World Snooker Championship: Stuart Bingham wins opener

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Stuart BinghamImage source, Getty Images

World Championship

Venue: Crucible Theatre, Sheffield Dates: 18 April-4 May

Coverage: Watch live on BBC TV, HD, Red Button, Connected TV, online, tablets, mobiles and BBC Sport app. Full details here.

Stuart Bingham held off a gutsy challenge from world number 58 Robbie Williams to earn a place in the second round of the World Championship.

Williams nudged ahead 5-4 in a tense morning session, but Bingham won three of the opening four frames in the evening en route to a 10-7 victory.

World number 10 Bingham, who has only once gone beyond the second round in eight previous Crucible appearances, said: "It's a big relief."

Ali Carter leads Scot Alan McManus 6-3.

Carter, whose world ranking of 13 was protected to enable him to compete after twice overcoming cancer, received a wonderful reception from the Crucible crowd.

The Essex cueman made the ideal start, hitting a century in the opening frame against a man who made his World Championship debut in 1991.

McManus twice hit back to level at 2-2 but Carter settled better in a scrappy match, showing glimpses of the quality that has helped him reach two finals in Sheffield.

They resume in Tuesday's second session.

Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Barry Hawkins lost 18-12 to Ronnie O'Sullivan in the 2013 World Championship final

In an enthralling high-quality morning session, world number five Barry Hawkins resisted an impressive fightback by qualifier Matthew Selt to reach the second round in a deciding frame.

Every frame bar the last produced a half-century, with only three of the 19 not including a break over 50.

Essex-born Selt trailed 7-2 after being outclassed on Sunday and fell 9-4 behind, but the world number 30 made five breaks in excess of 50 to level - including two centuries.

He missed an early red in the decider and 2013 runner-up Hawkins took advantage to seal a nervy 10-9 win.

"Matt played some great stuff and put me under pressure, but I don't feel like I was squandering chances," Hawkins told BBC Sport.

Selt said: "I played really well to get back in to it and maybe I shouldn't have gone for the red in the final frame. But if you are going to go out, then go out all guns blazing."

World number four Neil Robertson had few problems wrapping up a 10-2 win over Welsh qualifier Jamie Jones.

The Australian led 7-2 overnight and looked in fine form as he won three successive frames, the first of which featured a brilliant 133 clearance.

Robertson, who won the Crucible title in 2010, faces Carter or McManus in the second round.

China's Ding Junhui fought back from 3-0 down to trail England's Mark Davis 4-3 in a first-round tie that finishes on Tuesday morning.

John Parrott, former world champion

"Neil Robertson was strutting around almost peacock-like - he knows when he's playing well. He's striking the ball lovely, you know his safety is going to be there and he's a major player in this year's championship, no doubt."

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