World Seniors Snooker Championship: Defending champion Lee Walker crashes out on opening day
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ByEurosport
Updated 04/05/2023 at 07:28 GMT
Lee Walker was dumped out of the World Seniors Snooker Championship on the opening day of this year's tournament in Sheffield. The Welshman opened with a break of 52 against Gerard Greene at the Crucible Theatre, but lost the next three frames to depart the event in the last 16. Crucible icons Stephen Hendry and Jimmy White are among the players competing at the 14th staging of the World Seniors.
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Lee Walker saw his title defence ended on the first day of the World Seniors Snooker Championship at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.
The Welsh professional lifted the trophy with a 5-4 final victory over Jimmy White a year ago, but departed the 2023 event at the last-16 stage in a 3-1 defeat to evergreen Northern Irishman Gerard Greene on Wednesday.
Walker – who is focused on coaching after retiring from the main circuit last year – opened with a break of 52, but lost the next three frames with 2007 Grand Prix semi-finalist Greene moving onto a quarter-final match against Peter Lines or Ben Hancorn on Saturday afternoon.
Walker, who made the World Championship quarter-finals in 1997, enjoyed victories over defending champion David Lilley, Ken Doherty, Stephen Hendry and Tony Knowles during his run to the title that saw him qualify for the Champion of Champions tournament in November.
But he will take no further part in the £50,000 16-man event.
Former Crucible semi-finalist Knowles lost 3-0 to 2018 English Open finalist Mark Davis in the other match on Wednesday.
Davis has been handed a reprieve to retain his elite tour status next season after fearing he had lost his top 64 spot in a 10-9 loss to Joe Perry in the final round of World Championship qualifiers last month.
He looked in decent touch against Knowles with breaks of 59 and 51 helping him advance to a quarter-final with Tony Drago or Vito Puopolo on Saturday.
Seven-time world champion Hendry begins his campaign against three-time World Seniors finalist Darren Morgan on Friday with White meeting Philip Williams later in the evening.
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The event is being played a few days after Belgium's Luca Brecel beat Mark Selby to win the World Championship on Monday to become the fourth man since 1977 from outside the UK to lift the sport's biggest trophy.
Neil Robertson (2010), Ken Doherty (1997) and Cliff Thorburn (1980) are the others.
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