Robertson shocked by Holt at snooker worlds

Neil Robertson became the fifth former world champion to exit in the first round of the snooker world championship as he lost 10-6 to Michael Holt here on Tuesday.

World number four Robertson joins title holder Stuart Bingham and previous winners Shaun Murphy, Graeme Dott and Peter Ebdon in falling at the first hurdle.

It's the first time since 1982 that three of the top four seeds have been knocked out in the opening round.

The 37-year-old Holt, ranked 28th in the world, is through to the last 16 at the Crucible for only the second time in his career, and first since 2005, and he now faces Mark Williams.

"I'm really pleased, I'm happy with myself that I've played one of the best players and stood up and had a good game," said Holt, who lost to Steve Davis when he reached the second round here in 2005.

Robertson said: "He played a great match, and nothing really went right for me today, that was obvious. He held himself together really well, I put him under a bit of pressure in the last few frames. He should take a lot of confidence from that."

Meanwhile, Barry Hawkins took a 6-3 lead over China's Zhang Anda. The first six frame were shared, China's Zhang making the better breaks with 83, 91 and 93. Hawkins, who has reached at least the semifinals in the last three consecutive years, won the last three frames with a top run of 66.

Mark Selby, another former champion, beat Robert Milkins 10-6.

Four-time champion John Higgins had no such concerns. The Scot scored a 10-3 victory over Welshman Ryan Day and set up a last-16 meeting with Ricky Walden.

Chinese superstar Ding Junhui, who had to qualify for this year's event, faces world number 12 Martin Gould in a match played to a conclusion in the evening. His compatriot Liang Wenbo, a UK championship finalist, takes on world number five Judd Trump. Endit