Snooker great O'Sullivan falls behind to amateur in World Championship
Last updated on: 23 April,2019 08:31 am
Ronnie O'Sullivan fell behind to James Cahill in the first round of the World Championship on Monday
LONDON (AFP) - Snooker great Ronnie O Sullivan fell behind to James Cahill in the first round of the World Championship on Monday as the amateur threatened one of the great upsets in the sport s history.
Cahill, the first amateur to play in the tournament, led five-times world champion O Sullivan 5-4 at the halfway stage of their first-round match at Sheffield s Crucible Theatre in northern England.
The match will resume on Tuesday, with world number one O Sullivan looking to improve on his below-standard display in the opening session.
John Higgins, bidding for a fifth world title came through 10-7 against Mark Davis with the help of breaks of 100, 135 and 132.
Earlier, three-time champion Mark Selby rallied from 5-1 down against China s Zhao Xintong to end the session 5-3 behind.
The Englishman is looking to end a slump that saw him make first-round exits at both last year s World Championship and this season s UK Championship as well as other tournaments, including last month s Players Championship.
Such problems were far from the mind of Selby s compatriot Shaun Murphy, who thrashed Chinese teenager Luo Honghao 10-0.
Luo s 89 points saw him take the unwanted record for fewest points in the modern-day history of the World Championship off the hands of England s Danny The Dustman Fowler, who managed 191 in a 10-1 loss to Stephen Hendry in a first-round clash in 1993.
Murphy s whitewash of Luo was the first at the Crucible since John Parrott beat Australia s Eddie Charlton 10-0 in 1992.
Murphy now faces Australia s Neil Robertson, who only dropped a single frame in a 10-1 first-round win.
"After the season I have had, never in my wildest dreams did I think I could come here and win 10-0," Murphy told World Snooker s website.
"Going out this morning, it was tough to try to put that potential 10-0 to the back of my mind and try to play the right shots."
Meanwhile Luo vowed to return a better player for his chastening loss, saying: "I was very nervous. I ve never felt like this before because the Crucible is the dream for every player. It is amazing to get here.
"I didn t feel like I was playing a match. I was enjoying the place. After this time I want to improve myself, my technique and my skill."