You are in > manchester.com  > News > Bingham halts Davis fightback to seal place in second round

General Sport

Bingham halts Davis fightback to seal place in second round

22/04/2008

Former champion Steve Davis has been knocked out of the World Snooker Championship in Sheffield after suffering a 10-8 defeat to Stuart Bingham.

The six-time winner had trailed 8-3 at one stage but mounted a stirring comeback in front of an enraptured Crucible crowd to level the match at 8-8.

But after struggling for any kind of form throughout the previous five frames, Bingham held his nerve to clinch the 17th frame 72-60 on the black after Davis had left the ball over the pocket.

The final frame was also a tense affair, but Bingham showed his fighting spirit with a scrappy break of 59 - his first half-century since the tenth frame - to seal the match.

Afterwards Bingham, who will play the winner of the first-round match between Joe Perry and 2006 champion Graeme Dott, admitted he had to "hold back a few tears" after beating Davis due to the man's legendary status in the game.

"I'm almost speechless. This is a big scalp for me," he told the BBC.

"I've beaten Steve before but I was still thinking, 'this is to beat Steve Davis at the Crucible'. It was overwhelming."

Davis admitted that losing after pulling the match back to 8-8 was "a bit annoying", especially after he stated the previous five frames had been the best he had played all season.

"I felt as if I let it slip," the 50-year-old said.

"After getting back into the match and playing decent, it's a bitter pill to then mess up a couple of golden opportunities in the last two frames."