Peter Ebdon became the second former champion to lose in the first round at this year's snooker world championship after a 10-8 defeat by qualifier Ian McCulloch last night.
Ebdon, the 2002 winner, lost the last three frames to follow 1997 champion Ken Doherty out of the tournament.
"Against any top player, you just have to stick with them and keep putting them under pressure," said McCulloch. "As long as you stay strong and keep a clear head you have a chance."
Another former champion, John Higgins, came back from the brink to record a 10-9 win over Ryan Day in the first round.
Day, making his debut at the Crucible Theatre, looked set to cause the biggest shock of the tournament so far when he opened up a 9-7 lead. But he missed a simple pink in the 17th frame to let Higgins in and the 1998 champion won the deciding frame with a 68 break.
"I've never felt pressure like that before but I didn't think I was going to lose," Higgins said. "It was a draining game and I just felt like crying at the end."
Crowd favourite Jimmy White has a narrow 4-3 lead over qualifier Barry Pinches, while Mark King is 5-4 ahead against Graeme Dott.