Sheffield: Chinese hopes of a first-ever snooker world champion were ended for this year as world number two Ding Junhui went down to a surprise 10 frames to nine defeat by English qualifier Michael Wasley in the first round in Sheffield on Tuesday.
Ding, 27, had won five ranking tournaments this season and coming into the championships was seen the major threat to defending champion Ronnie O’Sullivan of England.
He looked to be in control of the match when he led 6-3 overnight, but 24-year-old Wasley, ranked 75 in the world, showed remarkable nerve, in what is his first appearance in the championships, to take the final frame to set up a second round match with 13th seed Mark Davis or another Englishman Dominic Dale.
Ding follows compatriot Xiao Guodong out of the tournament - Hong Kong’s Marco Fu is still in and leads England’s Martin Gould 6-3 overnight going into Wednesday’s final session.
“It’s been amazing. I have a got a big taste for it now,” Wasley told BBC Sport. “You dream of playing at places like this. I adapted straight away and felt comfortable.”
Wasley is getting used to final-frame deciders as he had had to go to the last frame of his match to qualify for the championships beating Robert Milkins.
“It has taken a lot of hard work and a lot of support from a lot of people,” added Wasley.
“It’s fantastic. I feel great. I was really nervous but managed to put it to the back of my mind and hold it together.”
Veteran Scot Alan McManus also pulled off a shock win.
The 43-year-old two-time semi-finalist, who had beaten Wales’s double world champion Mark Williams in the final qualifying round, beat compatriot and four-time world champion John Higgins 10-7 also on Tuesday.
Higgins mounted a mini-comeback from 9-4 down but Mcmanus held firm to seal victory and set up a second round match with another veteran, Ireland’s 44-year-old 1997 world champion Ken Doherty, who progressed from the first round for the first time in eight years with victory over Stuart Bingham. “It was a bit of a tense finish. It’s never easy to put John away,” said McManus, who lost in the 1992 and 1993 semi-finals to Jimmy White and Stephen Hendry respectively.
“Although he probably never played as well as he would have liked, he came on strong towards the end and I kind of just fell over the line so I feel very fortunate.”
