STUART Bingham suffered a shock first-round defeat at the Shanghai Masters as 21-year-old rookie Kyren Wilson secured the best win of his career.
Kettering’s Wilson claimed a 5-1 victory to reach the last 16 as Vange’s world number eight Bingham had a day to forget.
Bingham took to Twitter after the match to air his frustrations at being short of match practice.
He tweeted: “Well, what can I say! Cushions bouncing, he was lucky and I was poor! Recipe for disaster! Gutted!”
And he added: “I wouldn’t be a professional sportsman if I’d lose gracefully! That’s how I saw the match! Sorry if I’m honest!”
Wilson, playing his second season on the pro tour having regained his place thanks to his performances in the PTC events last term, marked his first appearance at the final stages of a ranking event with a fine display.
After taking a 3-0 lead, he was on for a maximum 147 in the fourth frame, which would have earned him £40,000, but missed the black with two reds left on 97.
Bingham pulled one back with a run of 56, but Wilson took control of frame six with a 54 and sealed it after his opponent missed the last red along the top cushion.
“Stuart didn’t play as well as usual and let me off quite a few times,” admitted Wilson, who now meets Marco Fu in the next round. “I did what I had to do and stole a lot of frames. It’s my first ranking event so I’m pleased with my performance.
“It’s a massive win and I’ll always remember it.
“The fans here in Shanghai are unbelievable and the red carpet walk on Sunday was fantastic.
“Hopefully I can go on and do better. Marco recently won the Australian Open so I know he’s playing well.
“But Stuart is a very good player and I have beaten him 5-1 even though I was the underdog. I’m just looking forward to the next match now.”
Stephen Maguire was another top eight seed to fall at the first hurdle as he went down 5-2 to China’s Xiao Guodong, while Essex’s Mark King enjoyed breaks of 106 and 70 in a 5-3 defeat of Graeme Dott.
King said: “It’s nice to still be in the tournament. Graeme was below his normal standard. I struggled in patches but made a couple of good breaks.”
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