Bingham and Murphy gone as Crucible shocks begin

If the World Snooker Championships are going to continue on their current theme, then you’d best back some outsiders to claim glory in the Crucible this year, with some favoured men already checking out of their Sheffield hotels.

Reigning champion Stuart Bingham fell foul of the Crucible curse in his opening round match, losing a final-frame decider to two-time finalist Ali Carter to be defeated 10-9.

That was followed by many people’s title tip Shaun Murphy, who was downed by the impressive 25-year-old Anthony McGill 10-8.

So by the time Monday dawned and the opening weekend’s action was over, two of the tournament’s top three seeds were already out.

Ronnie O’Sullivan is not one of them after a 10-7 win over David Gilbert, but the five-time champion refused to speak to the media following his victory, so it remains to be seen what exactly is going on with the Rocket.

The Essex man is 6/4 favourite for another world crown, with Neil Robertson and Judd Trump seeing their odds clipped slightly following the exits of Bingham and Murphy into 11/2 and 13/2 respectively.

With seeded players already falling though, are we in for another year of surprises following Bingham’s 40/1 win last year?

Carter’s odds have already come tumbling from 80/1 to 25s following his opening round despatch of the reigning champion, and as a two-time finalist the 36-year-old has the credentials to go far in Sheffield.

McGill’s odds have crashed even more, with the Scot now 33/1 for a first world crown, having been 100/1 before his tie with Murphy.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.