Judd Trump became the biggest casualty of the 2023 World Snooker Championship after falling to a 10-6 first-round defeat against Glasgow’s former semi-finalist Anthony McGill.
Fifth seed Trump, whose march to his maiden title in 2019 was supposed to herald a new dominant era in the sport, admitted he only had himself to blame after failing to sustain his push for a second crown.
The 33-year-old’s poor form was in stark contrast to the momentum of his fellow seed Kyren Wilson, who earlier compiled the 13th Crucible century in the opening session of his 10-5 win over Ryan Day.
Trump had threatened a revival when he reduced a 6-3 overnight deficit by winning the first two frames of the day, but he ran aground on a break of 40 in the next, and McGill capitalised to move clear again and ultimately get over the line.
“I just missed too many easy balls,” admitted Trump. “I had loads of chances in today’s session but I couldn’t take them, and you can’t expect to play like that and win in the World Championship.
“It’s hard to enjoy it when you play like that. I’d much rather Anthony played me off the table but I had my chances and when you’re missing those easy balls it’s not easy to take.”
McGill was also far from his best but he patiently mopped up Trump’s mistakes, not least a jawed pink to the middle that could have hauled him back within one frame at 8-7 behind.
“It doesn’t matter how bad Judd plays, his standard is such that he can’t play that badly, but he wasn’t at his best,” admitted the Scot.
Earlier, Wilson rifled in his maximum in the fifth frame of his match against Day, sinking a fine final red and black having seemingly run out of position before sweeping up the colours.
Wilson is the ninth player to make a 147 at the Sheffield venue, and his feat landed him a £40,000 bonus, as well as potentially another £15,000 for the tournament’s highest break.
“It’s definitely a bucket-list thing to try to do, make a 147 at the Crucible,” said Wilson. “There is no pressure like it to be honest. I am absolutely buzzing.
“I have said for a long time now that I have children I would love to leave a legacy, I’d love to leave something for them to watch back when they have kids. That is going to be one of those moments.”
The 2005 champion Shaun Murphy trailed debutant Si Jiahui 5-4 after a keenly fought clash in the evening session. The pair first met in 2021 when the rookie Si scored an upset at the UK Championship, a result that ended with Murphy angrily railing against amateurs competing in professional tournaments – an outburst he later apologised for.
He won three of the first four frames against his 20-year-old opponent, but Si settled into his surroundings impressively to take a narrow advantage overnight.
Jack Lisowski moved into the second round and a match against McGill by withstanding a late comeback to beat Noppon Saengkham 10-7, while Mark Selby compiled two century breaks as he established a 6-3 lead over Matthew Selt.
