COUNTDOWN: Top 1st Round Crucible Shocks (PART 1)

Please click on the this link for PART 2: COUNTDOWN: Top 1st Round Crucible Shocks (PART 2)

First massive countdown! For those who tried to see Part 2 of this countdown, thank you for starting from the top (this may be useful in a day or two!)

I did a bit of research and yet there aren’t many of these on biggest shocks on the World Championships at all – I might as well be one of the first ones I suppose, you know, USP and all that! The opening draw of the first round is always very exciting. Last year brought out Michael Holt convincingly defeating former World Champion Neil Robertson 10-6 and this year Stephen Maguire thumping 15th seed Anthony McGill 10-2.

So what are the biggest surprises of the 1^st round of the Crucible era! This has been more frequent in recent years, but it doesn’t mean that they are the biggest. Certainly, in this day and age the circuit has got stronger and stronger and the likelihood of a seeded player being humiliated by someone who a bus conductor only the previous day is very slim (sorry Terry Griffiths!). So, here we go!

10. Stefan Mazrocis vs. Peter Ebdon (10-3) (1997)

Described as the “biggest shock in 15 years” by the Independent, Stefan Mazrocis (a 250-1 outsider) trashed Peter Ebdon three years after Peter Ebdon did the same to the snooker player of Latvian descent 10-4.

It wasn’t a break-building fest by any means but it meant that any neutral fans meant they won’t be put off too much by his slow play. However, Peter Ebdon did reach No. 3 and the final of the 1996 World Championship, so he and his ponytail did have high expectations. What is quite funny behind this result was that Stefan admitted “I had a couple of beers before the match and a few more during the game…I didn’t have too many but they helped me relax.” Does make you wonder how many he usually drinks during the boozy and fuming days of snooker….

I was tempted to put in the first round between Terry Griffiths and former finalist Perrie Mans (13-8) in 1979, since this was Terry’s first appearance at the Crucible and then went on to win it – potentially one of the greatest moments in snooker history. The only reason why that isn’t on No. 10 is because from the 1990s, snooker was a lot more competitive and at least Peter Ebdon won two ranking events before his shock loss.

9. Ryan Day vs. Stephen Lee (10-4) (2009)

Initially, this is more than a good opener for 8th seed Ryan Day. Despite nerves and not playing at his best, Day eased through to the next round with a 6-3 lead into the second session with a 120 break and finishing off with a good win. Stephen Lee, who dropped out of the Top 20 admitted himself that he played “rubbish” and at one point failed at a 147 attempt at 8-4, and later missing a straightforward blue which commentators described as a ‘comedy of errors.’ Comfortable win for Day and no shock in sight, so why on earth is this result doing on this list?

Fast forward four years and Stephen Lee was handed a 12-year ban from the sport of seven match-fixing charges as well as paying £40,000 covering legal fees and other expenses in “the worst case of corruption” the sport has ever seen. One of the matches that was fixed was the World Championship match against Ryan Day. Day on the other hand, was completely unaware that there was any suspicious goings-on whatsoever. Maybe this isn’t shocking in the normal sense but I had to put this in here because, as WPBSA disciplinary chairman Nigel Mawer said:

“Stephen Lee was working with three different groups who were betting on multiple platforms and the exact score and frame outcomes for matches he played in those tournaments. The worst case is the World Championship because that is an iconic event. To think that someone could play in that and to arrange the outcome is more than shocking.”

8. Andy Hicks vs. Quinten Hann (10-4) (2004)

This was a shock for more reasons than just being a surprise result. Hann is a very decent but a fiery player who is easily agitated, even by Stephen Maguire’s standards (more on that later!) Apart from it being a surprise, this lead to some furious altercation between players, something that rarely happens in snooker and one of the most famous bust-ups in the sport.

Tensions were rising high, as a lot of people knew that Hann would be out of the snooker’s elite if he loses the grudge match and even during the match Hann was cautioned for swearing. Hann had beaten Hicks in the past three occasions, so it should be okay for him. After shaking hands, Andy Hicks subtly let it slip to Hann ‘that’s you out of the top 16’ while shaking hands, which provoked Hann like a wildebeest on fire until the referee Lawrie Annandale in the most British way possible shhhhed the pair away.

This lead to many fines and even a boxing match, with Mark King standing in Hicks to attempt to beating the Australian to a pulp in the ring after Hann threatened Hicks ‘You’re short and bald and always will be, and I’ll fight you in the street for 50 grand any time you like.’ . King didn’t – Hann won. At least he won something though. Hann clearly never heard of Ross Kemp.

7. John Parrott vs. Eddie Charlton (10-0) (1992)

This has to get the mention for simply being the only World Championship match ever to have a whitewash. Eddie Charlton boasted before this result that he “can beat anybody on my day” – and that was in 1991 and at the age of 61! That all went crashing down when, even in a match where there were only two 50+ breaks, defending champion John Parrott managed to outscore him by 779 points to 219. Charlton admitted he came to the table full of confidence but, according to “The Little Book of Snooker” by Sean Boru, he performed like “a man who had sold his soul to the Devil.” The only Devil I know is Katie Hopkins, and I assume that means very, very badly.

To be fair, the shock is more of the scoreline rather than who beat who. It is harsh that Charlton suffers from having the ignominy of being the only man to be whitewashed at the Crucible, especially since he is not the sort of person to be whitewashed nor Parrot the sort of person to whitewash other players. After the number of players increased in the circuit, the Australian slipped down the rankings and eventually retired in 1996. That year was when 8 seeded players were knocked out of the opening round and the fact this one sticks out like a sore thumb is pretty special.

6. David Gray vs. Ronnie O’Sullivan (10-9) (2000)

No, this isn’t here just because of “OMG, WONNIE KNOCKED OUT OF THE FIRST ROUND THE BWEST PWAYER EVER WHAT IS THIS???” Though at the time he was world number four in the ranking, he hadn’t won his any World Championships then – his first was in 2001. Still, he won eight ranking titles including two UK Championships as well as a Masters title, so he was still a fairly big name. Still vulnerable from a shock though!

Losing to No. 60 David Gray was a surprise result, but it was how he was beaten that was eye-opening. Well, technically everything is eye-opening, otherwise you wouldn’t be able to see and not having a damn clue what is going on. Silly phrase. Anyway, Ronnie was leading 5-1, and scored five centuries (including three consecutive century breaks) in the entire match and still got beaten! It was Gray’s dogged display that pulled him through in a very high-quality match that included 14 +50 breaks and centuries (Gray had 6, while Ronnie had 8) and Gray coming back from 7-9 too. Gray couldn’t repeat that form though, as he slumped to a 13-1 loss against Dominic Dale in the next round.

Please click on the this link for PART 2: COUNTDOWN: Top 1st Round Crucible Shocks (PART 2)