Hendry Out in a Final Frame Decider

Nigel Bond held his nerve to cause a major upset by knocking Stephen Hendry out of the 888.com World Championship in one of the most dramatic matches in the tournament's history.

The 40-year-old from Derbyshire squandered a 7-3 lead by losing five consecutive frames, but dug in to take the first-round match to a decider that built to an incredible climax.

Amid scenes reminiscent of Dennis Taylor's famous 1985 triumph over Steve Davis, the world number 26 sank the respotted final black to clinch a 10-9 victory having gone in off when potting it first time round.

It meant a superb fightback from Hendry - seven times a winner of this title - had ultimately been unsuccessful as the man beaten 18-9 by the Scot in the 1995 final gained belated revenge.

Bond, however, could have avoided the tense finale. He had led 6-3 overnight, pinched today's first frame on the black and was all set to go 8-3 ahead when he went in off the final green.

That allowed Hendry to win five consecutive frames to go 8-7 ahead, but it was far from over as Bond dug in to level it up before the next two frames were shared.

By this point the match was running beyond its allotted time, but the tournament organisers decided to delay the evening action to avoid a late-night single-frame shootout.

It was an extremely edgy affair even before they had got to the black with both players missing pots and Hendry looking increasingly frustrated.

With Bond 48-41 ahead having just potted blue and pink, he only needed to roll in the black, which was over a top pocket. But in doing so he sent the white ball into a middle pocket, giving Hendry an amazing reprieve after he had already unscrewed his cue.

After a short safety exchange, Bond was given another chance into the middle and this time made no mistake to secure a second-round clash with Graeme Dott.

At the post-match press conference Hendry uttered a total of seven words. Asked if it was a cruel way to lose he replied "I suppose'', then ignored a question about how he rated his performance and merely shrugged when the issue of the table was raised.

His most forthcoming answer was when asked where this defeat ranked compared to others in his career, to which he responded: "Along with all the rest.''

Bond was understandably keener to express his thoughts and said: "I'm pretty much speechless myself. Some incredible matches crop up at the Crucible every now and again and this was another.

"I'm just delighted to be on the winning side of it. Stephen has given me a few pastings and it's payback time.

"I was shaking when I potted the black the first time and as soon as I hit the shot I knew the white was going in.

"I think Stephen was a bit unfortunate towards the end but we both missed a lot of balls.''

Easy Stroll for Williams 10 - 1

Mark Williams needed less than half an hour on Tuesday to polish off Anthony Hamilton and reach the second round of the 888.com World Championship in Sheffield.

The Welshman, winner of the title in 2000 and 2003, led 8-1 overnight and while he did not add to his tally of five half-century breaks from the opening session, the two frames he required to progress came swiftly.

Hamilton had a good previous record against Williams but this time he was completely blown away, although ironically he compiled the only ton of the match with a 115 in frame five.

Williams endured a couple of years in the doldrums until capturing the most recent ranking event, the China Open, and looks to be hitting form at just the right time.

"It's an excellent start for me," said the 31-year-old from Cardiff, who will next face Mark Selby, conqueror of John Higgins.

"Anthony was by far the hardest match I could have had because of his record against me - he seems to play out of his skin every time. I never thought I could have beaten him 10-1."

The 10th seed also joked about his draw, which at the start of the tournament had him in the same quarter as Higgins and Ronnie O'Sullivan, with Stephen Hendry a possible semi-final opponent.

"I've been told I'm in the group of death," said Williams. "I'm scared witless!

"But John Higgins has gone out, and now I hope Ronnie, Hendry and Matthew Stevens go out and Willie Thorne (now retired) comes in!"

Hamilton was full of praise for Williams, whom he would like to see reach the latter stages.

"You can't give a four-frame start to Mark and at 6-1 I knew in my heart it was over," said the 34-year-old from Nottingham.

"But it's good to see Mark playing well because he's been away too long. He's the calmest man on the planet and I love to watch him play.

"I hope he does well and it will be a good match if he meets Ronnie O'Sullivan in the quarter-finals."

John Higgins out in the first round to Mark Selby 10 - 4

John Higgins, this season's most successful player, crashed to a shock 10-4 defeat against Mark Selby in the first round of the 888.com World Championship at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre on Sunday night.

The Scot, winner of the Grand Prix and the Masters and many people's favourite to capture this title, trailed 6-3 overnight and could find no way back into the match when it resumed.

It represented a complete turnaround from when the duo met at the same stage last year, Higgins having prevailed 10-5 that time.

The seventh seed looked as though he could come back when he took Sunday night's opening frame, but amazingly he then lost four in succession as his 22-year-old opponent struck a rich vein of form.

Selby knocked in two century breaks, a 123 and a 110, plus contributions of 58 and 59 to leave the 1998 champion stunned.

"I just couldn't get going," said 30-year-old Higgins, from Wishaw. "It was a funny match and I started very scrappily yesterday but Mark played great tonight.

"It looks like he has changed his game from last year. I thought he was a player who wasn't going to do much in the game but he looks like one who could do very well now.

"I came here with high hopes after having such a good season but if someone keeps you in your seat there's not much you can do."

Higgins is not the first big name Selby has conquered, having beaten Ronnie O'Sullivan and Stephen Hendry, but this was his first ever win at the Crucible.

"It's a dream come true," said the Leicester player, who faces Mark Williams or Anthony Hamilton in the second round. "I was tense at the start of the match but I felt brilliant at the end.

"I believe I can go all the way now. I don't think anyone could have played as well against John as I did tonight."

Steve Davis set up an appetising second-round encounter with title-holder Shaun Murphy by completing a 10-4 win against Andy Hicks.

It was a largely convincing display by the six-times winner, who was runner-up at this season's UK Championship, although the final frame lasted 51 minutes and featured 34 points in fouls.

"I quite enjoyed it," said the 48-year-old.

"I was even able to laugh at some of the shots I missed and the crowd were laughing too.

"It was a bizarre match and in the end I just had to play tactically well to win.

"Now I'm looking forward to playing Shaun. I love the way he plays but I would love to turn him over and I fancy my chances because I will go in there and play aggressively."

Stephen Lee rediscovered his form at just the right time to go through 10-8 against Ali Carter.

The 31-year-old, winner of the Welsh Open last month, let slip a 7-3 lead and trailed 8-7 before reeling off three consecutive frames.

In probably the most attractive first-round tie, 1997 champion Ken Doherty rendered the opening session incredibly one-sided as he took an 8-1 lead over rising star Barry Hawkins.

The Irishman did not need to do anything spectacular as Hawkins, on his Crucible debut, failed to produce the form that has provisionally lifted him into the top 10 of next season's rankings.

John Parrott made what could be his final World Championship farewell as a player when he lost 10-3 to Graeme Dott.

The 1991 champion is a shadow of the competitor he was and with his ranking for next season likely to be in the 40s, he will need to win two qualifying matches to book a place in Sheffield again.

"The day before I came here I practised for two hours and never missed a ball, but in the match I could hardly pot one," said the 41-year-old former Question of Sport captain.

"I was never in control of what I was doing and never got off the ground.

"But I will keep playing next season. My ranking won't be too bad and I'll dust the cue off because I still love to play and compete."

Fourth seed Stephen Maguire will take a 6-3 advantage over Mark King into tomorrow's conclusion, the Scot having recorded a half-century break in each of the last four frames.

Sporting Life