. Because that first session I felt like I stopped myself from playing when I had my chances. I tried today and that’s all I can do, but just not good enough. I just made it too easy for him in the first session.

"I can’t keep doing that, it’s no good for me. It makes me ill and gets me down mentally. I tried to just get on with it and play, but it’s easier to do that when you’re 7-2 behind because you just let your arm go.

"I’ll sit down with Vikki and see what the options are. I know it will be a big decision, but if I do carry on playing then I do need help on the mental side a little bit more. Just to go out there and enjoy the game, that’s all I want to do.

"For me it’s always life or death, I’ve always been that sort of character, putting too much pressure on myself and trying too hard. With what I’ve achieved I should be able to just go out there and play but I stop myself doing it every time."

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Bingham downs Wilson

Former world champion Stuart Bingham showed his class with a 10-5 victory over Gary Wilson, who became the fifth seed to exit the World Championship.

Bingham had been 7-3 down in qualifying before rallying to earn a Crucible return, and he made it count by dominating from the start against a player many had considered a genuine title contender.

It looked for a while that Bingham would rue a simple missed black at the end of the morning session, what should've been a 7-2 lead instead reduced to 6-3, and when Wilson took the first two frames of the evening he was favourite once more.

That was as close as he would get, however, as a frustrated Wilson made life easier for his experienced opponent as his patience began to wane.

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