Mark Selby’s opening day defeat at the World Championship not only consigned him to only his second defeat at the Crucible in five years but also made him the seventh defending champion to be beaten here in round one.
Losing the world number one so early has to be constituted as a shock but it is perhaps a little harsh on Joe Perry who although technically a qualifier feels every bit like a top 16 player.
He is one of the toughest draws Selby could have possibly got and proved that with his excellent performance to win 10-4.
The Gent did exactly what you have to do when you play the best in the world; take your chances when they come along. He had three spells in the match where he stamped his authority and proved why he was such a worthy winner.
Selby started slowly and Perry scored three breaks of over 50 to establish a 4-0 lead at the mid-session interval. He then crucially hit a century in the final frame of the morning to ensure he took a 7-2 lead into the evening instead of just 6-3. And then in the evening session after Selby had got back to 8-4, he scored 76 and 90 to seal the match. This really was test book stuff from a player who has form in knocking out a defending champion having done the same to Mark Williams back in 2004.
Perry has scaled the mountain that is Selby and on this showing will believe that his Crucible journey is just getting started this year. He hasn’t reached the semi-finals since 2008 and will fancy the job again now.
Selby’s shock exit is not only good news for Perry’s chances but also opens up the top half of the draw beautifully. The likes of Kyren Wilson and Mark Allen will feel their chances of coming through the first quarter have strengthened while John Higgins and Judd Trump may have expected to face the defending champion to make it to the final.
They’ll have a spring in their step now and for the qualifiers it’s a timely reminder that the seeds are not untouchable.
So we’ve lost Selby on day one and could it be Ronnie O’Sullivan on day two? He needs to come from behind against Stephen Maguire to avoid a similar fate.
See scores at the end of Day 1⃣ here at The Crucible. See tomorrow's schedule at 🗓️
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