Stuart Bingham became the latest victim of the ‘Crucible curse’ as the man who lifted the trophy last May crashed out on day one of the Betfred World Championship.
The 39-year-old said in the week leading up to his first-round clash with Ali Carter that to be asked about the fabled curse was “an honour”, as it reminded him of his achievement.
But as two-time former finalist Carter stunned him 10-9 in a classic match, Bingham was left to reflect on the fact he was joining illustrious company, this time for the wrong reasons.
Sixteen previous first-time world champions had tried and failed to retain the title when returning to Sheffield 12 months on from their maiden triumphs, and Bingham becomes the 17th on the cursed list.
It has become snooker’s mountain that cannot be climbed, and cursed or not, Bingham was on his way home. From 8-5 behind he had strung together four frames in a row to lead 9-8, hitting the front with a 113 break.
But back came Carter, firstly when making 102 to level and force the decider and then when edging over the line after both men saw match-winning opportunities slide by.
Bingham missed two pinks to the middle that were to prove so costly, and then a tough final red when the frame hung in the balance. Carter cut it in and added the pink to effectively end Bingham’s hopes.
Carter said he would be “fresh as a daisy”, despite having to contest three best-of-19-frame qualifying matches, the most recent last Wednesday when he saw off Dominic Dale.
Neither he nor Bingham were anywhere close to daisy-fresh when at 11.25pm the handshake came, on Saturday.
Bingham said: “I’m gutted to be going back home. I battled to 9-8 and missed a couple of chances to wrap the game up.
“Fair play to Ali Carter. It just wasn’t meant to be for me. It was a tough draw.”
Murphy beaten
Anthony McGill stunned Shaun Murphy as last year’s runner-up followed Bingham in being bundled out of the tournament.
Breathtaking scoring from Scotland’s McGill saw the 25-year-old plunder breaks of 64, 85, 81, 50, 117 and a closing 97 to roar back from 6-4 adrift and win 10-8.
On his Crucible debut last year, McGill beat Stephen Maguire before ending Mark Selby’s title defence, only to fall to Murphy in the quarter-finals.