Shaun Murphy was left ‘absolutely sick’ after his opening match at the Welsh Open, losing 4-3 to world number 75 Ma Hailong.
The recent Masters champion fell 2-0 behind to the Chinese youngster but then played some brilliant stuff, knocking in breaks of 127, 100 and 82 to take the lead himself.
The 21-year-old made a 77 to take the match to a decider and then got very close to victory with another effort of 53.
Murphy needed snookers in the decider but found two of them to keep his hopes alive, only for Ma to fluke the final red and secure a memorable victory.
The Magician was feeling the frustration of a narrow defeat, having been beaten 5-4 by Yuan Sijun in the last 16 of the German Masters in his last outing.
‘Sick. Absolutely sick,’ Murphy told the BBC. ‘That’s the game isn’t it? That’s why we love it and hate it at the same time, in equal measure.
‘The last two games I’ve lost, here and in Berlin, have both been deciders. I’ve not had a chance to win either of them. I thought when I got the two snookers that the Snooker Gods might give me an opportunity but it wasn’t to be and we roll on.
‘I thought it was a really good match and my opponent played really, really well. Take the last frame out of it, I thought he was excellent and I can only give him praise. I had two centuries and an 80-odd so it was a very high standard match. I have no regrets, I tried my best and I lost.’
There was another shock in the early session on Tuesday as finalist at the German Masters and UK Championship this season, Barry Hawkins, was beaten 4-1 by Sanderson Lam.
The Hawk made three half-centuries to Lam’s one, but it was the Yorkshire cueiest who progresses to play either Wu Yize or Scott Donaldson.
‘I felt I played alright, it was a good game,’ said Lam. ‘Really enjoyed it out there, I think that’s why I ended up playing half decent. Delighted to get through.’
Ma goes through to face either Ryan Day or Ben Mertens in the last 32.
Also progressing to the last 32 is Jamie Clarke after Ronnie O’Sullivan pulled out on the morning of their first round clash on Tuesday.
Clarke is fighting for tour survival so the free pass to the next round, and the ranking points that come with it, is welcome, but part of him would liked to have faced the Rocket.
‘Yeah I think there was [disappointment], when I got the phone call this morning,’ said the Welshman on the BBC. ‘Maybe 20 per cent was disappointed because he’s coming towards the end of his career. You don’t get many chances to play Ronnie. He picks and chooses his events and rightly so.
‘I was probably more happy than not happy, but it would have been nice to play him.’
