Crucible shock as Judd Trump beaten by outsider

SNOOKER: Joint favourite defeated by 46-year-old qualifier

Judd Trump fell victim to one of the biggest shocks in Crucible history as he crashed out of the Betfred World Championship to rank outsider Rory McLeod last night.

The world No 2, joint-favourite for the trophy alongside reigning champion Mark Selby, was beaten 10-8 by the 46-year-old qualifier in a first-round match which spanned three sessions.

Trump, who won the opening four frames on Tuesday but trailed 5-4 overnight, continued to struggle yesterday and found himself one frame away from defeat at 9-7 when play was halted until the evening.

McLeod, priced at 1,000-1 to win the title by some bookmakers at the start of the tournament, then took two frames to finish the job and set up a second-round meeting with Stephen Maguire.

Trump, runner-up in 2011, failed to find his rhythm against the world No 54 and was guilty of some poor positional play and wild potting attempts.

After the defeat Trump refused to do a post-match press conference.

There were also upsets in the other two matches completed yesterday as Scot Graeme Dott and China’s Xiao Guodong joined McLeod in the last 16.

Dott, the 2006 champion, overcame two-time finalist Ali Carter, while Xiao knocked out world No 16 Ryan Day.

Dott, ranked 19 places below his world No 10 opponent, did not have it all his own way after leading 6-3 from the first session.

Carter, runner-up in 2008 and 2012, made century breaks of 111 and 104 but he could not claw back the deficit as Dott dug in to progress with a gritty 10-7 success.

Dott said: “I think you’ve got to do that here, you’re playing the best players in the world, you can’t go into your shell and just try and tippy-tippy about, it doesn’t work.”

Xiao, who had never previously progressed beyond the first round in Sheffield, defeated Welshman Day 10-4.

Elsewhere, 2010 champion Neil Robertson leads 8-1 over Thailand’s Noppon Saengkham heading into today’s second session.

Picture: PA. Judd Trump lines up a shot during his shock first round defeat against qualifier Rory McLeod.