Number eleven seed Joe Perry has been knocked out of the English Open in the first round after being drawn against a resilient Matthew Selt.
Two World Champions join Perry in an early exit
Perry looked to be in control of the match after taking a 2-1 lead, contributing a break of 134 in the third frame. Yet he failed to score in the following two frames and was outclassed in the sixth as Selt progressed in one of the tightest matches on paper of the opening matches.
Two former World Champions were also knocked out of the competition as Ken Doherty and Peter Ebdon both bowed out. Doherty was defeated 4-1 by Judd Trump who won the European Masters just two days ago, whilst Ebdon was stunned by Stuart Carrington ranked 27 places below him.
Surprise victories continue to rack up
26 seed Michael Holt, who was enjoying a solid start to the season, was another big name departure as he lost to Xiao Guodong in another intriguing opening round battle. Mike Dunn was hammered 4-0 by Duane Jones ranked 47 places below him, whilst Dechawat Poomjaeng was also dumped out by John Astley who finds himself 32 places lower down the ladder.
A handful of unfamiliar names also enjoyed a first round to remember as Elliot Slessor and Craig Steadman, both ranked outside the top 100, defeated top 50 players in Sam Baird and Mark Joyce. They were followed into the second round by amateurs Jamie Bodle and Peter Lines who beat Matthew Stevens and Paul Davison respectively.
Sanderson Lam, Robbie Williams, Sean O'Sullivan, Darryl Hill and Adam Duffy completed an extensive list of players to be defeated by lower ranked opponents in the first round.
A number of big names remain
Ding Junhui, Ronnie O'Sullivan and Mark Selby cruised through with no problems as they all whitewashed their opponents, whilst Neil Robertson looked in excellent form as he registered the best break of the round with a 139. Mark Allen and John Higgins also looked comfortable, though second seed Stuart Bingham had to see off a fright from Robert Milkins in a final frame decider.
However, Jason Weston must be spared a thought after potting just one red in the entire match against Michael White.