REIGNING champ Shaun Murphy was “shocked” to crash out of the Masters in the first round.
The Englishman, who won the event for a second time last year, lost 6-2 to debutant Wu Yize.
Murphy, 43, said: “I’ve been looking forward to today for a year — walking out as the champion. I enjoyed the first ten minutes.
“I didn’t play well, certainly the worst performance of my season, maybe the worst in the Masters.
“I’m very disappointed. None of it was there, I felt everything I touched was not there. I’ve been working hard, practising hard, playing a lot of snooker so I didn’t expect to play like that and I’m as shocked as anyone.”
Wu of China is 13th in the world and only won his first ranking snooker title in November — the International Championship.
But he took the first three frames, including a 137 clearance in the second, and pipped Murphy on a black-ball finish in the fifth.
The delighted 22-year-old said: “It’s definitely a great achievement for myself. I enjoyed the atmosphere.”
Murphy had previously compared the atmosphere at Ally Pally to that faced by Roman Gladiators at the Colosseum 2,000 years ago.
Speaking before his match, the ace said: “You’d be hard pressed to find a more imposing or intimidating arena to play snooker in than Alexandra Palace.
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“There is a buzz in there and every match could be the final of a tournament.
“There is hardly ever a spare seat in the place and the atmosphere from day one is electric.
“It must be, to some degree, what walking out into the Colosseum was like.
“Even more so than the Crucible. That is an intimate and different type of arena. Ally Pally is packed to the rafters.
“It is a fabulous venue to play snooker in and a real test of your mettle as a human being. It tests things that other parts of snooker don’t.”
