Mark Selby showed his class following his shock defeat at the hands of Ben Woollaston in the first round of the World Snooker Championship. The four-time world champion was incredibly disappointed when leaving the table, but that did not stop him from passing on his best wishes to his rival.

Selby took a 5-4 lead into Thursday’s session but struggled to find any rhythm, with Woollaston winning six of the nine frames to secure a 10-8 success. The world No. 44 will now face Si Jiahui in the last-16.

Selby heaped praise on Woollaston after the match, conceding that he did not deserve to win based on his performance. Tatiana Woollaston, Ben’s wife, revealed on X that the 41-year-old was very gracious in defeat, as well as his wife Vikki Layton.

She wrote on X: “Wonderful words of congratulations from both Mark and Vikki to me and Edward after the match. #ilovesnooker.”

Tatiana is one of the top officials at this year’s World Championship, but she is banned from refereeing her husband’s matches. She made her Crucible debut in 2020 and has featured prominently at the competition since.

The Belarusian admitted that she watched her partner’s victory from behind her hands throughout the late-night action – and Woollaston even appeared shocked that he had managed to get the better of Selby.

Speaking after his victory, he said: “I'm in shock really. I never thought this day would come, winning a match at the Crucible, and against Mark, who except for Ronnie O'Sullivan is probably the king of the Crucible in recent times. It's an amazing win for me.”

Selby was keen to praise Woollaston when quizzed on his own underwhelming performance, explaining: “It was tough from start to finish, I didn't play anywhere near where I can play and didn't deserve to win. I played poorly from start to finish. Ben played well, he played some good match snooker and his safety was second to none.

"I felt like I threw so many frames away, I kept getting 30 in front and running out of position or missing a silly shot, and then Ben would come back and win the frame. I probably threw five or six frames away and it's disappointing because I came here with a bit of confidence and I didn't expect to play like that."