Mark Selby is in danger of one of his lowest ebbs at the Crucible after losing the opening session of his first round match 7-2 to Joe O’Connor on Sunday.
The four-time world champion was taking on a friend and practice partner, but also a debutant who was expected to be up against it in facing his fellow Leicester man.
However, O’Connor settled quickly and after the first four frames were shared he went on a scoring tear, knocking in breaks of 122, 67, 101, 74 and 61 to win five on the spin.
It was superb stuff from the 28-year-old but Selby was poor and certainly wilted as the session went on, with world number three Mark Allen on commentary for the BBC suggesting it was tough to watch.
Former world champion John Parrott said: ‘Absolutely brilliant performance from the debutant Joe O’Connor, fantastic snooker this morning, absolutely top draw from start to finish and he’s put Mark Selby, the four-time world champion, right behind the eight ball.’
Seven-time champion Stephen Hendry added: ‘Mark Selby, one of the favourites in a lot of people’s eyes, didn’t play well in the last tournament the Tour Championship.
‘He didn’t come here with a lot of confidence and 7-2 down won’t help that.’
Selby did indeed struggle to find his best stuff at the Tour Championship, losing 10-8 in his opening contest to Gary Wilson and he spoke out about how little he was enjoying his snooker, suggesting he could retire if things don’t improve.
‘I was pathetic from start to finish,’ he said on ITV. ‘Probably one of the worst games I’ve played as a professional. If I carry on playing like that I won’t be enjoying it and choosing a different career, for sure.’
He added: ‘If I put in the same performance in Sheffield that will be me done.’
The 40-year-old now must steel himself for a huge push in the second session against O’Connor on Monday afternoon.
Another Leicester man, Tom Ford, won his opening round match on Sunday evening as he downed Ricky Walden 10-6 and he was certainly not ruling out a huge Selby comeback.
‘I was talking to Mark today and he said he felt alright at 2-2, but he’s missed a couple of balls,’ said Ford. ‘I think he’s just struggling with his game at the minute. Listen, Mark’s 7-2 down but even if it’s first to eight you still can’t write him off.’
The fewest frames Selby has won in a Crucible match since his debut in 2005 was in a 10-3 defeat to Barry Hawkins in 2012 when he was suffering with a neck injury.
He will be giving it his all on Monday to avoid a similar result against O’Connor.
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