Snooker:Former poker club croupier Martin Gould provided the first shock of the World Snooker Championship as Marco Fu folded in their first-round clash today.
Gould, the 28-year-old from London, beat former Crucible finalist Nigel Bond in qualifying and inflicted the latest in a string of painful defeats for Fu this season.
He won 10-9, showing impressive composure by firing in a break of 90 in the final frame decider, after Fu let an 8-6 slip away.
Fu began the year as the world number eight but has won fewer ranking points than any of the top 16, leaving him clinging to a place in the elite.
Gould had won the final two frames of yesterday's session to narrow the gap from 5 2 to 5-4, and when he levelled at 5-5 this morning the momentum was with him.
Gould had beaten former finalist Nigel Bond to reach the Crucible and was determined to do himself justice.
The quality remained patchy, but after Fu edged ahead once more there was a strong response from Londoner Gould, who made a break of 66 to draw level at 6 6.
Hong Kong cueman Fu (32) pinched another tight frame to move 7-6 in front at the mid-session interval.
Fu came to life in the 14th frame, rattling in seven reds and blacks before running slightly short of position, eliminating the potential for a 147 maximum. He reached 79 before screwing the white into the middle pocket, but it was a frame-winning break nonetheless.
Gould hit back with 53 in the next to narrow the gap to 8-7, and then showed resolve to draw level.
Against the odds he crept in front, needing one more for victory, but Fu came back at him.
Just as with Stephen Hendry's match against Zhang Anda, the decider was necessary, and Gould took his chance, leaving Fu scoreless in his seat.=
Gould ranked his victory as one of the best of his career. "It was in the top three at least," he said. "It's my biggest pay day so far but money doesn't really bother me. I just want to move up the rankings even further."
Gould believes such wins justify his decision to devote himself full time to snooker, and revealed how his previous job was causing injuries.
"It was hurting my back a lot as I was sitting in a swivel chair for six, seven or eight hours a night," Gould said. "In the mornings I just couldn't get out of bed, and also it ruined my drinking weekends as well with friends."
On the other table, Welshman Mark Williams was struggling to reproduce the form which brought him the China Open title earlier this month.
The two-time former world champion has been strongly backed to complete a hat-trick this year, however he was not showing the form to justify that support in the early stages of his match against Scotland's Marcus Campbell.
Campbell (37) was making his second Crucible appearance nine years after losing in the first round to Anthony Hamilton, and he only trailed 5-4 after the first session.
Williams (35) made the first half-century break of the match in the ninth frame to edge in front ahead of tonight's concluding session.