World Snooker Championship 2024: Former champion Stuart Bingham dismisses Gary Wilson

Stuart Bingham defeated world number 10 Gary Wilson 10-5 in the opening round of the 2024 World Snooker Championship at the Crucible Theatre.

Wilson’s elimination means that five seed players have already exited the competition after just three days of action in Sheffield.

Going into the match, the players had contrasting seasonal records. Wilson successfully defended the Scottish Open title and won the Welsh Open crown only a few weeks ago - his third career ranking triumph - helping him obtain his highest ever world ranking. Bingham on the other hand has endured a frustrating campaign, reaching just one ranking event quarter-final.

But in a tournament he made his own nine years ago, Bingham’s term has been revived. He recovered from 7-3 and 9-7 down in the penultimate qualifying round before ousting Stuart Carrington 10-9, and then squeezed past Louis Heathcote 10-8 in the final preliminary.

Back on the big stage, the former champion hit breaks of 98 and 53 as he built a 4-0 lead against Wilson during their opening session on Monday morning. He then registered runs of 117 and 76 as he moved on to 6-2, but having seen his struggling opponent miss a black whilst on a break of 60 in frame nine, Bingham rattled the final black off its spot himself for what would have been a frame-winning counter clearance. Wilson stepped up to deposit the remaining ball to reduce his arrears to three frames at 6-3.

On resumption in the evening, that unexpected miss was looking like a turning point as 38-year-old Wilson crafted efforts of 86 and 57 to claim the first two frames of the session and move just one behind at 6-5 down. However, crucial mistakes crept back into his game as he fluffed balls in the next two frames, allowing a relieved Bingham (Frame 13: 66 break) the opportunity to move three clear again at 8-5.

Following a mid-session break, Bingham re-emerged and claimed the final two frames (Frame 14: 55 break) he required to reach the last 16 where he will face either Ding Junhui or Jack Lisowski later this week.

It is the sixth consecutive year that Bingham has navigated his first round assignment at the Crucible.